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Author Topic: Candy licence
Phil Blake
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 558
From: esperance western australia
Registered: Nov 2003


 - posted 05-28-2010 05:28 AM      Profile for Phil Blake   Author's Homepage   Email Phil Blake   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Following a annual inspection of my cinema by the local government authority I have now seen that stupidity is spreading to the health and safety office.

Being a fairly new complex we normally pass with flying colors as the place is in real good condition.

But this latest inspect brought out some new things that i have overlooked, The inspector asked for my pest register [Confused]

Not having one it was explained that we need to keep a register of pests , ie if a mouse is sighted it must be documented ; date where the mouse was sighted,who we rang to deal with it and what they did to remove it , all such pests spiders moths ants etc must be logged.

secondly we have a muster point draw on our fire escape plan by we did not have a muster point sign nailed to the front wall of our complex, general observation of town businesses show that no buildings in this area had muster point signs nailed to them , they are only usually seen on factories power stations etc.

and the final issue with floored me was when they inspected one of the auditoriums, they asked me to turn off the lights which i did , then they came out with the statement of the century " It is very dark in here with the lights off"

I guess they will ask us to show films with the house lights fully up now.

A few days later the next bombshell arrived in the mail from the same authority , they now feel we need a licence to operate our candy bar.
Apart from the popcorn all other items are confectionery which are in sealed bags from the manufacturer ei Maltesers MMs starburst skittles etc.

I phoned them and told them how ridiculous this was , their reply was it is up to them to decide if we need to be licensed to sell this product as it may fall in the same category as fresh fish processing, pastry and bakery , sandwich making cooking of chickens hamburgers or manufacturing processed meats.
Just maybe they think we are secretly selling pork chops and fish kebabs to our patrons.

I wonder when the last case of food poisoning from a bag of jelly beans was ????

Phil

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Elise Brandt
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 160
From: Kuusankoski, FIN/ Kouvola, Finland
Registered: Dec 2009


 - posted 05-28-2010 08:17 AM      Profile for Elise Brandt   Email Elise Brandt   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Un-be-lievable.

I thought the officials around here are cranky... but geesh, those guys really need to _get_them_some_!! Are they trying to bring businesses down on purpose? Have there been complaints or something?

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Phil Blake
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 558
From: esperance western australia
Registered: Nov 2003


 - posted 05-28-2010 08:46 AM      Profile for Phil Blake   Author's Homepage   Email Phil Blake   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
no, had no complaints and our candy bar sales are at their best this year.

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999


 - posted 05-28-2010 09:23 AM      Profile for Steve Guttag   Email Steve Guttag   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
In the US...at least around here, t is the popcorn popper that gets you into being a licensed food preparation situation. You ARE preparing food. It isn't the candy that will get you. After all, you could sell that from a machine, if need be.

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Bill Enos
Film God

Posts: 2081
From: Richmond, Virginia, USA
Registered: Apr 2000


 - posted 05-28-2010 11:46 AM      Profile for Bill Enos   Email Bill Enos   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
The local health inspectors said that popcorn kettles being at more than 400 degrees F, the popped corn kept in closed bins and dispensed in single use cups and serving only fountain drinks into single use cups we don't need a license or inspection.

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Scott D. Neff
Theatre Dork

Posts: 919
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: Oct 1999


 - posted 05-28-2010 01:44 PM      Profile for Scott D. Neff   Author's Homepage   Email Scott D. Neff   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Yeah I think out here they're more lenient if you're dealing with just popcorn, it's the hot dogs that will get you.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 05-28-2010 01:45 PM      Profile for Mike Blakesley   Author's Homepage   Email Mike Blakesley   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
We have to pay for a "food purveyor license" every year but I think we have only been inspected once in the 31 years I've owned the place. I attribute this to being closed during the day -- by the time we're open, the inspector has his feet up in front of the TV.

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Phil Blake
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 558
From: esperance western australia
Registered: Nov 2003


 - posted 05-29-2010 05:28 AM      Profile for Phil Blake   Author's Homepage   Email Phil Blake   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
we used be be inspected monthly when we had the drive in and they we very hard then , but our kiosk did then cook hot dogs hamburgers etc, fair enough.

but when we have ready to buy candy on our shelves no chicken fish hamburgers etc

and they want muster points pest registers and lights on while we show movies just rediculous.

good thing they did not find out we were assembling nuclear war heads in the upstairs store room [Wink]

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Ian Parfrey
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1049
From: Imbil Australia 26 deg 27' 42.66" S 152 deg 42' 23.40" E
Registered: Feb 2009


 - posted 05-29-2010 06:22 AM      Profile for Ian Parfrey   Email Ian Parfrey   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Phil.

Welcome to the Nanny State of Australia.

I mean, how else are these "public servants" going to get their pay-packet if they are not stiffing the likes of theatre operators? My theory is that they dream up ways of making themselves important in the scheme of things, and this just perpetuates their self-importance.

God help anyone with a legitimate beef with their directives because ultimately, they have the power.

I feel your pain but I have no suggestions to get them off your back. You could try to rationalise with them I guess, but I don't fancy your chances. Once they find an avenue to screw you, they will.

Good luck with it and I hope you can talk some sense to these people.

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Frank Angel
Film God

Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999


 - posted 05-29-2010 11:21 AM      Profile for Frank Angel   Author's Homepage   Email Frank Angel   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Phil Blake
But this latest inspect brought out some new things that i have overlooked, The inspector asked for my pest register
I would simply explain to the inspector that even though I put the pest register in a convenient location, so far none of the pests have signed in. [Razz]

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Phil Blake
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 558
From: esperance western australia
Registered: Nov 2003


 - posted 05-30-2010 09:54 PM      Profile for Phil Blake   Author's Homepage   Email Phil Blake   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Actually Frank I was going to mention that the first entry on the pest register was going to be the inspector himself [Mad]

Ian I think you are correct these guys are just inventing stuff to justify their wages , there are many many local milklbars cafes etc around this town that are in terrible shape, how are they getting away with all this? their pest registers must be full each day!

and .... iam still usure as to hoe to deal with this pest issue exactly , I assume if i see casper like creatures lurking about I can call the Ghostbusters and mice with rather large round ears I can call disney but what about the ordinary mosquito , just who do I call ?

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Randy Stankey
Film God

Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 05-30-2010 09:58 PM      Profile for Randy Stankey   Email Randy Stankey   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Ian I think you are correct these guys are just inventing stuff to justify their wages , there are many many local milklbars cafes etc around this town that are in terrible shape, how are they getting away with all this? their pest registers must be full each day!
Sounds like a shakedown to me!

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Ian Parfrey
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1049
From: Imbil Australia 26 deg 27' 42.66" S 152 deg 42' 23.40" E
Registered: Feb 2009


 - posted 05-31-2010 01:21 AM      Profile for Ian Parfrey   Email Ian Parfrey   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Phil.

I'm assuming here that it is your local council who invent and police these regulations. In my dealings with various councils around the country- and even in the same council - that a lot depends on the character of the relevant officer in charge of the department you have to deal with.

I found that one officer would be a right pain in the arse and a genuine prick to deal with whereas a different officer in the same department could be an absolute delight to work with.

Is there another person you could deal with within the relevant department? I do know that here in QLD in some councils, there are multiple officers who cover multiple departments.

You make a very valid point and one that may warrant further investigation - that of other vendors of similar product and their requirements re council.

Anyway, if you don't have any luck with that, there is always those nuclear warheads you're building up in the upstairs store room. I like to use the basement for that sort of thing- tends to restrict the blast from mishaps.

[Big Grin] [thumbsup]

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Thomas Pitt
Master Film Handler

Posts: 266
From: Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK
Registered: May 2007


 - posted 06-01-2010 01:22 AM      Profile for Thomas Pitt   Email Thomas Pitt   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
In this country at least, Health & Safety laws require theaters to keep a few lights on during the performance. Some theaters have small spotlights that remain on during the movie, others just dim the main lighting down to a very low level (not quite off). Most also have lighting around the edge of the steps.

The reason for this is if it's a very dark part of the film and people are trying to get to and from their seats, they would not want to trip over the steps or seats! If you're injured in a public place like that, you can often claim compensation - and theaters don't really want to pay out!

Regarding food preparation, theaters in this country that only sell pre-bagged candy and pre-bottled soda (M&Ms, cola and such) usually don't need a food preparation license. If you're selling hot dogs, burgers, popcorn, or even filling containers with soda, you're technically preparing food on the premises - so need a license.

Never heard of 'pest registers' here, but the fire code requires all public buildings to have a notice informing people of the fire procedure. The notice should show where the nearest alarm point is, and also the assembly point where people gather after being evacuated. Don't think I've ever seen a 'fire muster point' sign in the actual location, though.

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Michael Brown
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1522
From: Bradford, England
Registered: May 2001


 - posted 06-01-2010 08:21 AM      Profile for Michael Brown   Email Michael Brown   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Frank Angel
I would simply explain to the inspector that even though I put the pest register in a convenient location, so far none of the pests have signed in.
Lol, does anyone else image mice walking around with little 'Visitor' name tags on. [Smile]

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