The owner of a Sydney CBD noodle bar has been ordered to publish two newspaper notices owning up to six serious food breaches, which included dirty pest-ridden premises and the sale of unsafe food.
Thi Minh Nguyet Vo, owner of Hong Hai Noodle Bar in the Hunter Connection Food Court, was issued the order in the Downing Centre Local Court this week, along with a fine of $22,500 and an order to pay legal costs of more than $2300.
It was not the first prosecution for the restaurateur, who was prosecuted for 21 breaches and fined $28,000 in 2009 and 2010.
Images of Hong Hai Noodle Bar show pests settled in egg cartons and containers of vegetables covered in thick, furry mould.
The breaches were considered so serious that Ms Vo was issued a newspaper advertising order, in which she must publicly acknowledge the offences and the subsequent penalties.
It is rare for the owner of any establishment to be issued an advertising order and this is the first ever issued by the City of Sydney to a food establishment.
"When a food premise puts public health at risk, the city takes action by issuing penalty notices and pursuing legal action,"lord mayor Clover Moore said.
Since the start of this year, the City of Sydney has instigated six prosecutions for food safety breaches, collecting fines of more than $58,000.
In another recent case, Han Qing Zhao from Froth Expresso in Potts Point was prosecuted for four breaches, including unclean premises, failing to prevent pests and unsafe food storage practices, for which he was fined $8000.
During the first half of this year, fines were also issued for breaches at Chinese Noodle Bar at 800 George Street in Haymarket, Jap's Table in Darlington and Maya Da Dhaba in Redfern, the latter of which had a history of non-compliance.
MYT Group Pty Ltd was fined almost $10,000 this year for breaches at its Saigon Queen restaurant in Darlinghurst.
Photographs of the Saigon Queen kitchen show multiple cockroaches gathered under shelves, and thick, black grime surrounding a small disposable cockroach bait.
The crackdown this year accompanies the growth of the NSW Scores on Doors program, an initiative that encourages food establishments to display the results of regular health inspections.
Of the 2353 City of Sydney premises involved in the program, 1739 have a four- or five-star rating.
Cr Moore linked a 30 per cent decrease in incidents of salmonella and other illnesses with educational initiatives such as Scores on Doors.
"The work of our environmental health officers in educating and training food businesses on the safe preparation of food has been crucial in reducing the number of food-borne illnesses," she said.
In order to obtain a score through the program, businesses must have a council officer complete a checklist assessing food handling controls, cleaning practices, food temperature and pest control, premises design and food labelling.