Food service, catering and related retail businesses in Australia need to meet food safety requirements outlined in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code).
Standard 3.2.2A is a food safety standard for these types of businesses that aims to improve food safety and support consumer confidence.
There are three food safety management tools in the new standard:
- Food Safety Supervisor (FSS)
- food handler training
- showing food is safe (managing prescribed provisions).
All affected food businesses (category one and two businesses) must appoint a Food Safety Supervisor and implement food handler training. Category one businesses must also be able to show that their food is safe.
Category one businesses are food businesses that:
- process (includes chopping, cooking, drying, fermenting, heating, thawing and washing) unpackaged, potentially hazardous foods into potentially hazardous food that is ready to eat
- serves that food direct to the consumer, whether consumed at the food premises or elsewhere.
Examples of category one businesses include (but are not limited to):
- restaurants and cafes
- fast food outlets and takeaways
- caterers
- hospitals and aged care
- childcare centres
- school canteens
- family day care
- bakeries
- mobile food vendors
- market stalls
- some service stations, supermarkets and delis that make and serve food such as sandwiches, pizza, pasta, salads, meat dishes, and cooked chickens.
Category two businesses are food businesses that:
- sell ready to eat potentially hazardous food to the consumer
- handle the food unpackaged but do not make or process it (other than slicing, weighing, repacking, reheating or hot-holding).
Examples of category two businesses include (but are not limited to):
- some supermarkets
- some service stations
- some delis
- seafood retailers
- butchers
- some market stalls
- some service stations
- convenience stores that handle (but do not process / make) unpackaged potentially hazardous food.
