ISSUE 5
SEPT
2012
Environmental
Health
matters
Message from the Health Inspectors
Welcome to the fifth edition of ‘Health
Matters’.
In this quarterly publication we highlight
environmental health issues on your behalf, to
help make a safer and healthier Wanganui.
This edition looks at the issuing of food
premises gradings.
Environmental Health Officers inspect all
premises selling food and then grades them
against a set of guidelines set out in Wanganui
District Council bylaws.
The grading system covers Wanganui
businesses ranging from butchers shops,
dairies, cafes and restaurants - in fact
anywhere that sells food.
The Council uses gradings from ‘A’ to ‘E’ for
premises, except for premises approved by the
Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI).
Examples of things that the food premises
checklists include are cleaning procedures,
staff training (courses attended), insect and
rodent control, floor space, proper ventilation,
plumbing, hot water temperature for cleaning,
grease traps being properly cleaned, conduct
around the kitchen and adequate space in the
kitchen area.
There’s lots of work that goes into each
inspection and we provide information as to
what the requirements are. Make sure you
contact us if you need further information.
Doug, Karl, Victor, Therese & Clive
Environmental Health Team
Food grading guidelines—what do they mean?
The grades are assigned to food premises during a routine
inspection of all food premises in the district.
Some food premises have a food safety programme in place
approved by the Ministry of Primary Industry (MPI). These
premises are exempt from being graded by Wanganui District
Council and are subject to regular audits by the MPI.
A Grade: Fewer than five minor faults; full complement of
staff are qualified; no repeat faults; no critical faults; approved
cleaning schedule
B Grade: Fewer than 10 minor faults; no repeat faults; full
complement of staff are qualified; no critical faults; approved
cleaning schedule
C Grade: Neither an A, B, D or E grade
The grades are based on the conditions and practices
observed on the day of the inspection.
The grading is determined by the structure and cleanliness of
the premises, food storage and handling. This is summarised
into faults and if there is a high risk to food safety then the
fault is deemed critical.
The food grade needs to be displayed so it can be easily read
by members of the public.
D Grade: No complement of staff qualified, and/or a critical
fault identified
E Grade: No complement of staff qualified, and/or more than
one critical fault
We expect all restaurants and shops (that don't have an
exemption from the MPI) to seek the ‘A' grade standard.
Environmental
Health Matters
A dairy can get an A Grade
Many dairy’s in our district achieve C Grades which is often due to a reluctance to
undertake any food safety training when they only sell pies, milkshakes and icecreams, or not being able to find a course that’s suitable for their needs.
This was recognised by the Environmental Health team and a special training
course was arranged which focused on specific business related requirements
including stock rotation, temperature control and
basic hygiene practices.
In July this year nine dairy owners took part in the
course and hoped to use what they had learned to
achieve an A Grade at their next inspection.
If you would like more information about how you
can access similar training contact the
Environmental Health team on 349 0001.
Wash your hands and keep everyone safe
Practicing good hand hygiene is an easy and
effective way to keep everyone safe. Follow
these five easy steps when washing your
hands:
 Wash hands only in the basin provided
for that purpose
 Use soap to work up a lather
 Wash palms, fingers, thumbs, nails
and wrists (use a nail brush if
necessary)
 Rinse off soap by washing hands
Environmental Health officers visit
food premises on an annual basis to
inspect hygiene practices. Some of the
items they assess are:
Premise
Licence displayed
Structure
Floors
Walls
Ceilings
Ventilation
Lighting
Space
Water supply
Plumbing
Grease traps
Lockers
Yard
Food hygiene
Cleaning and tidiness
Cleaning schedule in place
Wash basins
Handling of food
Delivery of goods
Clothing (protective)
Signage
Sanitisers
Dishwashing facilities
Use of thermometers
Storage temperatures of fridges and
freezers
Temperatures of heated food
Temperature of perishable food
under hot running water
 Dry hands with a paper towel
It's important to always wash your hands
before handling food, but just as important to
wash them after:
Did you know? It is the duty of the
food grade certificate holder to ensure
the current grading certificate is
displayed in a prominent place on the
food premise to which it relates.




It should be placed in a prominent
place where members of the public
can easily see it.
handling raw meat and poultry
going to the toilet
handling pets
gardening
Contact us:
Wanganui District Council,
101 Guyton Street, PO Box 637, Wanganui, 4500
www.wanganui.govt.nz
Phone 06 349 0001
Fax 06 349 0000
Email [email protected]