HUME FOOD NEWS HUME CITY COUNCIL - Summer 2020-2021
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HUME CITY COUNCIL HUME FOOD NEWS Summer 2020-2021 hume.vic.gov.au
THIRD-PARTY
AUDIT REMINDER
If you haven’t already had
your audit conducted for 2020 and
your business requires a third-party
audit, you must complete this audit
and submit it to Council by Thursday
31 December 2020.
The Food Act 1984 requires that the
audit is conducted every 12 months by
an approved food safety auditor. Council
requires a Certificate of Compliance
from the audit to be able to renew your
registration for 2021.
All Class 1 and Class 2 food businesses
that have an independent Food Safety
Program are required to be audited by a
third party.
Further information on audit
requirements and a list of Department
of Health and Human Services approved
auditors can be found at www2.health.
vic.gov.au (search for ‘food safety CLEANING OUT THE BACK
audits’) or by contacting Council’s Public The rear yard of your premises might not be visible to customers, but
Health unit on 9205 2599. there are more benefits to keeping it tidy than you might think.
Environmental Health Officers frequently encounter rear yards that contain
piles of disused equipment, shelving and signage along with areas of tangled
overgrown vegetation, litter and unsealed bins – conditions that are ideal for
attracting rodents and other pests. You don’t want to attract rats, mice and
birds to the back of your shop because the next step is that they come inside.
Smelly bins and overgrown grass or bushes can also attract or harbour insects
that may not only get into your premises but possibly also into your food.
Taking the time to clean up your yard can significantly reduce the likelihood of
CALIBRATE YOUR including something in your food that one of your customers and you
THERMOMETERS will regret.
How accurate is your
thermometer?
NEW NUTRITION PANEL
‘Calibration’ means to test for CALCULATOR
accuracy. Thermometers should be
calibrated every six months (and the Food Standards Australia New
result recorded in your Food Safety Zealand (FSANZ) have just launched
Program) to ensure you are getting their new-look Nutrition Panel
an accurate result when you check Calculator.
temperatures. The Nutrition Panel Calculator (NPC)
A good method for checking the is a tool to help food manufacturers
accuracy of your probe thermometer is calculate the average nutrient content
to check if it reads 0ºC in iced water. of their food products and prepare a
Combine two parts ice to one part nutrition information panel.
cold water in a container and allow Some of the new features include:
it to stand for five minutes, then
■■ Improved stability for
use your thermometer to check the
uninterrupted access.
temperature. The temperature of the
mixture should then be 0ºC. ■■ Streamlined process to create
recipes using three easy steps.
Thermometers should then also be
■■ Easier access to tips and guidance.
checked against boiling water at 100ºC.
If the thermometer is more than 1ºC The Nutrition Panel Calculator can
out, then it should be repaired or be found at foodstandards.gov.au
replaced. (search ‘nutrition panel calculator’).
THE FLIES ARE IS HAND SANITISER AS EFFECTIVE AS HAND
COMING, AGAIN WASHING?
As the weather The short answer is no,
warms up, we can it’s not.
expect the winds to
In some industries and if used
bring this summers’
correctly, research has shown that
dose of flies.
alcohol-based hand sanitisers can
It’s time to become be as effective as hand washing
more vigilant and with soap and water. However,
remind staff to take there are several compelling
action when they see them. Some of reasons why hand sanitisers should
the larger flies can lay live maggots, be used only when soap and water
which is invariably upsetting to those is not readily available and not be
finding them in their food and can do used as a substitute for proper
serious damage to the reputation of your hand washing.
business.
Hand sanitisers work best on clean hands
Check that your fly screens do not have
The effectiveness of hand sanitisers depends on how much visible dirt or grease
holes, your fly strips are in good condition
is present on the hands. Alcohol-based hand sanitiser has been proven to be
and your insect zapper is working.
effective in clinical settings like hospitals and care centres because health care
workers’ hands are generally not visibly soiled or greasy. Unfortunately, this is not
always the case for food handlers within a food business setting. Hand sanitisers
may not be effective on soiled or greasy hands and this is why hand washing
with soap and water is recommended when hands are more heavily soiled, such
as with food waste or cooking oil.
Hand sanitisers cannot remove chemicals
Hand sanitisers are unlikely to remove or inactivate harmful chemicals, so it
is important that food handlers wash their hands carefully after using many
common kitchen cleaning chemicals.
Hand sanitisers can cause contamination
If hand sanitiser is not properly absorbed into the skin, a food handler could
chemically contaminate food and potentially make a customer severely ill. This
IS YOUR FRIDGE means that food handlers must wait until the hand sanitiser has been completely
SUMMER SAFE? absorbed before working with food. This is not practical in a busy food business
With the days getting warmer and difficult to monitor.
and warmer, now is the time to It is recommended that food handlers wash their hands with soap and water
make sure that all refrigerators, whenever possible to remove all types of food-borne pathogens.
freezers and cool rooms are working
Adapted from Is Hand Sanitiser as Effective as Hand Washing?, published by the
correctly.
Australian Institute of Food Safety (foodsafety.com.au), October 14 2020.
During warm and hot days, refrigeration
and freezer units have to work harder
to ensure that your food and drink stays
cold. Fridges and cool rooms need to COUNCIL’S ECONOMIC
keep food below 5°C and freezers need DEVELOPMENT TEAM IS
to keep food frozen solid.
HERE TO HELP
If the units are not properly maintained,
Whether you would like to start
they are more likely to fail. Ensure that
a new business, are considering
these appliances are maintained and
expanding or relocating your
serviced regularly, are kept clean and are
business or seeking training and
free of dust and ice build-up and are not
networking opportunities, we can
overloaded with products.
provide advice or point you in the
It is also important not to leave the right direction.
doors open for extended periods, as
Our mission is to facilitate
this could cause the temperature to
opportunities for sustainable economic
rise to an unsafe level. Replace your
growth and business prosperity. The
fridge seals if they are broken as they
Economic Development team is here to support you and your business.
will allow cold air to escape – meaning
the motor has to work harder as well as Visit hume.vic.gov.au/business-support for more information, or get in touch
costing you more money. by emailing business@hume.vic.gov.au or calling 9205 2200.
Know your bacteria
HEPATITIS A VIRUS IN FOOD
What is Hepatitis A virus? Who can get sick? How can people get sick?
Hepatitis A virus (or HAV) is a virus People who have not had Hepatitis A ■■ By eating or drinking contaminated
that can be found in the gut of people virus before and people who have not food or water.
and other primates. There are many been vaccinated against Hepatitis A. ■■ From infected people transferring
different hepatitis viruses but only the the virus to food, cutlery and other
Older people (not previously infected
Hepatitis A and Hepatitis E viruses things they touch.
or vaccinated) could be more likely to
cause foodborne illness. ■■ Through close contact with an
have severe symptoms and die.
What illness does it cause? infectious person or their personal
Where does it come from? items.
Hepatitis A (an infection of the gut
The virus can get into water and food
and liver). This illness is a nationally How can illness be prevented?
from the faeces (poo) or blood of an
notifiable disease and must be
infected person, for example through ■■ There is a vaccine for Hepatitis A.
reported to health authorities. ■■ Wash hands thoroughly before
poor hand washing or contact with
What are the symptoms? sewerage. The virus can stay infectious preparing and eating food,
in the environment for a long time and especially after going to the toilet
Symptoms of Hepatitis A range from
might not be destroyed by processes and changing nappies.
mild to severe and include fever,
loss of appetite, diarrhoea, nausea, usually used to control bacteria in food ■■ Avoid sharing food, cutlery and
abdominal pain, dark-coloured urine production. drinks with other people.
and jaundice (a yellowing of the skin Common foods that can be ■■ When travelling to places with
and whites of the eyes). Symptoms contaminated with Hepatitis A virus poor sanitation, drink bottled
usually start 28–30 days from exposure include bivalve molluscan shellfish (e.g. water and avoid food that
to the virus, but the timing can range oysters), fresh produce such as salads might have been prepared using
from 15–50 days and usually last for and fruits, and raw or only lightly contaminated water.
1–2 weeks but can last for several processed vegetables/fruit. Source: FZANZ (foodstandards.gov.au)
months.
People who travel to developing
Unlike some other types of hepatitis, countries where sanitation is poor may
Hepatitis A does not cause long-term pick up Hepatitis A virus.
liver disease.
Hume City Council. 1079 Pascoe Vale Road, Broadmeadows. PO Box 119 Dallas Victoria 3047
Phone: 03 9205 2200 | Email: contactus@hume.vic.gov.au | Web: hume.vic.gov.au
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