Restaurant and Catering SA resists Scores on Doors

Posted by Nicole Eckersley on 5th October 2010

Despite the success of NSW’s Scores on Doors launch, and similar initiatives throughout Australia, the idea has not found favour in South Australia.

A call by independent MP for Fisher, Dr Bob Such, to create a policy putting restaurant hygiene scores on the front door has been rejected by Restaurant and Catering SA as possibly adversely affecting businesses which commit minor infractions.

“I think it’s crazy talk quite frankly and I’ll write to [Health] Minister [John] Hill and advise him of our opinion because I just don’t think it’s in the public interest to have a score of that nature on a door,” CEO Sally Neville told the ABC of Such’s policy.

Dr Such believes that the 712 warnings or fines for health breaches in South Australian eateries are more than enough to justify putting information out about eateries.

“There is reluctance to be too open about it because of fear of litigation, so what we have essentially is a system where we don’t know what the standard is in a particular eatery,” he told the ABC.