About safe food
This guide is for people who manage and work in food businesses that prepare and sell food.
You must make sure all food you sell is safe for people to eat.
Food businesses include:
- cafes and restaurants
- takeaways
- catering businesses that provide food at their own premises or off-site
- supermarkets and delicatessens
- fruit and vegetable shops selling prepared salads
- butchers and poultry retailers
- market stalls.
What is safe food
Safe food is food that will not cause illness or other physical harm to the person eating it.
Safe food does not contain bacteria that could cause illness, toxins such as poisons from bacteria or moulds, chemicals or foreign substances.
When you are storing, displaying or transporting food that can easily become unsafe (known as potentially hazardous food) make sure that the food is kept cold at 5 degrees Celsius or below, or kept hot at 60 degrees Celsius or above.
Keeping food cold or hot to keep it safe is known as temperature control.
Unsafe food
Foods that are unsafe and can’t be sold include:
- damaged, rotten or old food
- food that has not been at the right temperature
- food containing foreign material or chemicals
- poisonous food items – for example, certain mushrooms
- food that has been in contact with pests
- food that does not comply with the Food Standards Code, such as eggs with cracked or dirty shells.
If you think food is unsafe, throw it out.
Keeping food safe
All food handlers must have the skills and knowledge in food safety relevant to the work they do and must follow food safety principles.
To keep food safe you must:
- practice good hand washing
- follow good personal health and hygiene practices
- control the temperature of food – keep hot food at 60 degrees Celsius or above, and cold food at 5 degrees Celsius or below
- protect food from contamination
- keep the food premises clean
- clean and sanitise equipment and utensils
- maintain equipment in good condition
- keep the food premises in good condition, that is, there must be no damage
- keep the premises free of pests.
Best-before and use-by dates
Most packaged foods are marked with a best-before or a use-by date.
- The best-before date is the date after which the quality of the food may deteriorate.
- The use-by date is the last date on which the food may be safe to eat.
- Food with an expired use-by date must not be sold or used in cooking as it may cause illness.
Regulation
The information in these pages is based on:
- the Food Act 2001
- the Food Regulation 2002
- and the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.
It is a general summary and does not cover all the requirements.
You should read the Act, the Regulation and the Food Standards Code to ensure your business complies with the law. Failing to comply is an offence.
Contact
The Health Protection Service of the ACT Government monitors compliance with the Food Act and the Food Standards Code. The service works with businesses to improve and maintain high levels of food safety in the ACT.
If you would like more information about ensuring safe food in your business, contact the Health Protection Service on:
- Phone: 02 5124 9700
- Fax: 02 5124 5554
- Email: hps@act.gov.au
Howard Florey Centenary House, 25 Mulley Street, Holder, ACT 2611.