Food safety inspector’s hygiene hack goes viral on TikTok

A food hygiene inspector has gone viral on social media after comparing her job to Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and sharing her top tips when eating out.

A young food safety inspector has gone viral on social media for her videos on how to spot a dodgy eatery.

The Sydney woman has amassed close to 22,000 followers after a video of her food hygiene “survival hack” received 3.7 million views on TikTok.

The woman, who posts under the handle @7semykittens, said her daily life as a health inspector was comparable to the series Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares.

In her video posted less than a week ago – “Name one restaurant you’ll never eat at, no matter how hungry you are”- she shares a glimpse into her job behind the scenes, as well as her top tips when eating out.

“I inspect every single place that sells food from supermarkets to food trucks,” she said.

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Sydney food safety inspector and TikTok user @7semykittens shares her tips for spotting dodgy eateries. Picture: TikTok

The health inspector has amassed a following on social media. Picture: TikTok

“When one of these food shops fails, I issue them a penalty notice. Every time a penalty notice is issued by a health inspector, it goes on a database, which can be accessed by the general public.

“Believe me when I tell you, health inspectors do not penalise lightly.”

She urges viewers to check online for their relevant food safety website, with the NSW Food Authority Name and Shame List the go-to site for food safety penalties across the state.

“Treat this as a survival hack,” she said, before sharing links to similar registers in Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia.

She warned that her job sometimes involved shocking scenes, like that witnessed in chef Gordon Ramsay’s TV series.

“That’s the type of stuff I see on a weekly basis, minimum,” she said, referencing the show.

“I’m not going to eat, ever, at a place I have fined. Some are so shockingly bad, they’re equally in first place.”

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NSW Food Authority's Name and Shame register. Picture: NSW Food Authority

Despite her eye-opening insights, the young inspector said most food businesses did comply with the law.

“There are some businesses that do not comply with food safety laws, but most do comply with food safety laws,” she said.

“I have worked as a health inspector for about two years. I have done hundreds of inspections across Sydney and I can tell you this, most of my food shops do pass their inspections.

“I really think you have nothing to be worried about because, a) I showed you a great resource that you can use to avoid those dodgy shops and, b) health inspectors do exist and we do our jobs very diligently.”

The NSW Food Authority’s register is regularly updated and lists penalties issued to food business found to have breached food safety laws.

The comprehensive list can be searched by suburb, council area, business name and date and details the nature of the offence.

The site also lists the worst offenders, which were found guilty of breaching food safety laws in court, on its prosecutions list.