Holroyd City Mayor Nasr Kafrouni and Udaya Supermart manager James Perpinparajah with seminar attendee Manesh Manda using a food thermometer
Balancing prevention and enforcement measures in managing public health, Holroyd City Council has launched bi-lingual food safety seminars for local business owners and handlers.
The Holroyd Local Government Area (LGA) was placed second for the highest number of food safety breaches per resident in a list of Western Sydney councils for 2013/14.
Holroyd City Mayor Nasr Kafrouni said that whilst Holroyd Council makes no apologies for enforcing public health standards, they believe in a balanced approach to management.
“We take protecting our community’s health seriously and this means helping our local business owners understand food safety practices, as well as making sure that they’re following them,” said Mayor Kafrouni.
“For 39% of our community, English is a second or weaker language so we are now trialling our food safety seminars for local businesses in their first languages.”
The Council’s first bi-lingual food safety seminar, held earlier in the month at Toongabbie Community Centre, had a Tamil interpreter.
The seminar covered safety principles including hand washing, sanitising surfaces, temperature control and preparing of food.
For local manager, James Perinparajah from Udaya Supermart in Wentworthville, there’s been encouraging signs from staff since attending the seminar.
“I’ve seen them change what they needed to and look at even more ways they can be safe around food in the shop,” said Mr Perinparajah.
“The seminar suited our needs and by meeting other with other business in the area, we were able to share our own experiences with food handling.
“As one of the largest Indian grocery stores, we want to keep our premises healthy, and we know this is possible through Council’s support and safety measures.”
Council runs 12 seminars and four newsletters a year for handlers, produces a food safety manual and hosts an online training tool on its website titled ‘I’m Alert’.
With the first translated seminar proving popular amongst local businesses, Council is planning to run another two sessions in Hindi and Arabic.
For more information on Council’s food safety services and programs, please contact the Environmental Health Team via 9840 9840.
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