The importance of food handling and food safety training for employees of food businesses should never be underestimated. If staff aren’t trained and practicing good hygiene and proper food safety, then not only are your customers at risk but so is your business.
The bottom line is that businesses that are the source of food poisoning outbreaks and scares aren’t going to stay in business very long and if they do, business isn’t going to be very lucrative. That is why it is important to ensure that the proper food safety standards are adhered to in your food establishment.
One burger joint in Geelong has landed itself in hot water after a total of 132 cases of food poisoning were reported to have originated from the restaurant.
Apparently a total of 132 cases of food poisoning have originated from Torquay café The Bottle of Milk. 46 more cases are being investigated. Many of the cases of food poisoning have already been identified as Salmonella poisoning, as the following excerpt from GeelongAdvertiser.com.au explains:
Of the 132 cases of confirmed food poisoning, 26 have been identified as salmonella.
The popular cafe has remained closed while investigations by the Health Department continue with no definitive answer yet as to what caused the outbreak.
Those affected dined at The Bottle of Milk on the weekend of February 8 and 9 when the cafe served hundreds of people, many of whom were from out-of-town.
Health Department spokesman, Bram Alexander, said many of those “put two and two together” with the publicity alerting them to the cause of their illness.
For anyone who thinks that food poisoning is not serious, just look at this case and the number of people that were affected. In some cases people have to be hospitalised and in even worse cases people die from deadly outbreaks.
Even Salmonella, a common form of food bacteria can prove fatal. That is why food handling safety is such an important issue which requires training and certification. The Food Handlers Certificate is a must for anyone in the food industry because deadly food outbreaks are a reality.
Restaurant owners, besides having their reputations dragged through the mud, an outbreak originating from your food outlet will have a devastating financial impact on your business – not only because of the costly fines and possibly closure you will face from authorities but also because the word will spread quickly about the food outbreak which will deter even your regular and faithful customers.
The best thing you can do for your food business is to undergo a food safety and handling course and ensure that everyone involved with food handling in your business does the same. Visit our homepage for information.