Recently, the ‘Fresh Noodle Manufacturers Project’ was launched by the New South Wales (NSW) Food Authority. This all began after they were notified that companies were having compliance issues. Hence, the project seeks to improve food safety to prevent risk in the production process.
Fines have been given to three Sydney noodle manufacturers since the project began. The fines come to a total of over $150,000 after they failed to comply with the Food Act 2003 and the Food Standards Code. The main issue that came up was storage. The noodles must be stored in temperatures below 5°C to prevent them from growing harmful microorganisms that can cause food poisoning. That is why the three manufacturers that got fined failed to meet this criteria.
The Noodle Issue
Since January 2016, 25 inspections have been conducted by NSW Food Authority officers. After analysing the use of preservatives, process and hygiene control, product labelling and temperature control, the companies were prosecuted. A main issue that caused this is language barriers and traditional and cultural practices relating to temperature control and monitoring. With their knowledge from previous generations, they kept their old standards and this is what caused major compliance issues.
Do you need to reconsider your storage option in your food business? Have you checked the regulations in the Food Act 2003 and Food Standards Code to make sure you are complying to all the rules?
If you need help in monitoring storage temperatures, OnSolution has temperature data loggers to do the trick! Check out our site here.
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