Businesses recognised for five-star food safety

Local businesses have been praised for their commitment to food safety in the City of Greater Geraldton’s 2020 Five Star Food Safety Awards.

Locally owned and operated seafood company McBoats, St John of God Hospital Geraldton’s Coffee Cart, and Spruce Juice passed the comprehensive inspection and went above and beyond the call of duty to earn the winners’ titles for 2020.

Spruce Juice owner Nicole Robins said she was pleasantly surprised when she was selected for the award but was happy her team’s hard work had been recognised.

“We work really hard and this is really important to us — we all work really hard to maintain integrity and to look after everything. We really care about the product we put out there in every aspect,” she said.

“It’s nice to know the effort we put in is recognised. I stay here on Friday nights until 10 or 11pm and scrub the grout. It’s an ongoing joke with my staff that I’m insane.

“I just want to know that it’s presentable... it’s how I would expect a commercial kitchen to be looked after.”

She said the manufacturing had unique food safety challenges, with her kitchen only using fresh, not frozen, local ingredients.

The Five Star Food Safety program has its own rating system which ranks businesses from three to five stars.

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn commended the winners for their achievements.

“Scoring five stars involves meeting a strict criteria that our environmental health officers review and evaluate,” he said. “A business needs to be dedicated to go that extra mile to take out the Five Star Food Safety Awards, and the winners should be proud of their accomplishments.”

Customers can identify a company’s score by looking for a sticker advertising their official star rating for 2020.