Warning for food outlets - clean up or close

By ALISON BROWN in Rotorua
Rotorua health inspectors are warning food outlet owners to lift their hygiene standards or face closures as summer heat and pests threaten the safety of customers.

The warning comes amid a national review of the rules governing the food industry and a revelation that yet more Rotorua food premises are failing to meet standards set by local health officials.

Last September the Rotorua District Council started posting on its website the names of food premises which had been forced to close temporarily for failing to pass routine checks by council health inspectors.

A check of the website this week by The Daily Post revealed three food outlets were ordered to shut in January - including a well-known icecream parlour and a cafe which had just opened for business.

Lady Jane's Ice Cream Parlour, Ronnie's Cafe and Manary Lakeside Resort's restaurant at Holden's Bay are listed on the website, along with three other businesses which had to close for general cleaning or maintenance from October until the end of December.

They are Cafe Global, Ned's Cafe at the Whakarewarewa Village and Nature's Blend Bakery on Old Taupo Rd, which has since shut down.

Lady Jane's, on the corner of Tutanekai and Whakaue Sts, had previously been confused with another icecream parlour with a similar name on Tryon St which was closed by inspectors last year.

At the time, Lady Jane's owner Peter Winstanley said he was the victim of mistaken identity and stressed his business was "totally up-to-scratch where cleanliness and hygiene is concerned".

This week he said ongoing problems with trout flies had forced him to install screens across windows and a device to "zap" insects.

The pest control measures were taken after inspectors followed up on a customer complaint about trout flies in the icecream chillers.

A council inspector visited the parlour on January 13, finding windows open. He examined the chillers and told staff to close the windows, warning them he would be back to check.

The inspector returned later and temporarily closed the parlour when he found windows still open.

Mr Winstanley, who was holidaying in the Bay of Islands, drove to Rotorua and arranged for screens to be installed early the next morning.

Mr Winstanley said he accepted mistakes had been made but stressed he did all he could to keep the parlour spotless.

"We take pride in keeping our parlour as clean as possible," he said.

"We agree wholeheartedly with the inspectors getting everyone up to scratch but it's not a consistent system.

"There are some businesses that need to get their wings clipped but it's not happening."

Ronnie's Cafe in Pukuatua St opened on January 19 and was closed at 4pm on January 20.

The council's principal environmental health officer, Allan Culpan, said Ronnie's opened when it wasn't registered as a food premises.

Assistant manager Susan Yip said the error was the result of an "unfortunate communication breakdown".

Cafe Global on Tutanekai St closed for two days last October for cleaning.

It had to upgrade linoleum in the kitchen and install a new ventilation unit.

A staff member, who did not want to be named, said she felt sorry for the owner, who inherited problems not fixed by the store's previous owner.

Whakarewarewa Thermal Village Tours manages Ned's Cafe.

It was visited by an inspector on October 18, when it was closed.

The company's chief executive, Jarmie Piripi, said staff cleaned overnight and reopened in the morning.

Inspectors visited the premises again, giving it a "clean bill of health", he said.

Manary Restaurant did not respond.

Mr Culpan said warmer weather was no excuse for a slip in hygiene standards on food premises.

"With hot temperatures, food tends to perish quicker and fridges are working overtime keeping things cool, pumping heat into work preparation areas," he said. "But people need to be aware of that and have active programmes for insect controls in place."