​Letters Editor
Herald Sun
hsletters@heraldsun.com.au

13 January 2012

Dear Editor

Response to “Dodgy food’s dirty secret” article (13 Jan)

All sources of illness must be properly investigated, but ‘name and shame’ doesn’t make food safe.

Public conviction registers and food business rating systems (as used in places such as New York) don’t remove food safety risks for consumers. But they can offer people a way to make informed choices about where they feel comfortable buying and consuming food. 

In Victoria over 300 council officers work to minimise food safety risks for the public. They register food businesses, educate them on the rules, conduct thousands of inspections and food sampling, investigate complaints, and take action to remedy unsafe food practices.

If appropriate, a business will be prosecuted for any breaches of food safety laws. As with all legal proceedings in our country, the principle of ‘natural justice’ prevails. This means the right to a fair and unbiased hearing.

If a conviction is recorded the business will be listed on the Department of Health’s register of convictions, which has been published since 1 July 2010.

But food safety is an imperfect science. There isn’t a city anywhere in the world that can provide a guarantee that their food safety system eliminates all risks and food is ‘safe’ to consume.

We need to strike a balance between consumer information that informs people’s choices, with fairness for businesses that may have corrected previous unhygienic food practices and now comply with our food safety standards.

This is a valid policy question for the Victorian Government and broader community debate. In the meantime, councils will continue their good work regulating food businesses across the state.

Yours sincerely

Cr BILL McARTHUR

MAV President