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Auckland Council turns up the heat on food safety
1 March 2016
Auckland Council turns up the heat on
food safety
The standard of food served around
the city is getting a boost as Auckland Council launches a
new food grading system, EatSafe. The new grading system,
with the tagline, ‘turning up the heat on food safety’,
comes as the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) brings
into force the 2014 Food Act, which applies nationally.
As Auckland’s food premises transition onto the 2014 Food Act, diners will start to notice new food grading certificates with the EatSafe brand, which will continue to be displayed prominently in premises serving food. There is a three year transition period to allow time for the city’s more than 8,000 outlets to come on board.
Chair of the Regulatory and Bylaws Committee, Calum Penrose says: “Auckland is loved by locals for serving great quality, diverse cuisine and catering to a range of tastes and budgets. We also enjoy an excellent reputation with the many tourists who visit us every year to sample our great food offerings.
“The new law helps modernise and strengthen food safety in New Zealand, and the new grading scheme reflects this. Our research tells us that Aucklanders really value the food grading system with 96 per cent of respondents to a recent survey telling us they wanted the grading system to continue under the new Act.”
The new grading system assesses a business based on food safety, which looks at cleaning, cooking, chilling of food and operator conduct, as well as food suitability which looks at issues such as food composition and labelling.
“We also know that businesses value the grading system as a way to show their customers that they are taking care with the food they serve. Over time, as businesses transition to the Food Act requirements and aspire to achieve and continue to display a high grade, the standard of food safety will lift,” Councillor Penrose says.
Auckland Council has been working with food businesses across the city since January 2015, helping them prepare for new systems and processes which will be in place under the new Act.
More information can be found at aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/eatsafe.
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