by Andrew Thomson on January 16, 2018
Do you know what effect not complying with the appropriate food safety standards will have on the ability of your business to continue operating effectively?
An outbreak of food borne illness occurred days before the Christmas 2017 holiday period in South Australia and relates to contaminated chicken sandwich-type products made and sold at a bakery. This bakery had previously been a food-safety offender. This latest incident is the second in fourteen months with forty nine people affected including eleven people who have been admitted to hospital. The outbreak has affected people ranging in age from two years to seventy.
The SA Health Director of Public Health said in a media conference …”the bakery was continuing to trade but had ceased serving several sandwich-type products containing chicken and other fillings”.
According to media reports this bakery had previously been a food-safety offender with eight cases of Salmonella reported in October 2016. SA Health did not investigate at the time and said it was instead the responsibility of the local council.
The SA Health Director of Public Health added the latest outbreak indicated there was “an ongoing problem there”.
“The fact that it is a year apart and it is a very busy bakery does indicate perhaps when it is a busy time of year they are making mistakes”.
At Think ST Solutions we believe many food safety incidents occur due to:
- a lack of understanding of food law
- a lack of commitment to food safety
- insufficient knowledge of the food safety risks associated with products
- incomplete documented processes
- inadequate training.
A robust risk management strategy integrated into a food safety management system could have mitigated of this event.
Australian insurance broker Gallagher’s Leanne Arscott, a hospitality sector expert, says the business now faces liability issues and needs to present evidence of overhauling its food safety culture and introducing effective checks and measures.
“Food businesses must meet the requirements of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Standard 3.2.2. Insurers have a policy condition requiring the business to take all reasonable measures to comply with all statutory obligations and regulations imposed by any statutory or government authority.”
“If there are repeated incidences, insurers would be concerned that there is a lack of reasonable care,” Arscott warns. “Also, as a result of claim costs an insurer would respond by increasing the policy excess and/or insurance premium or declining to continue the insurance policy. Please also read the Gallagher blog.
Ignoring risks which are associated with your business and its operations could negatively impact on:
- your reputation
- the financial position of the business
- public and customer confidence
- the health and safety of staff, customers and clients
- your plant, equipment or the environment.
A proactive approach to risk management will help in:
- improving your decision making process by ensuring the strategies you adopt effectively cover all contingencies and are hooked into appropriate mitigation actions
- developing a tailored approach to suit your organisation and in assisting in creating value
- facilitating continuous improvement throughout the business.
Footnote: Media reports indicate the bakery has been given approval by SA Health to prepare sandwich-type products for sale. Image courtesy of ABC News.
Think ST Solutions offers you practical solutions at a management level and to your staff whether you operate in hospitals, aged care facilities, restaurants, hotels or the food industry generally. We specialise in developing useful tools to assist you in the areas of food safety, strategic planning, business management, risk and compliance training and easy to implement business consultancy solutions.