Dunedin foodies are less likely to be served an illness along with their meal because of the city's high uptake of a new food hygiene regime.
Figures released by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) showed 76% of Dunedin's food service sector were using ''food control plans'', which was the third highest uptake of 67 New Zealand districts after Whangarei (81%) and Selwyn (76%).
Queenstown-Lakes District's adoption rates were better than most at 57%, but other districts in the South did not fare so well, with Clutha at 2%, Central Otago at 12% and Gore at 15%.
Dunedin City Council senior environmental health officer Wayne Boss said the city was lucky to have such high rates of adoption and believed it was connected to improved food hygiene at the city's restaurants, with more getting A grades and fewer failing.
A large reason why Dunedin had such a good uptake was because the council had been so proactive in pushing the new system.
Food plans had two key elements. One was a diary, where businesses recorded things like the temperatures of cooked food or fridges, and the other was a food safety management system, which meant keeping records on staff training, cleaning and pest control practices.
Restaurants were happy with the new system because it gave them a ''very black and white'' understanding of what hygiene standards were needed and more tools to keep tabs on the issue.
The council and MPI were pushing for restaurants and other food service businesses to voluntarily adopt the new plans before they became mandatory when the Food Act 2014 comes into force in 2016.
''We are more than prepared and ready for the transition and so are our food operators,'' Mr Boss said.
