News Item
More food outlets to be named, shamed
The New South Wales Government is planning to extend its ability to name and shame food outlets that breach health and safety regulations.
The Government will today introduce legislation that allows the Food Safety Authority to publicly name businesses on its website that are issued with penalty notices.
Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald says it is an extension of existing laws.
"The current situation is that the food authority can only publish on its website convictions," he said.
"It's not allowed to publish penalty notices."
Mr Macdonald says naming and shaming businesses that are issued with penalty notices will protect consumers.
He says food retailers should not fear the new laws.
"We're not going to put on the website businesses that receive a penalty notice for a minor offence like a cracked tile or incorrect grouting of that tile," he said.
"But we will be putting the more serious cases on the website."
The new laws will not apply to businesses that are penalised for relatively minor breaches of food safety laws.
source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/28/2175016.htm
