Changing food law 'asks for trouble'

A sweeping review of food laws has run into strong opposition from Auckland City councillors who say allowing private contractors to take over hygiene inspections is asking for trouble.

Auckland City Council is about to submit its final verdict on the New Zealand Food Standards Safety Authority's (NZFSA) proposals to food regulations, the first major review for more than 30 years.

One proposal is that every food outlet be required to draw up a "food safety plan" which is then "verified" by a certified food "verifier".

Councils would no longer have a monopoly on checking hygiene in takeaway bars, restaurants and the like with random inspections as happens now. They would also face competition in regulating food outlets from private companies.

Auckland City councillor Penny Sefuiva said that could lead to similar problems experienced by the building industry after private companies took over building inspection work. "This just hasn't been thought through, it's a recipe for inconsistency and I would be amazed if other councils didn't share our concerns."

Auckland City environmental health and licencing manager Chris Dee said there was a potential conflict of interest in a private company doing food inspections because under the changes the business would pay the company doing the work. "You could say that's the equivalent to a council inspection but it's quite a different beast altogether," he said.

The business owner would get notice of when a "verifier" was going to call, he said. "If the owner's got any nous at all he'll clean his place up in preparation for the visit."

Food outlets, many of which are sole operator, small-scale businesses, were likely to go for the cheapest option when it came to selecting a food verifier which could mean different standards.

There was the potential for conflict of interest. "That's because the verifier is paid for by the business whereas when council does that work they are working on behalf of the community."

It was likely the council's food hygiene grading system, which rates food outlets on an A, B, D or E grade, depending on their level of compliance with hygiene regulations, would be scrapped under NZFSA's plans.

NZSFA spokesman Gary Bowering said one proposal was a national standard of, say, a B grade, given to all food outlets which would then have to adhere to their food safety plans to retain it.

A range of compliance tools was being considered to ensure food suppliers stuck to hygiene standards including infringement notices similar to those given to travellers who breach customs regulations.