Page 483 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 21 February 2012
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passing the Food Amendment Bill 2011 unanimously. This is a bill which aims to improve food safety in the ACT and increase transparency for consumers. Food safety is incredibly important. The food industry is an important contributor to our community, but the community also has the right to feel safe when dining out in Canberra. I do not think I have to remind the Assembly that poor food handling can lead to serious illness. Food-borne illness is a burden to the community and can have consequences for individuals, businesses, the government and the economy.
The ACT has around 2½ thousand registered food businesses. Every year new food businesses open, providing opportunities for work and contributing to the ACT economy. I want to emphasise again that the vast majority of food outlets operate safely and are in compliance with the Food Act 2001 and the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. It is a dynamic industry, but, unfortunately, over the past year gaps in the knowledge of the people who work in the industry have been discovered. In particular, the Health Directorate has been concerned that there is a lack of knowledge around safe food handling and preparation.
There has been a sharp rise in businesses that are noncompliant with the Food Act and the food standards code and the Health Protection Service has been taking the appropriate action in relation to these businesses. Food safety is a priority. With this bill the Assembly can address some of the issues by improving food safety knowledge through the introduction of food safety supervisors. It will also make the enforcement actions taken by the Health Protection Service more transparent to the general public.
The Health Directorate undertook consultation on these amendments with registered food businesses, industry bodies and the general public. The comments received in writing and at public forums were considered during the bill’s development. I will just briefly go through the four amendments in the order that they appear in the bill.
The display of closure notices is a transparency measure. At present, if a food business is believed on reasonable grounds to pose a serious danger to public health with its premises or food handling practices, the Health Protection Service can take action and serve a prohibition order. At the moment, the only people who might be aware of the action will be the affected food business and the regulator.
Last year we had an example of where a business that had been served with a prohibition order chose to disclose that they had been closed with a sign on their door. This bill will authorise the Health Protection Service to place a closure notice on the public entrance of a food business that is served with a prohibition order. It is intended to inform members of the public that might visit the business or are passing by that the business has been closed because it was considered a public health risk.
I would like to assure the Assembly that the closure notice will only remain up on the premises until such time as the business has addressed all the issues contained in the prohibition order. During the consultation there was some concern expressed by some owners and operators about closure notices. It is acknowledged that it is a change from the previous situation of a prohibition order being able to be kept quiet. For most businesses who comply with food safety standards there will be no effect, as there will be no reason for closure.
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