Playford Council to send inspectors to homes of church cake makers who’ve been fundraising for years

TWELVE home cooks from a northern suburbs church have been told by their local council they have to stop baking cakes for charity — unless they let health inspectors examine their kitchens.

NO MORE: Win Harrip, with some of her baking, says the new rules are ridiculous. Picture: BIANCA DE MARCHI

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CHURCHGOERS who bake cakes for charity are browned off by council plans to subject their home kitchens to a health inspection.

Although the cake makers from the northern suburbs church have been raising money for charity for “donkey’s years’’, they were told last week their homes would have to be visited by a Playford Council health inspector.

The council said all 12 bakers — mostly women members of the One Tree Hill Uniting Church Fellowship — would have to pass an inspection of their home kitchen’s hygiene standards, including utensils, and adequate storage of the ingredients.

Fellowship secretary and baker Win Harrip said many of the women were upset at the thought of strangers running a rule over their kitchen and would hang up their charity-cake aprons.

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“We make around 20 cakes for our stall at the monthly One Tree Hill Market to raise money for the church and charities like the Flying Doctors,’’ Mrs Harrip, an aged pensioner from Elizabeth, said.

“I think it’s over the top for someone to be going through my cupboards.

“We said to the council the idea was ridiculous, who has ever been poisoned by our cakes?’’

The council said it was only enforcing state laws that require all businesses that sell food to the public, including charities and community groups, to comply with the South Australian Food Act 2001.

Under the Act, all premises where food is prepared for sale, including domestic kitchens, must be inspected to ensure safe food-handling practices are maintained.

Playford Council general manager of city services Maggie Dowling said the bakers would typically be subject to annual inspections.

However, she said the council was proud of the community’s “contribution to charities and acknowledges the sale of food as a fund raising activity is common”.

“The City of Playford is continuing to assist and work with the church about the range of options available to them, so they can continue to sell homemade cakes,” Ms Dowling said.

This included a proposal for the bakers to gather and cook at the church kitchen on Black Top Rd, which would also need to be inspected by council.

Mrs Harrip said, however, that as many of the older bakers no longer drive and do not live nearby, attending a joint cooking session would be difficult.

“And could you imagine us all baking in the kitchen at the same time. That would be pretty hard to organise too,’’ she said.

“I think this will put many ladies off baking.’’

Fellowship member Jill Polkinghorne said the church cakes were very popular and sold within minutes at the market and the health and safety regulations were “over the top’’

“I haven’t heard of anyone dying from cakes bought from the church cake stall,’’ she said.