Perth resort restaurant named and shamed

A Swan Valley tourist resort is the latest outlet to be named and shamed on WA’s ever-growing filthy restaurant register.

The Swan Valley Oasis Restaurant and Function Centre at Henley Brook is the 46th eatery to be so exposed on the ‘Notifications of Convictions’ list published by the the WA Health Department.

As revealed first on WAtoday, the venue was fined $8,750, and ordered to pay $1571.70 in costs, for hygiene breaches including:               

– allowing vermin into the restaurant;
– exposing food to possible contamination; and
– failing to ensure the premises and appliances were clean.

The restaurant is part of the Swan Valley Oasis Resort, which also boasts a golf course and boutique brewery.

The eatery serves breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, and is a popular wedding reception venue.

Testimonials on the venue’s website include one from Helen, of Hong Kong.

“Clean, relaxed and family-friendly – really pleased to have found a nice, reasonably-priced place to stay before heading out of Perth,” Helen wrote.

According to the website, Rebecca, of Paynes Find, was “pleasantly surprised by the quality of the meals and service”.  Samantha, of Albany, found the venue “very clean and neat” and said she would “definitely be back”.

Since September 2006, the 46 prosecuted food outlets have together been fined in excess of $170,000.

However, this might only be the thin edge of the potato wedge, because it is not compulsory for local authorities to report breaches to the government.

Hence, only hygiene breaches in 11 of WA’s 139 local authorities appear on the government’s dirt list.

After WAtoday.com.au exposed the initial 41 list inductees in January, Health Minister Kim Hames rejected a call by consumer group Choice to post hygiene ratings on restaurant doors.

Mr Hames said that hygeine breaches from every local council would be added to the list when mandatory reporting was introduced under a new Food Act that is being drafted.

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WA swine flu cases increase

About 200 students at an exclusive boys school have been told to stay home as 10 new cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Western Australia.

The WA health department said the latest cases – ratified on Sunday – lifted the number of confirmed cases in the state to 14.

On Saturday, the department reported that an 11-year-old boy from Scotch College and a 23-year-old woman who had visited Melbourne tested positive and were in home quarantine.

Of the 14 cases, nine are children, communicable disease control acting director Paul Effler said.

The nine children, all aged about 11, are at three Perth schools including six at Scotch College, two at Christ Church Grammar School and one at East Claremont primary school, all in Perth’s affluent western suburbs.

“We’re now working with schools to discuss the best course forward,” Dr Effler said.

“We’re recommending partial closure or in the case of a small school closure for a limited time.”

Scotch College acting headmaster Peter Freitag said about 200 students in years six and seven would stay home this week.

“We’ve been advised to go for a week,” Mr Freitag said.

No one infected with the virus in WA has been hospitalised and all were on their way to a full recovery from the virus, Mr Effler said.

Source :  http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/5634449/wa-swine-flu-cases-increase/

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