WAGGA residents can eat with confidence knowing its city's restaurants, cafes and catering businesses are spick-and-span.
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During the 2018-19 financial period, the council has conducted 616 inspections of the city's 424 registered food businesses.
Of these inspections, the council issued only one penalty infringement notice - which incurs a fine - and 18 improvement notices.
Wagga City Council's environmental health coordinator Sharomi Dayanand said the desired outcome of every inspection was to ensure the preparation and sale of food is safe and suitable.
"People have the right to be confident in our food retail sector and that comes by knowing they are doing the right thing," she said.
The council's inspectors are "very vigilant" during inspections, which Mrs Dayanand explains is the reason for the low number of notices issued last financial year.
The outcome could also be narrow down to the Scores on Doors initiative, she said.
This program has local businesses displaying its health compliance rating on brightly coloured green and purple stickers at the store's door.
"Being compliant is in their self-interest," Mrs Dayanand said.
"The council has a brilliant program with Scores on Doors that gives businesses a competitive edge. Once an excellent rating is issued, business owners take pride in maintaining that achievement.
"People coming from outside the Riverina are noticing the program, so we are trying to encourage the initiative more to businesses and customers."
In other news:
Guzman y Gomez restaurant manager Ahmed Mustafa said the business has always earned an 'excellent' rating through the Scores on Doors program since it opened.
"Wagga has a lot of options when it comes to food, so it's not surprising that other resturants are keeping a high standard like us," he said.
"If a restaurant does not meet the customer's standards then they will spend their money elsewhere.
"That's why it's important to priorities our food and hygiene and never compromise on quality."