One of the vendors at the Brisbane Night Noodle Markets will be investigated by the Brisbane City Council after a member of the public discovered dead cockroaches in a serving of dumplings.
An ABC staff member purchased a serving of pork dumplings from a stall at the Brisbane Night Noodle markets on 23 July, only to find the food riddled with the dead insects.
Councillor Christa Adams told ABC News that the council takes food safety reports very seriously, adding that inspectors will be investigating the vendor in question today, 24 July.
"I'm unaware yet whether council has received the information that it requires, but we can go on site and go and have a talk to the organisers and see what the situation is and see what the actual standards are," she said.
A spokesperson for the Night Noodle Markets said that the incident is a first in the festival’s history, adding that the organisers of the event together with the relevant authorities will be in talks with the stall holder concerned.
“We work with the best restaurants, serving great food in a fun environment – no-one wants unannounced bugs in their food and it's not something we want to happen at our markets,” the spokesperson told ABC News.
The Night Noodle Markets are held annually as part of Brisbane’s Good Food Month Festival.
The incident follows reports of a number of food safety breaches across the country in recent weeks.
Following reports of a salmonella outbreak at Melbourne’s Langham Hotel recently, it has since been revealed that the five star venue had failed multiple food safety inspections in 2014. The fines and orders were issued over poor hygiene in food preparation areas and food safety risks including the presence of cockroaches, vermin and mice.
In addition to the Langham, last month the director of a Collingwood Japanese restaurant has been fined $30,000 after rodent faecal matter was found in flour, rice and breadcrumbs.
City of Yarra inspectors visited Pabu Grill and Sake on three separate occasions in 2014 where they found repeated examples of unhygienic practices including storing utensils and drinks in a disabled toilet the Melbourne Magistrates Court was told.
