Melville Restaurants Wipe their Slate Clean

The Clean Slate program, which begins in early May, gives the City of Melville’s 414 local food premises such as restaurants, cafes, takeaway outlets, school canteens and kitchen facilities a gold star rating out of five to indicate their food hygiene level.

Businesses will undergo a food hygiene inspection and will be awarded a Clean Slate certificate displaying their gold star rating. Inspected premises are encouraged to prominently display their certificates to notify the public of their level of health standards.

Mayor Russell Aubrey said the Clean State program was a great initiative to raise public awareness of the health standards of local food premises. “The program aims to improve consumer confidence while encouraging high standards of food hygiene throughout the City.” he said. “Residents are encouraged to look out for and support premises who display their Clean Slate certificate.”

The ratings indicate either an excellent (five stars), very high standard (four stars) or high standard (three stars) of achievement in meeting the criteria such as hygiene, prevention of cross contamination, temperature control and food handling knowledge.

Health Promotions Officer Janet Armarego said there were a number of advantages to adopting a program like this. “The Clean Slate program keeps the community informed about the food hygiene and handling status of the food premises they are eating in,” she said. “It is also an incentive for proprietors of food premises to maintain or strive for a good standard of hygiene.”

Information relating to the program will be included on the City of Melville website along with a list of participating premises and their ratings.

For more information visit www.melvillecity.com.au/cleanslate or contact Ms Armarego on 9364 1280 or email jarmarego@melville.wa.gov.au.