Hogs Breath, well known for having a wide and varied menu, now even include the kitchen sink in their latest offerings! That’s according to a Brisbane customer who discovered a sink plug in her salad last weekend.
The horrified customer posted a picture of the image on the Aspley restaurant’s Facebook page where it was liked more than 2000 times before being removed.
When the incident was reported to staff at the restaurant they allegedly “thought it was funny” – a disturbing attitude to what could potentially be a serious food safety incident.
Restaurant response
It appears that the sink plug may have been from a sanitised ice food bath used to wash fresh produce such as lettuce and tomatoes.
Ross Worth, General Manager for Hog’s Breath Australia, explained that “The staff members have pulled fresh produce out of the bath and accidently pulled the plug with it.”
He also states that food hygiene was a top priority for the company and that “the business owner has re-trained his staff on the right processes to make sure this doesn’t ever happen again.”
Food handler training requirements
According to Australian law, all food handlers must be trained in food safety to prevent such incidents occurring.
Standard 3.2.2 of the national Food Standards Code states that food handlers must be trained in food safety appropriate to their level of responsibility within the business.
There are a number of ways to do this. A nationally recognised Food Handling Certificate can be obtained by participating in a short online course – this is a popular option for organisations who want to minimise any chances of their restaurant receiving bad press as Hogs Breath has done.
Other options include non-accredited training such as the Basic Food Safety course, or organising a food safety trainer to come on site to train staff members.
Bad weekend for dining out
It would seem that last weekend was a poor choice for eating out. Only yesterday we reported on a New Zealand woman who thought she’d discovered some gristle in her Big Mac only to remove the offending item from her mouth to discover half a cockroach.
Let’s hope that restaurants serving food this weekend have more of a food safety focus!