Sydney food hygiene: Revealed, areas with the most offences

Record numbers of restaurants, cafes and take aways have been hit with food hygiene fines over the last 12 months. Find out where the city’s hot spots are and how your area ranks.

More than 2400 food safety fines have been dished out to NSW businesses in the last year as new figures reveal the state’s hotspot regions for offences.

Restaurants, cafes, bakeries, fruit shops, supermarkets and take away outlets were among the businesses hit with penalty notices for breaching food safety and hygiene standards as the total value of fines hit a record $3.14 million from June 2020 to May this year.

Figures from Revenue NSW shows the fines were up 11 per cent from the $2.8 million in the previous 12-month period and almost tripled the $1.4 million in the year before that.

The total number of fines topped 2424 with a bulk of infringements relating to failing to keep venues clean and not taking measures to protect food from the risk of contamination.

The figures also included fines relating to breaches of Covid orders – accounting for the huge jump in fines – with offences including hospitality workers not wearing face masks and venues that continued trading in violation of temporary closure orders

Chatswood has been a hot spot for food hygiene notices.

A breakdown of fines issued by council area shows the City of Sydney had the largest numbers of infringement notices with businesses hit with $128,370 from 166 penalty notices over the 12-month period.

Eateries in the Canterbury-Bankstown region meanwhile had to digest $95,260 in fines from 124 penalties and Cumberland outlets were dished up $53,460 in infringements from 66 penalty notices.

Photos taken during the inspection of Hong Kong Kitchen in Chatswood in February this year.

Rounding out the top five were venues in the Willoughby Council region, which boasts a long list of eateries in suburbs including Chatswood, followed by Waverley which takes in suburbs including Bondi and Bronte.

The NSW Food Authority register shows Anh Son Butcher in Marrickville took the title for the food business with the most number of fines issued in 2020//21 with eight infringement notices served in June and September last year.

1915 Lanzhou Beef Noodles in Burwood was meanwhile issued seven fines, followed by Hong Kong Kitchen in Chatswood, L’Oven Bakery Supplies in South Granville, Enzos Cucina in Casula and La Casa in Goulburn – each with six.

HOT SPOTS

1) Sydney – 166 fines totalling $128,370

2) Canterbury-Bankstown – 124 fines totalling $95,260

3) Cumberland – 66 fines totalling $53,460

4) Willoughby – 46 fines totalling $41,140

5) Waverley – 42 fines totalling $40,040

6) Liverpool – 34 fines totalling $26,400

7) Bayside – 32 fines totalling $23,540

8) Campbelltown – 30 fines totalling $22,230

9) Blacktown – 20 fines totalling $15,730

10) Inner West – 17 fines totalling $14,520

11) Randwick – 13 fines totalling $11,000

12) Hornsby – 12 fines totalling $10,560

13) Penrith – 12 fines totalling $10,120

14) Central Coast – 11 fines totalling $9240

=) Georges River – 11 fines totalling $9240

16) North Sydney – 10 fines totalling $9240

17) Ryde – 14 fines totalling $9130

18) Burwood – 48 fines totalling $7040

19) Camden – 8 fines totalling $7040

20) Wollongong – 5 fines totalling $6600

21) Parramatta – 8 fines totalling $5720

= Strathfield – 8 fines totalling $5720

23) Northern Beaches – 5 fines totalling $5720

24) Mosman – 5 fines totalling $5280

25) Wollondilly – 6 fines totalling $3960

26) The Hills Shire – 3 fines totalling $3740

27) Central Coast – 4 fines totalling $3080

=) Woollahra – 4 fines totalling $3080

29) Fairfield – 2 fines totalling $2880

30) Canada Bay – 3 fines totalling $2640

31) Hawkesbury – 1 fine totalling $880

The figures show fines issued by local councils. No data was available for Hunters Hill, Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove or Sutherland.