New food safety legislation which requires restaurants, cafes, pubs and clubs to have a Food Safety Supervisor has been rolled out across the State of New South Wales.

Food Safety Supervisors are required to be trained to prevent hazards associated with handling and preparing food. Any retail food business in New South Wales that does not appoint a Food Safety Supervisor will be subject to fines.

Commenting on the new law, Federal Minister for Primary Industries Katrina Hodgkinson said, “Incorrect food handling accounts for over a third of food-borne illness outbreaks in NSW and costs the community around A$416 million each year, not to mention the suffering and inconvenience for people who become ill.”

A year-long Food Safety Supervisor implementation period began in New South Wales on 1 October 2010, as previously reported by Australian Food News. Since that time, 23,409 people have completed their Food Safety Supervisor training and New South Wales Food Authority has issued 1,324 certificates for recognition of prior training.

Restaurant & Catering CEO, John Hart said, “A benefit of the initiative, in addition to improving consumer safety, is that people who complete Food Safety Supervisor training will have a nationally recognised qualification, bringing increased professionalism to the industry.”

Australian Food News recently reported that many food outlets in the State of News South Wales were already being prosecuted for inadequate handwashing by food handlers.

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