Monash food safety dished up on Golden Plate

MONASH Council is recognising local restaurants and cafes that value food safety with a revamped Golden Plate Awards program.

Businesses that score well in impromptu food safety inspections by council will be given a three, four or five-star rating and a corresponding certificate to display, with the highest rating applying to premises with a 93 per cent score or above. 

Last financial year, Monash Council received 181 food complaints and conducted 2256 food safety inspections.

Health officers tested 538 food samples, with 90 per cent of samples complying with food standards.

Restaurants, cafes, bakeries, takeaway stores, supermarkets and aged and childcare facilities are eligible for the awards and are automatically assessed as part of normal inspections.

Mayor Greg Male said the awards would help consumers have peace of mind when eating out in Monash.

“Whenever and wherever we eat out, we expect our food to be safe and the places where we eat to be clean and hygienic,” he said.

“There is no problem, but this is a requirement and we are just prompting people to realise that’s what we expect.”

Five-star businesses will be listed in the council’s It’s Your Food newsletter and on the council’s website. 

Training Online and CFT have trained many food businesses in Monash and conduct local classes in Oakleigh every month for more details of class times and locations call 1300 665 633

Chef Competition to be held in Melbourne, Register now!

Nominations are now open from qualified chefs – to win $10,000 in the only National Australian Competition that pits Chef against Chef against the clock in a one hour test of creativity under pressure.

The competition will be judged by some of Melbourne’s leading culinary experts including:

• Mark Agius - Deputy Manager- Culinary and Food Processing, Angliss Institute;
• Brad French - Executive Sous Chef Premium Restaurants, Crown Melbourne Limited;
• Marcus Moore - renowned chef Director, Rowland Projects; 
• Mark Normoyle - Executive Chef, RACV Club; 
• Scott Pickett - Executive Chef, The Point Albert Park; 
• Martin Probst - Hospitality Educator, Executive Chef & Author; 
• Tony Rogalsky - renowned chef, educator and restaurateur and 
• Bernd Uber - Black Hat Chef.

Chief Judge and Black Hat Chef, George Hill said:

“The FSAA ‘Chef of the Year’ is earned because luck does not play any part in the competition. It is an absolute clear-cut exercise that any professional chef can achieve with thought, planning, creativity and skill. Past competitions have shown that 99% of entries can achieve a very high proficient standard and it’s only the simple and fractional difference in excellence that points to the winner.”

Defending his 2010 title will be Soren Lascelles from Sydney two hatter Assiette.

To nominate now click here

Childcare Breast Milk and Formula Storage

Food	When to throw away
Leftover Formula	Immediately. Bacteria from the baby's mouth contaminate the formula, where they can grow and multiply.
*Prepared bottles	After 24 hours
*Open containers of ready-to-feed or concentrated formula	After 48 hours
*Unused breast milk (May be frozen for two weeks)	After 48 hours
* These items should be kept in the refrigerator

Why is food safety important in child care settings?

• Most children under the age of six receive some form of non-parental care.
• Young children are especially susceptible to foodborne illnesses because their immune systems aren't fully developed. Such illnesses can cause serious side effects, even death.
• Illness originally caused by foodborne bacteria is easily spread by children who have diarrhea.

Safe Handling of Babies Bottles

Clean

Wash bottles, bottle caps, and nipples in the dishwasher. If you wash them by hand, wash them in warm water with dish soap. Rinse well and then boil for five minutes.

Refrigerate

Keep filled bottles of formula or breast milk in the refrigerator until just before feeding.

Refrigerate open containers of ready-to-feed or concentrated formula.

Warming

Place bottles in hot (not boiling) water for five minutes.

Shake well and test milk temperature by putting a few drops on the inside of your wrist to make sure it's not too hot before feeding.

Never Microwave Baby Bottles

Why? Microwaves heat to very high temperatures and heat unevenly. They could make a portion of the milk too hot. The baby's mouth and throat could be scalded. 

Aged Care Balancing resident lifestyles and food safety

Should we accept food brought from home?

It is appropriate for homes to take a risk management approach to this issue.

Management of this issue will depend on a variety of considerations, for example the extent to which food is being brought in by visitors, information available to residents and visitors about food safety issues for vulnerable populations, whether the food is being consumed by one resident or multiple residents, whether there are processes for ensuring the food can be appropriately stored,

labelled and disposed of when necessary.

Homes should also be aware of their obligations under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, in particular in relation to Food Safety Programs required for vulnerable people such as their residents.

However, those obligations should not be taken to be an impediment. They should only be seen as something to be accounted for in the home’s processing of food for the residents in order to ensure the residents’ ongoing safety while satisfying the requirements of residents’ lifestyles.

When all else fails,

accept graciously and dispose of discreetly.