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Preventing spread of COVID-19 and other contagious diseases The Food Standards Code requires food businesses to take all practicable steps to prevent contamination of their food service or processing environment. The best ways to prevent the spread of contagious diseases such as COVID-19 or foodborne illnesses are for everyone to maintain effective hygiene practices. Effective hygiene Maintaining effective hygiene includes:

regular handwashing
cleaning and sanitising facilities and equipment
maintaining strict requirements around worker health and hygiene.

Everyone in the community has an obligation to stay home while they have any symptoms such as fever or coughing. Businesses have the right to refuse service and insist that anyone with these symptoms leaves…

Published 15 November 2023

Novel foods

Novel foods (June 2022) Novel foods are non-traditional foods that require assessment by FSANZ to establish their safety before they are added to the food supply. In Australia and New Zealand, novel foods and novel food ingredients are regulated under Standards 1.1.1 and 1.5.1 in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code). A novel food cannot be a food for retail sale or an ingredient in a food for retail sale unless it is listed in the table to section S25 - 2 (sale of novel foods) of the Code. The table lists permitted novel foods together with their conditions for use including use levels, restrictions on use and labelling requirements. Anyone wanting to sell a novel food or a food containing a novel food ingredient must apply to FSANZ for the Code to be amended to list the food or…

Published 27 June 2022

Food safety for food businesses

Food safety for food businesses On this page

Food safety standards There are six food safety standards in the Food Standards Code…

Published 9 June 2023

P1054 - Pure and highly concentrated caffeine products

P1054 - Pure and highly concentrated caffeine products Urgent Proposal P1054 was prepared to amend the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code to prohibit the retail sale of pure and highly concentrated caffeine food products. FSANZ prepared the Proposal as an emergency interim response under its urgent legislative provisions following its review and report to Australian Government Ministers in August 2019. The Ministerial Report and the Initial Consideration Report found pure and highly concentrated caffeine food products posed an immediate and acute risk to consumers. FSANZ has approved the prohibition of the retail sale of foods in which total caffeine is present in a concentration of 5% or more (if the food is a solid or semi-solid food) or…

Published 16 December 2020

Food safety basics

Food safety basics Follow these key steps to reduce the risk of foodborne illness for yourself, your family and friends. Check your food is safe to use Before you prepare any food, make sure it is safe:

For people vulnerable to illness, avoid higher risk foods - read Food safety for vulnerable people to find out more.
For people with food allergies, check the ingredients and allergen statements on packaging.
All food recalls consumers need to know about are listed on our…
Published 13 July 2023