This is topic Candy licence in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Phil Blake (Member # 2012) on 05-28-2010, 05:28 AM:
 
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

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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Posted by Elise Brandt (Member # 5552) on 05-28-2010, 08:17 AM:
 
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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Posted by Phil Blake (Member # 2012) on 05-28-2010, 08:46 AM:
 
no, had no complaints and our candy bar sales are at their best this year.
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 05-28-2010, 09:23 AM:
 
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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Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 05-28-2010, 11:46 AM:
 
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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Posted by Scott D. Neff (Member # 185) on 05-28-2010, 01:44 PM:
 
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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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-28-2010, 01:45 PM:
 
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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Posted by Phil Blake (Member # 2012) on 05-29-2010, 05:28 AM:
 
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
 

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Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 05-29-2010, 06:22 AM:
 
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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Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 05-29-2010, 11:21 AM:
 

quote: Phil Blake

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

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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.
 

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Posted by Phil Blake (Member # 2012) on 05-30-2010, 09:54 PM:
 
Actually Frank I was going to mention that the first entry on the pest register was going to be the inspector himself

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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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 05-30-2010, 09:58 PM:
 

quote:

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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!

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Sounds like a shakedown to me!
 

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Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 05-31-2010, 01:21 AM:
 
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.


 

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Posted by Thomas Pitt (Member # 4322) on 06-01-2010, 01:22 AM:
 
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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Posted by Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 06-01-2010, 08:21 AM:
 

quote: Frank Angel

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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.

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Lol, does anyone else image mice walking around with little 'Visitor' name tags on.
 

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Posted by Mark Hajducki (Member # 1732) on 06-01-2010, 01:02 PM:
 

quote: Thomas Pitt

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Never heard of 'pest registers' here

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quote: Thomas Pitt

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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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quote:

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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!

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I wish it was not so easy for people to be idiots and get paid for it. A smart person, if they couldn't see, would wait for their eyes to adjust or wait for a brighter part of the picture, or failing that, would ask for help from an employee (who should be equipped with a small flashlight and trained on how to use it discreetly).
 

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Posted by Caleb Johnstone-Cowan (Member # 3710) on 06-01-2010, 03:25 PM:
 
The reason for secondary lighting being on throughout the feature is to aid in the evacuation of a cinema, especially if the main electricity supply is interrupted and/or the automation fails to stop the show in an emergency (it's happened to me). In the UK the legal minimum seems to be all exit routes illuminated whether that's via tivoli lighting in the floor or dim fibreoptics from the ceiling.

The trip/fall reason is new because it has became easier to claim accident compensation in the UK over the last 15 years at least, and probably means lights are brighter rather than they are present were they were not before.
 

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Posted by Phil Blake (Member # 2012) on 06-02-2010, 02:27 AM:
 
We do have emergency lighting throughout the whole building , should the power go out emergency battery powered lighting turns on and we also have diesel genset we can fire up if need .

back to the muster point , i recently inspected our local town concert hall and our local swimming pool/fitness center , both owned and operated by the same local government body , neither have muster point signs
 

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Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 06-02-2010, 02:58 AM:
 
Phil.

That seems to be endemic in local council circles.

I work in a council run building and if it were run by a "civilian" as opposed to council, the joint would be shut down. Disabled access is awful, the stairwells don't meet the building codes...the list goes on.

But you may have a hook there. If you document those locations you mentioned - photographs &tc - and go and front the council you might get some satisfaction. On the other hand, if the relevant officer is an arsehole, it may just make your life more difficult.

Either way, it is just plain wrong that council do not have to meet their own guidelines.

... now, maybe a phone call to the local press pointing out these "anomalies" ....
 

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