Food Safety: Company Fined For Serious Burns
A food company was charged with a $110,000 fine and ordered to pay WorkCover’s legal costs after a 19-year-old apprentice chef suffered serious burns at a CBD restaurant.
SG Foodservice will face charges for the September 2010 incident which resulted in an apprentice chef burning 60 per cent of his body.
The apprentice chef was carrying boiling stock in two 20 litre buckets between floors via the fire escape when he slipped and fell, dropping the buckets. SG Foodservice was charged with a breach of the Occupational Health & Safety Act 2000.
WorkCover began an investigation which has since revealed that
• It was common place in the business to transport boiling hot stock in buckets via the firestairs.
• Previously, other staff members had fallen while using the fire escape on at least two separate occasions.
• it was unclear among staff over whether the nearby elevator was free to use for staff or only for guests.
• After the incident SG Foodservice prohibited the use of the firestairs to transport hot stock, instead requiring that stock be transported via the lift.
The court found that the risk to the injured person was so foreseeable that an accident was bound to happen.
SG Foodservice pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined $110,000.
WorkCover NSW’s acting General Manager of Work Health and Safety Division Peter Dunphy said“Working in the hospitality industry involves a lot of manual handling, especially in commercial kitchens which can be dangerous if risks to health and safety are not made the top priority,” he said.
“WorkCover will work with the company to ensure that the same mistakes are not made in the future.”
More info on Food Safety Supervisor Training
Source: http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/newsroom/Pages/Companyfined$110,000afterseriousburnsataCBDrestaurant.aspx
Food Safety Supervisor: It’s Good For Your Health To Be Safe
There is nothing worse than having been slightly liberal with your wallet on a beautiful 5-star restaurant meal (trying to impress the significant other! )… only to wake up in the middle of the night with a burning, unbearable pain in the stomache. That sharp pain feels like a swift punch in the belly by Mike Tyson…but its not from that. You hurriedly think to your self ” It can’t be the cereal I had this morning! I THINK that sandwhich meat for lunch was fine.. so it could only be— NO! Why?! Why did I have to spend so much money on this meal, and experiment to be “exciting!”…Why?!
But it’s not always your fault, and it’s not always the mysterious, exotic dish’s fault… Sometime’s things go wrong, and someone is to blame.
It is imperative that food business owners in Victoria ensure that their staff are adequately skilled and knowledgeable enough to safely handle food in their respective roles. It is therefore important for food businesses to elect a food safety supervisor to make sure of this.
What? A Food Safety Supervisor? What’s that?
A FSS is someone who:
- Is able to easily recognise, prevent and eliminate food handling hazards at the food business
- has earned a Statement of Attainment that declares that they have the required food safety competencies from a Registered Training Organisation (RTO);
- has the ability and authority to supervise other people handling food at the premises and ensure that food handling is done safely.
What type of Food Businesses Need FSS?
Only class 1 and class 2 food premises require a food safety supervisor.
Food poisoning most often occurs upon consumption of “potentially hazardous food” such as meat, seafood, cooked main meals and sandwiches. In addition, persons with weakened or immature immune systems suffer a greater risk of serious illness or death from food poisoning.
Class 1 and class 2 businesses therefore require a food safety supervisor. However a food safety supervisor is not required for class 1 and class 2 food premises which use a whole-of-business food safety program prepared under a recognised Quality Assurance (QA) system, and that program includes competency-based or accredited staff training. Such a system is an alternative means of educating staff about how to handle food safety.
Class 3 and class 4 food premises do not require a food safety supervisor as the nature of the food handled at those premises is not commonly associated with food poisoning. However, these businesses must still ensure that they maintain safe food handling practices.
All food premises (businesses and community groups) that sell food are legally required to ensure that it is safe for human consumption, regardless of the premises food safety supervisor requirements.
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