A Guide to Food Safety Standards: Why Are They Important?
In Australia, the food scene is a melting pot of the vast cultural influences that make up the country. From Anzac cookies and lamingtons to meat pies, barramundi and avocado on toast, Australia is home to some iconic foods.
We can all attest that these delicacies are necessary for survival. They provide the energy and nutrients our bodies need to function, grow and repair tissues. Our health and well-being partly stem from the food we eat. But did you know the nutritional value of food can be diminished when food vendors don’t take precautions to ensure the quality of the food is maintained?
According to Food Standards Australia New Zealand, it is estimated that 4.7 million cases of food poisoning occur annually, resulting in approximately 47,900 hospitalisations and 38 deaths. A huge economic burden of $2.81 billion is also incurred as a result of food poisoning.
Efforts to alleviate the gravity of food poisoning are underway by the Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Food poisoning usually occurs when food is contaminated by bacteria, viruses, parasites or toxins, which lead to different illnesses.
The importance of clean food cannot be stressed enough; anyone with a Graduate Certificate in Public Health will tell you how keeping our food safe is critical when it comes to public health.
In this article, we will explore the Australian food safety standards, what they are, their importance, and the consequences when vendors fail to adhere to them.
Australian Food Safety Standards
There are set rules and legislations in Australia that ensure local delicacies and imports are free from contaminants.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand is responsible for three major roles:
- Developing and managing standards for food, commonly known as the Food Standards Code.
- Regulating the labels that go on packaged and unpackaged food, including warnings and advisory labels.
- Managing food recalls.
The Food Standards Code regulates the use of food ingredients, processing aids, food colourings, additives, vitamins and minerals. Genetic modification and the composition of foods such as dairy, meat and beverages also come under this umbrella.
Food Handling Controls
Food handling controls comprise the receipt, storage, processing, display, packaging, transportation, disposal and recall of food.
Food Receipt
Food businesses in Australia are required to ensure that all food received from third-party suppliers meets a specific set of standards. First, a food business must take all practicable measures to ensure it only accepts food that is protected from the likelihood of contamination.
Next, a food business must provide, to the reasonable satisfaction of an authorised officer upon request, information relating to food on the food premises. This includes the name and business address in Australia of the vendor, manufacturer or packer or, in the case of food imported into Australia, the name and business address in Australia of the importer and the prescribed name. If there’s no prescribed name, there needs to be a name or a description of the food sufficient to indicate the true nature of the food.
A food business must, when receiving potentially hazardous food, take all practicable measures to ensure it only accepts potentially hazardous food that is at a temperature of 5°C or below or 60°C or above. Unless the food business transporting the food demonstrates that the temperature of the food, having regard to the time taken to transport the food, will not adversely affect the microbiological safety of the food.
Finally, a food business must, when receiving potentially hazardous food, take all practicable measures to ensure that food which is intended to be received frozen is frozen when it’s accepted.
Food Storage
This aspect requires businesses to store food in an appropriate environment, such as at the right temperature, to minimise the opportunity for bacteria to grow. Environmental conditions such as humidity, heat and light must be considered when storing food.
When you store food in the refrigerator, make sure you don’t repeatedly open the refrigerator doors more than necessary or leave them open for extended periods. This avoids stressing the cooling system and abrupt temperature drops in the refrigerator. You also need to ensure refrigerators are regularly maintained and serviced for maximum efficiency. Not only that, you should avoid overstocking the refrigerator so the chilled air can circulate freely around all food items.
Food Processing
This safety measure exists to ensure that food businesses take practicable measures to process only safe and suitable food. All necessary steps that seek to prevent the likelihood of food being contaminated are advised to be adhered to.
Food Display
When it comes to food display, a good business must take all practicable measures to protect the food from the likelihood of contamination.
Unpackaged ready-to-eat food for service must ensure the food display is effectively supervised so that any food contaminated by a customer or is likely to have been so contaminated is removed from display without delay. Businesses need to provide separate serving utensils for each food or other dispensing methods that minimise the likelihood of the food being contaminated. They must also provide protective barriers that minimise the likelihood of contamination by customers.
Food Packaging
For food packaging, it’s advised to use a material that’s not likely to cause food contamination.
Recycled and reused materials are usually not the best for food packaging, as they may contain harmful substances, whereas glass or other fragile materials are recommended, as they’re not susceptible to contaminating the food.
During the packaging process, businesses need to ensure no dirt, chemicals or insects fall from a bug zapper or overhead fans blowing dust onto the food.
Food Transportation, Food Disposal and Food Recall
During the transportation process, extra care must be given to unpackaged food as it’s more vulnerable to exposure to hazards. Equally, ready-to-eat food must be handled with care, as no further treatment is done before serving.
Food that is not for human consumption must be destroyed, used for purposes other than human consumption or returned to its supplier.
A food recall happens when the food is deemed unsafe. A report revealed that about 80 food products are recalled each year in Australia, mainly due to disease-causing microorganisms or allergens that were not declared on the package label.
What Happens in a Breach?
When the Food Safety Standards aren’t followed or there’s been a breach, the operation of the food business will be shut down, and possible legal actions may be taken against the business.
