I note with interest that the authorities are creating a 'name and shame' list for food handlers.

I am interested to know what people expect from food handlers and if they would willingly pay more for cleaner outlets.

After all, sound hygienic practices cost money.

Good grief. If business owners trained their staff - and themselves - in GMP and HACCP and held to those principles they wouldn't need. Butchers are the worst for dodgy food handling.

...and to add. This is why people stop buying from butchers and head to the main supermarket chains. Although they aren't 100% guaranteed to be top shelf products you KNOW they are vastly more accountable for their hygiene practices. You comment has put me off butchers for good. I'm sus of my local, as I ask for something and they head out the back to get it and usually it's rubbish, but now, after "sound hygiene costs money", I'm gone. Thanks very much for the heads up.

rechtub! you lead with your chin.
Have you ever had a cockroach race on your toasted sanga?
Rat frighten the flys from your table?
To answer you no we are not tough enough

Food and hygiene standards in this country are very good, it is one of the main reasons that public health is of such a high standard and we don't have many communicable diseases in this country such as Typhus. If my memory serves me right, i think the last recorded case in Australia was in the 1860's.
I am aware from discussions with HACCP inspectors that there are problems in Sydney with unregistered food facilities that they have first to find before they can shut them down. These are often protected by the communities they are in.
Beside this all commercial food production facilities are required to be inspected at least every year and will have an ongoing program of improvement in place. When we receive something that is ordinary we seem to immediately think the worst. You would actually be surprised about food poisoning in Australia.
Did you know that in the 2008/09 period there were 5.4 million cases of food poisoning reported, of these there were 120 deaths. It is also felt that a large number of cases are never reported as the symptoms are no worse than loose stool or the runs.
What people don't understand is that most of these occur in the home. Food preparation and avoiding infection is complicated and rarely do people truly understand. If you prepare food and freeze it, then you have probably poisoned the family at some stage. There is a 2-2-4 rule. In the first 2 hours after preparation food must be eaten or stored appropriately, in the next 2 hours it must be eaten if the correct temperature has been maintained it can no longer be stored, after 4 hours it must be disposed of.
Ask yourself, do you follow this rule.
I can bet not many do if they are honest, last nights chinese, that pizza all traps. I can bet this won't happen at your local takeaway and if it does report them. Your local council Area health inspector is the starting point.

What is the cost of food poisoning? Here is a listing chosen at random:

"Fail to maintain all fixtures, fittings and equipment to the required standard of cleanliness - there was an accumulation of food waste & rodent droppings on equipment, dead rodent observed in tub"