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Domino's tops 'name and shame' list as fast-food branches told to clean up

Esther Han
Esther Han

McDonalds
McDonaldsSupplied

Almost one in five Domino's Pizza stores in NSW have been slapped with fines for breaching food safety rules since 2008, figures from the Food Authority show.

Out of more than 160 Domino's Pizza shops across the state, 31 collected 50 penalty notices worth $37,180 for food infringements, including failure to control pests, using food past its expiry date and using dirty equipment. Each notice has been published on the authority's ''name and shame'' register.

The first full release of data from the register, obtained under freedom of information laws, revealed many branches of big fast-food chains failed hygiene tests.

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Domino's Pizza branches had the highest number of penalties, followed by KFC with 40 fines between 24 stores, Pizza Hut with 35 between 20 stores and McDonald's with 30 between 19 stores.

Domino's Pizza spokeswoman Tracy Stephenson said all penalised stores, which had to pay a total of $37,180 in fines, were still trading but the majority of them had been sold to better operators.

''Since 2011, we have brought our audit system back in and introduced the breach and termination of sub-franchise agreement policy for non-compliance,'' she said. ''The system is designed to manage out poor performers.''

KFC
KFCSupplied

Food inspectors issued six fines against three Domino's branches last year: one on Queen Street in Campbelltown, another on Hughes Street in Cabramatta and one on Oxford Street in Cambridge Park.

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Only two KFC stores were penalised last year. A Goulburn store was caught selling undercooked chicken and the other, in Ballina, was considered unclean.

KFC spokesman Ashley Hughes said the 40 fines worth $29,700 were from breaches in 2008 and 2009. He described it as a ''disappointing lapse in adherence to the robust systems'' in place to minimise the risk of contaminating food.

Dominos Pizza
Dominos PizzaSupplied

The McDonald's in Brookvale earned the fast-food company's first penalty notice this year. It was fined $880 for failing to ensure food contact surfaces were clean.

''In all cases we took immediate measures to address the issue and prevent any reoccurrence,'' said McDonald's spokeswoman Skye Oxenham-Lupul.

Red Rooster and Nando's rounded out the six brands with the highest number of penalty notices in the past five years.

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Esther HanEsther Han is a homepage editor at The Sydney Morning Herald. She was the overnight homepage editor based in New York City, and previously covered state politics, health and consumer affairs.

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