If you're a home-based food business, you need to meet the same food safety requirements as other food businesses - regardless of the size of your business or how often you sell food.
Am I a home-based food business?
Home-based food businesses use their home (or someone else's) to handle food for sale. This includes preparing food for local markets or school canteens, catering for events, B&Bs, farm-stay or childcare businesses and online food sales from home.
What are the requirements?
Home-based businesses must comply with relevant parts of the Food Standards Code, including:
Food safety officers can inspect home businesses to make sure these requirements are being met.
If you are a food business handling unpackaged, ready-to-eat, potentially hazardous food, Standard 3.2.2A - Food Safety Management Tools may also apply.
Getting started
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before you start your business, you must notify your local food regulator - usually your local council
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if you change your business's name, location or food activities you need to tell your local council before these changes are made
Food safety skills & knowledge
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everyone in your business who handles food must know how to keep it safe to eat
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you or someone in your business may need formal training e.g. a certified food safety supervisor - check with your local council
Premises design
Your premises should be designed and fitted out to handle food safely and avoid contamination.
Make sure you have:
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a layout and enough space for people to work without contaminating food (e.g. to keep raw and cooked foods separate and to keep waste away from food)
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convenient hand wash basin/s with warm running water, soap and single-use towels - if you use this sink for other things (e.g. washing dishes or a laundry sink) you will need written approval from your local council
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fridges that are big enough and powerful enough to keep food at 5°C or colder (and frozen food frozen hard)
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enough storage to protect food and packaging
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floors, walls and benches that can be easily cleaned
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a supply of drinking-quality water and good light and ventilation
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a system to safely store and dispose of waste.
Check with your local council for advice and to make sure you are set up correctly.
Top food safety tips for home-based businesses:
Prevent contamination
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protect food at all times during storage, processing, transport and display
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thoroughly wash and dry hands before handling food: use warm running water and soap - scrub wrists, palms, backs of hands, between fingers and under nails, and then dry hands using single-use towels
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do not handle food if you are ill
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keep raw foods separate from ready-to-eat foods - e.g. use different cutting boards, store raw food below ready-to-eat food
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protect food from pets, children and visitors, sick people, waste, chemicals, pests and dirt
Cleaning and sanitising
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keep the premises clear of rubbish, food waste, dirt and grease
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keep food contact surfaces like benches, utensils and containers clean and sanitary
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clean before you sanitise
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sanitise using bleach, a commercial food-safe sanitiser or a dishwasher on longest hottest cycle
Food traceability
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keep records of your ingredients and suppliers, and businesses you've sold to
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if you are a food manufacturer, wholesale supplier or importer, have a written recall plan and follow it if a recall is needed
Safe food temperatures and processing
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potentially hazardous foods (like those containing meat, egg and dairy) need to be kept cold (at 5°C or colder) or kept hot (at 60°C or hotter) during receipt, storage, display (or hot holding) and transport
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prepare food quickly to minimise time out of the fridge (e.g. when making sandwiches)
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cook food to safe temperatures (e.g. 75°C for poultry and minced meat)
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cool cooked food quickly to store in the fridge (e.g. by dividing into smaller portions in the fridge) - within required timeframes
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check temperatures with a food thermometer
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know the critical limits for safety (e.g. acidity, water activity) for processes you use.