Plan B Forum

NOT content with interfering in fund-raising barbecues, the ACT government's food safety bureaucrats have turned their attention to school fetes, telling parents they cannot sell their homemade quiches any more.

The government has this month enforced bans on a list of popular home-made dishes, telling parents they cannot sell foods it has labelled ''high risk''. That list includes spring rolls, casseroles or any other dishes containing meat or diary, such as cakes containing custard or cream.

Chief Minister Katy Gallagher is yet to announce whether she will adjust regulations on community barbecues after an outpouring of community anger over rules forcing community groups to appoint food safety officers if holding barbecues or food stalls more than five times a year.

ACT Health also has no data on food poisonings at school fund-raising events but earlier this month surprised parents running two stalls at one of the capital's most popular fetes when it blocked them from selling certain dishes they planned to make at home.

It can be revealed a humble quiche lorraine almost undid the well-meaning plans of one of the French stalls at the fete held by French-speaking Telopea Park School because it contained cream.

Health officials can grant or deny temporary food stall applications after asking for a description of menus from stallholders but volunteers say the rules are confusing.

Mother Brigitte Athimon said she was told about the prohibition on homemade quiche - which she said was one of the most popular foods at last year's event - just days before the fete.

After eleventh-hour negotiations the mums were told they could make the quiche in the school canteen but in the end a leash was put on the quiche because they did not have enough time to reorganise their schedule.

''We could have made more money if we'd sold the quiche,'' she said.

''Some Australian people told me it was weird because quiche is famous.''

An ACT Health spokeswoman said dishes that might contain food poisoning bacteria were considered potentially hazardous and included casseroles, rice dishes, quiches, spring rolls and any foods containing meat, dairy or moist cereal products or ingredients.

''ACT Health has never had a strict policing policy on school fetes,'' the spokeswoman said.

''High-risk foods are best left to other occasions where more suitable equipment is available.

''Products that are shelf stable and do not require temperature control are considered low-risk foods.

''Examples of low-risk foods at fetes are cakes, slices, muffins and biscuits that do not contain high-risk food products, such as cream and custard.''

Fete organiser Nicola Smith said

the confusing rules had caused a decline in the number of stalls and added numbers may continue to drop if busy volunteers could no longer cook dishes at home.

''Gone are the days when parents could make a curry and bring it in,'' she said.

''I personally think the way the guidelines were written were a bit lame.

''We were petrified we'd have ACT Health around on the day of the fete after we'd had two stalls declined and it was touch and go three days before the fete.''

Another classic French dish found itself in the crosshairs of food safety regulators when they knocked back a rillette - a French-style pate made with pork or duck and made up of 50 per cent fat - because it contained meat.

Eventually the rillette had to be cooked in the school's kitchen to avoid controversy.

Since the Telopea fete a new document with guidelines for food stalls has been issued, called Food Safety Requirements for Temporary Food Stalls which omits a reference to dishes high in fats, oils and alcohol as being low risk.

Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-new ... z2kqcWCkTQ

Scooter wrote:Imagine that, a government being concerned with schoolchildren eating food that has not been appropriately handled to avoid the proliferation of disease-causing bacteria. Shame on them.

Chief Minister Gallagher has stepped outside the Assembly doors and announced she’s amending the food safety act to exempt temporary food stalls selling low risk food.

There’s no formal announcement and I’m not allowed to share the audio I have, so you’ll have to take my word for it.

Sausage Sizzles and Fundraising Opportunities

Bunnings sausage sizzles and fundraising cake stalls are enjoyed by thousands of Bunnings customers every week.

These are valuable fundraising opportunities for local community groups - all of the funds raised go straight to the community group conducting the fundraiser.

Bunnings Sausage Sizzles are extremely popular and are typically booked out up to six months in advance. If you would like to apply to host a Bunnings sausage sizzle or cake stall, please contact the Activities Organiser at your local Bunnings.

http://www.bunnings.com.au/about-us/in- ... ty-support

Chief Minister Katy Gallagher says the new food safety regulations were never designed to target charity barbecues.

“The changes we brought into the Food Safety Act were really around the increasing prevalence of venues that sell food and sell high-risk food to the community,” she said.

“For example supermarkets, petrol stations, large sporting organisations are all selling food that were not subject to the same regulations or standards that restaurants are.”

Ms Gallagher says the laws will now be changed to exempt temporary food stalls selling low-risk items.

“Certainly the feedback we’ve had from the community is that they don’t think the barbecues, sausage sizzles should be subject to food safety standards,” she said.

“I have a couple of areas where I have some concern with that, but certainly the overwhelming view is barbecues, sausage sizzles should be exempted and we are currently working on a way to do that throu gh the law.”

Ms Gallagher says it is easier to exempt community barbeques and sausage sizzles than introduce new laws which could become confusing.

“People if they buy sausages from a sausage sizzle, they do it at their own risk, they make their own judgements about that,” she said.

“But we will concentrate our efforts on the other temporary food stalls. It’s not everyone exempted, but a particular group.”