Demystifying Food Safety Programs: What and Why They Matter

A food safety program (FSP) is a written plan that shows what a business does to ensure that the food it sells is safe for people to eat. It is an important tool to help businesses safely handle, process or sell potentially hazardous foods and maintain safe food-handling practices to protect public health.

It also provides evidence that your business is following correct food safety processes and procedures to ensure that your food is safe. This may be required if your business is under investigation regarding a suspected food poisoning indecent.

The FSP is designed maintained and managed by a Food Safety Supervisor on behalf of a food business.

A Food Safety Program Should

• Identify all potential food safety hazards that may be reasonably expected to occur in the food business operations

• Identify steps for controlling these hazards

• Include daily records that demonstrate regular measurement and observation for each of the controls

• Provide procedures for corrective action when a hazard is found to not be under control

• Provide for the regular review of the program by the food business to ensure its adequacy

• Include documented evidence that food safety rules are being followed in case of a food poisoning incident.

Who must comply with this standard?

Under Food Standard 3.2.1, in all Australian states and territories, all of the following high-risk food businesses must have a Food Safety Program in place:

• Businesses that serve, process or deliver potentially hazardous food for the consumption of vulnerable people (hospitals, aged care, and child care services) (in accordance with Standard 3.3.1 – Food Safety Programs for Food Service to Vulnerable Persons)

• Businesses that harvest, process and distribute raw oysters and other bivalves (Standard 4.2.1 Primary Production and Processing Standard for Seafood)

• Businesses that produce manufactured and fermented meats (Standard 4.2.3 Production and Processing Standard for Meat)

• Catering businesses that serve food to the general public

However, a Food Safety Program is recommended for all commercial food businesses in Australia that handle unpackaged, potentially hazardous foods that need temperature control during the food handling, cooking and storage processes. Some states and territories also make it a mandatory requirement for most types of food businesses to have a Food Safety Program in place.

Outside of these regulations, a Food Safety Program would also prove useful for:

• Businesses seeking to tap into or distribute their food product through supermarkets, therefore need a HACCP-based Food Safety Program to verify its quality.

• Businesses contracted to cater for a major event where hundreds or thousands of people could contract food poisoning if a food safety breach occurs.

• Businesses whose core point of difference is its premium service and high standards of food quality.

• Businesses who would like to open their food business products to an international market.

To confirm the legal Food Safety Program requirements for your food business type in your state or territory, please contact your local council or state/territory health department.

Who Can I Contact to Confirm That My Business Needs a Food Safety Program?

Australian Capital Territory

Health Department: ACT Health – Health Protection Service 
Phone number: +61 2 6205 1700
Email: hps@act.gov.au

New South Wales

Food Authority: NSW Food Authority
Phone number: 1300 552 406
Email: contact@foodauthority.nsw.gov.au
To find the contact information for your local council, check out the NSW Local Council Directory.

Northern Territory

Health Department: Northern Territory Government Department of Health
Phone number: +61 8 8922 7152 or 1800 095 646 (Food Safety Hotline)
Email: envirohealth@nt.gov.au
To find the contact information for your local council, consult the NT Local Council Directory.

Queensland

Health Department: Queensland Department of Health
Phone number: +61 7 3328 9310
Email: foodsafety@health.qld.gov.au
To locate the contact details for your local council, consult the QLD Local Council Directory.

South Australia

Health Department: Government of South Australia Department of Health
Phone number: +61 8 8226 7100 (Food Section)
Email: food@health.sa.gov.au
To find the contact information for your local council, consult the SA Local Council Directory.

Tasmania

Health Department: Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services – Food Safety
Phone number: 1800 671 738
Email: public.health@dhhs.tas.gov.au
To find the contact details for your local council, access the TAS Local Council Directory.

Victoria

Health Department: Victorian Department of Health – Food Safety and Regulation
Phone number: 1300 364 352
Email: foodsafety@health.vic.gov.au
To find the contact details for your local council, search the VIC Local Council Directory.

Western Australia

Health Department: Western Australia Department of Health – Food Unit 
Phone number: +61 8 9388 4999
Email: foodunit@health.wa.gov.au
To find the contact details for your local council, view the WA Local Council Directory.

In Victoria, all class 1 and most class 2 food premises need a food safety program.

A food safety program (FSP) is a written plan that shows what a business does to ensure that the food it sells is safe for people to eat. It is an important tool to help businesses safely handle, process or sell potentially hazardous foods and maintain safe food-handling practices to protect public health.

There are two types of FSP:

• Non-standard (independent) food safety program: This type of FSP is written by a business to cover all their food processes and its adequacy is determined by a food safety auditor (for more information go to the Food Safety Audits page). A non-standard food safety program is sometimes referred to as an independent FSP.

• Standard (registered) food safety program: This type of FSP is usually written by a template developer, or a business, and is assessed by a technical review panel for its adequacy. The department can then be asked to register the FSP. The department generally only does this for franchises with more than 20 premises in Victoria. A standard food safety program is sometimes referred to as a registered FSP.

The department has created and registered a standard FSP template for use by food retail and food service businesses. The department’s template covers the most common high-risk and potentially hazardous food processes, and is available, if suitable to the business activities, to use for free. The template is available from FoodSmart

Please note, that the department’s standard FSP template is not suitable for food manufacturers, who must have a non-standard FSP.