Food Safety Standard

Managing premises, staff and systems

Cleaning and sanitizing:

To ensure food preparation surfaces and equipment are kept clean and sanitised.

Food might be contaminated if the premises, equipment, vehicles, containers or cleaning cloths are not cleaned and sanitised properly.
Ensure appropriate cleaning products and equipment are used.
Ensure an effective cleaning schedule is developed and implemented.
Ensure staff have the required cleaning knowledge and skills.
Replace cleaning cloths and equipment.
Confirm cleaning product details with manufacturers.
Confirm contents and implementation of the cleaning schedule.
Observe staff cleaning practices.
Review and/or change cleaning products.
Review and modify the cleaning schedule.
Conduct staff training.
Raise poor cleaning practices with staff.

The six cleaning steps for food contact equipment and surfaces

pre-clean – scrape, wipe or sweep away food scraps and rinse with water.
Wash – use hot water and detergent to remove grease and dirt. Soak if needed.
Rinse – rinse off any loose dirt or detergent foam.
Sanitise – use a sanitiser to kill remaining germs.
Final rinse – wash off sanitiser (read sanitiser’s instructions to see if you need to do this).
Dry – allow to air dry. If you use a commercial dishwasher, only steps 1 and 2 are required.

Health and hygiene:

To ensure that everyone who handles food has the skills and knowledge needed to provide safe food and meet all food safety requirements.

Food safety might be at risk if staff are ill and/or do not use good personal hygiene practices.

Make sure food is handled safely by:

informing staff of the importance of personal hygiene in preventing food from becoming contaminated
making sure no one in the workplace has an illness that could make food unsafe to eat
making sure people take additional precautions not to contaminate food when they return to work after an illness.

Provide equipment and facilities that support hygiene, such as handwashing basins and sanitising products.

Observe the personal hygiene and food handling practices of all staff.

Be alert for symptoms of any food poisoning or gastroenteritis-type illness (‘gastro’) or foodborne disease.

If someone has been off work due to illness, check they have a medical certificate that states they no longer suffer from or are not a carrier of a foodborne disease.

Improve staff supervision and training.

Address noncompliant staff behaviour

Food handlers who have symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting, sore throat with fever, fever or jaundice should be excluded from food handling for up to 48 hours after their symptoms cease. They must be excluded from directly contacting food during this time.

Hygiene practice for food handlers

Bathe or shower daily.
Keep fingernails trimmed, clean and free from nail polish.
Avoid touching your nose, mouth, hair and skin during food preparation.
Do not cough, spit or sneeze while handling food. If you need to do so, move away and wash your hands before handling food again.
Tie back long hair and wear head gear (such as a disposable hair net) to prevent hair getting into food.
Use disposable tissues to blow your nose and wash your hands after each time.
Wear minimum jewellery (a plain wedding band is acceptable).
Do not wear stone jewellery or a wristwatch in food preparation areas.

Four steps for effective handwashing

Use soap to work up a lather
Wash your palms, fingers, thumbs, nails and wrists. (Use a clean nail brush if necessary.
Rinse off soap by washing your hands under warm running water for at least 20 seconds
Dry with paper towel then air dry. Never wipe wet hands on your clothes, uniform or apron to dry them.

Handwashing

Wash your hands frequently, including when you have been:

to the toilet
handling any food that might potentially contaminate other food products (including raw ingredients and allergens)
eating or drinking
smoking, licking your fingers, biting your nails, or touching pimples or sores
coughing, sneezing, using a handkerchief or disposable tissue
disposing of or handling waste
handling animals
handling anything other than the food (for example, money, cleaning cloths, cleaning equipment)
away from the workplace (starting a shift or returning from a break).

Pest control:

To ensure food is secure and protected from pests.

Contamination of food by pests
Prevent pests from entering your premises. Install door and window fittings to secure food areas.
Remove rubbish and store securely. Protect food and ingredients from pests.
Control pests by using approved insecticides or other measures or hire a pest control monitoring service
Regularly inspect your premises, food storage areas and rubbish storage areas for signs of activity by pests.
Read and act on pest controller reports if a contractor is used.
Repair your premises and food and rubbish storage areas.
Increase pest controls by reviewing current your control measures.
Remember that chemicals must be stored separate from food.

Food recalls and waste disposal:

To ensure your responses to food recalls are prompt and that waste is removed frequently from your premises.

What can go wrong?

The health of the public might be at risk if food recalls are not managed quickly and appropriately.
The health of the public might be at risk if waste disposal is not managed appropriately.

What can I do?

Act immediately and follow instructions given when a food recall occurs.
Ensure staff understand food recall procedures.
Manage food waste.
Clean and sanitise waste areas.

How can I check?

Check that supplier or council instructions have been followed.
Use signage that makes it clear where waste is to be disposed of.
Regularly inspect waste storage areas.

What if it is not right?

Take corrective action.

Recall tips

If you supply food to other businesses, obtain a copy of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) Food industry recall protocol. Phone (02) 6271 2222 or visit its website at www.foodstandards.gov.au/ consumer information/food recalls.
Subscribe to FSANZ to receive information on food recalls from the Food Standards website
Know the name and address of the suppliers of all your foods. Record this on your Record
Keep invoices or delivery dockets that contain a prescribed name or description of the food, batch numbers, date markers or other information
When you receive a recall notice take immediate action to remove food from use or display in your business.
Follow all other instructions given by the supplier or your local council.

Food allergens:

To protect customers from food allergens by avoiding cross-contamination and providing accurate information about the ingredients in the food sold.

What can go wrong?

Some people might have a reaction to food containing allergens.

What can I do?

The presence of allergens should be declared on the food packaging.

Where the food is not required to be labelled it should be either:

identified when displayed, or
declared to the purchaser upon request.

Manage food preparation and display to prevent cross-contamination.

Clean and sanitise equipment and work areas.

How can I check?

Inspect the labels of ingredients for the presence of allergens.

Check staff knowledge and understanding of allergens.

Observe storage, preparation and display practices to avoid the risk of allergen contamination.

What if it is not right?

inform staff and customers about any food that might contain allergens.

Thermometer use and calibration:

To ensure all thermometers and temperature measuring equipment are accurate and calibrated correctly.

How to use a temperature probe to check temperatures

Make sure the probe on the thermometer is cleaned and sanitised before and after measuring food (use alcohol swabs available from chemists).
Take the food’s core temperature by inserting the probe into the food and wait approximately 30 seconds until the temperature reading stabilises before reading the temperature.
If you use the same thermometer to measure both hot and cold food, clean and sanitise the probe and wait for the reading to return to room temperature between measurements.
Measure the surface temperature of the pre-packaged foods by placing the length of the probe thermometer between two vacuum packs or frozen items – the temperature will be approximate, but the package will remain intact.
Handle thermometers carefully because they can easily break or lose accuracy if they are dropped or handled roughly
Thermometers must be accurate to ± 1 °C and give reliable readings to ensure food is at a safe temperature.
Thermometers must be kept clean to ensure they do not contaminate food.

Checking and calibrating a thermometer

Check your thermometer once a year or, if you suspect it is not giving an accurate result, place it in iced water for a 0 °C reading or in boiling water for a 100 °C reading.

Off-premises activities and events:

To ensure food provided at off-premises activities and events is safe.

Because some events take place in an open-air environment, the temperature can be unpredictable and contamination sources can be numerous.

What should I do?

Before events, check the availability of storage space and equipment at the event venue.
If you are handling pre-packaged high-risk foods, before events check the availability of power and/or a back-up power supply in case power is interrupted during the event.
Take a kit to the event containing a temperature probe, cleaning agents and equipment and extra copies of records.
Ensure food is covered and protected from contamination by customers, insects, rodents, dust, dirt, chemicals and other foreign materials or substances during transportation.
Ensure all equipment is clean and sanitised before use.
If you are handling unpackaged foods, check the availability, quality and volume of water supplies with the local council where the event will occur.
Check food temperatures throughout the event – on arrival, in storage and during cooking.
Ensure staff are aware of hygiene practices and the relevant practices to keep food safe
Check that your staff are informed of their responsibilities and that they understand what records must be kept and how to check food temperatures.
Ensure staff are able to provide accurate information to customers about allergens and other substances in the foods you are providing at the event.

Why?

To keep food safe at the event you may need to make arrangements for additional equipment or storage.
To keep cold and hot foods safe during storage, preparation and serving you may need continuous access to refrigeration and heating.
To be able to check temperatures and thoroughly clean equipment
To avoid the likelihood of contamination
Unclean equipment can make food unsafe
If water is unsafe you will need to ensure safe water for handwashing and cleaning at the event by providing bottled water or an alternative water supply, or suitable hand sanitisers.
To ensure food is kept safe, keep cold food at 5 °C or below and cooked hot food at 60 °C or higher.
Poor hygiene practices can make food unsafe.
You are required under the Food Act to keep those records set out in this guide that are appropriate for your business.
The Food Standards Code states that accurate information must be available to customers about allergens and other substances in food being served

What if something goes wrong?

Dispose of food if you suspect it is not safe to eat, if it has not been safely handled or if you suspect it has been contaminated.
If food has been in the temperature danger zone between 5 °C and 60 °C for a total time of four hours or longer, it must be thrown out.

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