Published on Monday, 10 February 2025 at 1:40:37 PM
The Town of Port Hedland has demonstrated its commitment to ensuring registered food premises are held to a compliant standard following a successful prosecution against Muffin Break in South Hedland.
Despite numerous warnings and advice from authorised Environmental Health Officers, the Town was forced to take legal action against the business and its director for multiple unresolved breaches of the Food Standards Code.
Each of the non-compliances identified posed a serious risk to human health requiring the Town to issue a prohibition order to prevent food sales until corrective action was completed.
The charges included failing to maintain a clean food premises, permitting live pests and vermin in a food handling area, failing to appropriately store food at the appropriate temperature and failure to maintain hygiene standards.
The matter appeared before the Perth Magistrate Court on 24 January 2025, where the director entered guilty pleas to all five charges, resulting in a total fine of $7,000 plus other associated costs.
While the fines imposed were lower than anticipated due to financial hardship circumstances raised by the defendant, the case serves as a strong reminder of the importance of maintaining proper food hygiene practices.
Michael Cuvalo, Manager of Environmental Health Services, emphasised the Town’s ongoing commitment to public health and safety.
“Our priority is always the health and wellbeing of our community, and food businesses have a responsibility to provide safe and hygienic food to their customers.”
“While our Environmental Health Officers aim to work with businesses to achieve compliance, we will not hesitate to take legal action where necessary to protect public health," Mr. Cuvalo said.
The Town encourages all food businesses to work closely with Environmental Health Officers who conduct regular inspections and compliance checks, to ensure they meet the required standards.
The community is also encouraged to view the Western Australian Department of Health website where a register of prosecutions against food businesses is maintained.
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