The standard introduces new mandatory tools to manage food safety in businesses that handle:
- unpackaged
- potentially hazardous
- ready-to-eat foods.
1. Food handler training (category one and two)
Category one and category two businesses must ensure that each food handler that will be handling unpackaged potentially hazardous food that is ready-to-eat has either:
- completed a food safety training course
or
- demonstrate skills and knowledge in food safety and hygiene relevant to their food handling activities
Food safety training courses for food handlers must include training on:
- safe handling of food
- food contamination
- cleaning and sanitising of food premises and equipment
- personal hygiene.
Note: Handling of food includes the making, manufacturing, producing, collecting, extracting, processing, storing, transporting, delivering, preparing, treating, preserving, packing, cooking, thawing, serving or displaying of food. This includes (but not limited to) chefs, cook, servers and some wait staff if they assist with the handling of unpackaged, potentially hazardous, ready-to-eat food to be served to a customer or intended for retail sale.
Online training courses for food handlers
A range of online food safety training courses meet the requirements of the standard:
The course may take approximately one to one and half hours to complete. A certificate or email confirming completion of the course will be provided.
Keeping a record of food handlers who have completed the course is an easy way to demonstrate that your business has complied with this requirement.
*Contact your local government to find out if they subscribe to this course provider prior to signing up. If they are a subscriber, you and your staff will be able to sign up for free.
Food Act authorised officers/Environmental Health Officer
An authorised officer from your local government may assess the food handlers’ skills and knowledge to determine if the business is implementing these requirements, for example by observing their food handling activities or discussing their knowledge of food safety and hygiene with them.
An authorised officer may request that the food handler does further training if they determine that they do not have the necessary skills and knowledge.
2. Food safety supervisor(s) (category one and two)
Category one and category two food businesses must appoint a food safety supervisor to advise and supervise food handlers to ensure that food is handled safely.
The food safety supervisor's role is to:
- identify, prevent and fix food safety problems
- share their skills and knowledge with food handlers and promote positive food safety practices in the food business
- supervises food handlers engaging in handling unpackaged PHF and ensures that the correct safe food handling practices are used
- make sure steps are taken to manage food safety risks
Food businesses can decide who to nominate as a food safety supervisor, for example it could be the owner, manager, or employee.
To manage and give direction on the safe handling of food, this person must have the:
- skills
- knowledge
- authority
- ability.
Therefore, they should be someone who regularly handles food as part of their normal duties and who is readily available (for example a chef or cook).
Food safety supervisor training courses
A food safety supervisor will be required to take a food safety supervisor training course delivered by a registered training organisation and the certification must be refreshed every 5 years.
Refer to Food Safety Supervisor Training Course for the listing of approved registered training organisations operating in Australia.
Online courses can take approximately 9 to 10 hours to complete.
3. Showing that your food is safe (category one only)
Your business must show that you are making safe food by either:
- keeping a record of important food safety controls, activites and processes
or
- demonstrating safe food handling practices
Keeping records of important food safety controls, activities and processes
Category one businesses must show they are complying with the requirements set out in Standard 3.2.2 (external site) for:
- temperature control of food during receipt
- temperature control of food during storage
- using a pathogen reduction step (e.g. adequate cooking temperatures or pH) during food processing
- minimising the time potentially hazardous food is out of temperature control during processing
- cooling food within the specified timeframe
- rapidly reheating food that is going to be hot held
- temperature control of food during display
- temperature control of food during transport
- cleaning and sanitising of food contact surfaces and equipment.
This can be achieved by keeping records. Records must be kept for a minimum of 3 months.
Record keeping templates
Record keeping templates can be downloaded from the Food Standards Australia New Zealand's (FSANZ) website (external site) - Appendix 8: record template examples (external site), or you can create your own.
Local government authorised officers can request to view your records during assessments. It is important to keep records accessible at the premises so that you can provide them when requested.
Demonstrating safe food handling practices
Alternatively, your food business can use other means to demonstrate to a local government authorised officer that key food safety controls are being managed.
If an authorised officer determines that you cannot demonstrate compliance they may require your business to keep records.