A  NSW mid-North Coast abattoir has been added to the Food Authority’s ‘Name and Shame’ register following a lengthy hearing over “mutton dressed as lamb.” Tolsat Pty Ltd was convicted and fined $66,000 on December 19, 2012, in the NSW Chief Industrial Magistrates Court for wrongly labelling older meat such as hogget and mutton as lamb. A media release issued by the NSW Food Authority was headed “Un-Australian: Abattoir convicted of large scale lamb substitution.” This was despite... ...Read more »

One of Australia’s largest poultry producers, Turi Foods, has been ordered by the Federal Court of Australia, to pay AU$100,000 penalty after admitting to a misleading claim. In September 2011, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against Turi Foods, which supplies La Ionica brand meat chickens in New South Wales and Victoria. The claim was that the chickens were “free to roam”. The ACCC alleged that Turi Foods made “false or... ...Read more »

With the Cash for Containers scheme now in place in the Northern Territory as reported last week by Australian Food News. NT’s Consumer Affairs government department has warned companies that unfair price rises could result in fines. NT Chief Minister Paul Henderson has urged Territorians to report any extreme price rises claimed to be as a result of the Cash for Containers scheme to a dedicated consumer affairs hotline. Mr Henderson said, “Consumer Affairs have the powers to slap suppliers with... ...Read more »

New South Wales-based company Australia Poultry and Food Wholesalers has been fined A$236,000 plus legal costs for supplying pre-cooked chicken that was found to contain Listeria monocytogenes. The chicken was used in wraps that were supplied for inflight meals on the Virgin Blue airline. Listeria monocytogenes is dangerous for pregnant women, newborns, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems. Downing Centre Local Court, in Sydney, found that between December 2008 and June 2009, a food-borne... ...Read more »

The operators of fruit and vegetable stores in Wagga and Sydney have been fined almost $90,000 for underpaying 40 of their workers. The penalties were handed down in the Federal Magistrates Court in Sydney yesterday following a prosecution by the Fair Work Ombudsman. The Fair Work Ombudsman told the Court that 20 shop assistants at the former ‘Fruit World’ and ‘Fruit Market’ stores on Baylis Street in Wagga were underpaid a total of $84,000 – and 20 shop assistants at the Roselands... ...Read more »

A Supreme Court decision has found the owner of 26 Coles Express stores guilty of breaching tobacco advertising prohibitions within the NSW Public Health Act. The Chief Health Officer in NSW, Dr Kerry Chant, said NSW Health had prosecuted the retail chain giant for instructing its employees to verbally encourage customers to purchase tobacco products. When a customer requested a single packet of cigarettes, Coles Express employees were reportedly instructed to inform the customer that they could... ...Read more »