News
July 5, 2016
Did you know more Australians are choosing to eat out over making a home cooked meal?
According to research by Ipsos, they have found Australians are dining-out and ordering take away food like never before. On average once a week or 4.6 times per month.
This ‘eating out more’ trend is also expected to become the new norm for Australians after data in the US revealed sales at restaurants, bars and take away shops overtook spending at grocery stores for the fir…
June 1, 2016
Do you like your hamburgers medium-rare? If you’re in New South Wales you will have to readjust your taste buds and cooking technique.
Recently, the NSW Food Authority indicated they would beef-up enforcement around the guidelines to cooking mince meat, fearing the growing ‘undercooked’ burger trend could spark fresh E. coli food poisoning cases.
However its sudden enforcement hasn’t gone down well with many businesses, reputable chefs and customers voicing th…
May 3, 2016
In South Australia there has been a recent outbreak of salmonella linked to bean sprouts. 233 cases have been reported since the beginning of December, with 43 people requiring hospitalisation.
The outbreak has caused great concern as the outbreak is nearly ten times what would normally be encountered over the course of a year.
After substantial investigation by SA Health, and with the aid of food suppliers and local efforts, the culprit has been identified as…
April 29, 2016
The night noodle markets in Canberra are a popular destination for both tourists and locals, running each year in March. However visitors this year suffered a nasty aftermath after at least 3 suffered from gastroenteritis after a night at the markets.
The unfortunate sufferers became ill with diarrhoea, stomach aches and bouts of vomiting 10 to 13 hours after consuming contaminated food items. The name of the stall causing the outbreak has not been disclosed.…
April 24, 2016
Food allergens are becoming even more common in our society with recent data estimating that 5 per cent of children and 2 per cent of adults in Australia currently suffer from some type of food allergy.
Like foodborne illnesses, when it comes to food allergies prevention is better than a cure. Everything that we eat must be handled, prepared and stored properly so as to reduce the risk of it causing us harm. This especially goes for foods that potentially conta…
April 17, 2016
One of the worst consequences of food poisoning is undoubtedly becoming sick; however it isn’t the only one. When someone becomes ill as a result of contaminated food there are also economic and social consequences – which can end up affecting more than just the individual.
Illnesses which result in time off work can negatively impact both the sufferer, their coworkers and the also the business; whether through loss of revenue, lack in productivity or lack of i…
April 7, 2016
If you run a commercial restaurant you’ll know how crucial it is to make the right first impression. If a customers first dining experience is bad, then they’re unlikely to come back or recommend your establishment to other people. For this reason – as well as many others – it is essential to manage and maintain good quality control.
Train your staff
The first way to start improving your quality control is to ensure that your staff are properly trained with th…
April 3, 2016
The world is full of tiny microorganisms that we can’t see and which generally do no damage to us. However, if we manage to come across the wrong types of microorganisms, it’s possible for us to become very sick.
The term “food poisoning” is used to refer to a wide range of illnesses caused by consuming a contaminated food or beverage. Often, this poisoning is caused by viruses, toxins, bacteria or less commonly – parasites.
Food poisoning is a relatively comm…
March 12, 2016
A Brisbane mum has taken to social media to warn other parents of ‘gag worthy’ organic baby food that she says has caused her daughter to spend a night vomiting.
Woolworths have stripped their shelves of the batch of Baby Macro branded, organic apple, banana, pear and mango puree, following a complaint made by mum Nikki De Bondt. Her Facebook posts has already been shared over 50,000 times.
‘Contaminated product alert!!… Ollie and Elka tasted this Baby Macro o…
March 1, 2016
Current data suggests that more than 5 million Australians are struck down with food poisoning each year. But despite this worrying figure, the overall number of food poisoning cases is actually falling – with regards to everything but salmonella.
According to figures published last year by the Victorian Department of Health, cases of salmonella poisonings in the state have increased at least 50% since 2012. And even more worrying, Queensland’s Department of He…
February 3, 2016
A Kiama woman who was allegedly struck down with food poisoning from a chicken roll has given birth to a baby girl more than a month prematurely in an emergency caesarean.
Ashley Buchanan and her husband were both admitted to Wollongong Hospital with severe food poisoning on Sunday night after they began to feel extremely ill. Mrs Buchanan told 2UE breakfast radio that they had both eaten a hot chicken roll from the Box Village Bakery earlier that day.
While i…
January 22, 2016
A UK woman has been awarded £263,000 in damages after a food poisoning incident left her with a lifelong case of irritable bowel syndrome.
In 2009, Tracey Rae, a 44-year-old adult tutor, was dining out at the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society restaurant in Leith where she ordered a chicken liver salad. The next morning she woke to feel extremely unwell with abdominal cramps and nausea, and began passing bloody diarrhoea.
After seeking treatment, Rae was told she had…
January 8, 2016
Environmental Health Officers in Brisbane have issued almost 500 infringement notices to local businesses for food safety breaches in the last financial year. This staggering number of fines has netted the Council over half a million dollars.
These figures were announced following the release of the City Council’s most recent annual report. Brisbane’s Lord Mayor Graham Quirk has told reporters that the Council’s health department also successfully prosecuted 27…
December 27, 2015
Typically, most people simply assume that fresh fruits and vegetables are the healthiest options – packed with the most nutrients, vitamins, and phytochemicals. However, when you begin to take into account all of the different considerations addressed through storage, a different picture emerges.
The amount of nutrient-loss within fresh produce is significantly higher than you might expect and research has found that many cooking and storage methods could take…
December 18, 2015
Recently, information has come to light that around one in every ten Australians needs to access food relief each year. However despite this, hunger and food insecurity remain something of a “hidden crisis” amongst the population.
Foodbank Australia – the organisation primarily responsible for delivering food to those in need – announced that demand had increased by as much as 8% over the last financial year.
Today, around 516,000 Australians use Foodbank serv…