Food businesses

Class 1

Businesses that handle food that may be potentially hazardous, and/or is served to vulnerable groups. These food premises are deemed to have the highest risk. Examples include hospitals, aged care facilities and child care centres.

Class 2

Businesses whose main activity is handling unpackaged, potentially hazardous foods which need correct temperature control to keep them safe. Examples include restaurants, caterers, cafes and most manufacturers.

Class 3

Businesses whose main activity involves the handling or sale of unpackaged low-risk foods, or pre-packaged potentially hazardous foods that are not commonly associated with food poisoning. Examples include milk bars, convenience stores, wholesalers and water carters.

Class 4

Businesses that pose a low risk to public health. Generally, this includes the sale of pre-packaged shelf-stable foods. Examples include uncut fruit and vegetables, bottle shops, simple sausage sizzles.

For more information about food business classifications, visit the Victorian government's Food business classifications page.

In Victoria, all Class 1 and 2 food premises need a Food Safety Program. To find out which Class applies to your food business, see 'Classification of food businesses' above.

A Food Safety Program 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 handle, process or sell potentially hazardous foods. This is necessary to maintain safe food handling practices and protect public health. 

There are two categories of Food Safety Programs:

• Standard Food Safety Programs: these are templated Food Safety Programs developed by a food industry group or by the Department of Health. Refer to the Department of Health website for a list of registered templates or to download the template at no cost. Most businesses choose this option.
• Non-standard Food Safety Program: this is an independent, audited Food Safety Program. Some franchise businesses, large businesses, child care and aged care facilities have non-standard Food Safety Programs. Food businesses who use a non-standard Food Safety Program must undergo an annual third party audit.

Class 1

Must complete and submit a Food Safety Program to Council.

Class 2

Must complete and submit a Food Safety Program to Council.

Class 3

Can choose to use either a Food Safety Program Template, or keep Minimum Records - a simplified version of a Food Safety Program.

Class 4

No food safety program is required.

Find more information about Food Safety Programs at the Department of Health website.

Everyone who works in a food business is responsible for ensuring that the food they sell or prepare for sale is safe for people to eat.

Business proprietors of a food premises must ensure that food safety processes are put in place and that they work. The business owner may nominate a food safety supervisor to work under the owner’s direction. The food safety supervisor’s role is to supervise food handing in the business and to make sure it’s done safely.

All staff handling food need to have the skills and knowledge relevant to their tasks. The means that different people in the business will need to know different things. For example, the cook will need different skills and knowledge than those required by a dishwasher or front-of-house staff.

A food safety supervisor is a person who:

• knows how to recognise, prevent and alleviate the hazards associated with food handling at your premises
• has met an appropriate food safety competency standard for your type of food premises through a registered training organisation
• has the ability and authority to supervise other people handling food at your premises and ensure that food handling is done safely

A food safety supervisor must have completed recognised training, and you must submit their Statement of Attainment to council when registering your food business. The training must meet the Minimum Competency Standards. To find a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) visit MySkills. 

Class 1

Must ensure there is a food safety supervisor for the premises.

Class 2

Must ensure there is a food safety supervisor for the premises.

Class 3

Do not need to have a food safety supervisor. However, must ensure that all staff working at the premises have skills and knowledge to safely handle food in their premises.

Class 4

Do not need to have a food safety supervisor. However, must ensure that all staff working at the premises have skills and knowledge to safely handle food in their premises.

Class 3 and 4 businesses are encouraged to complete food safety learning programs such as Do Food Safely.

Find more information about Food safety supervisors at the Department of Health website.

The Victorian government has developed a free online resource to help community groups understand and meet their food safety obligations when selling food to raise funds.

Under Clause 4 of Standard 1.2.3 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code), eleven foods or substances are identified as requiring mandatory declaration on the label of packaged foods for sale in Australia. These foods or substances can cause an allergic, intolerant or auto-immune response in some people. Declaring the presence of these substances on the label of packaged food allows people with allergies to make informed and safe choices about the food they buy.

For unpackaged food that is not required to bear a label, such as meals from a café or restaurant, allergen advisory statements and declarations must be stated in labelling that is displayed in connection with the display of the food or provided to the purchaser on request.

The Code also states that food businesses must take reasonable measures to ensure they do not compromise the safety and suitability of food. For example, by keeping preparation areas and equipment separate, and ensuring equipment is properly cleaned so that non-allergenic food is not mixed in with allergenic food.

The eleven substances are:

• cereals containing gluten and their products – namely, wheat, rye, barley, oats and spelt, and their hybrid strains
• crustacea and their products
• egg and egg products
• fish and fish products
• milk and milk products
• peanuts and peanut products
• tree nuts and tree nut products (does not include coconut)
• sesame seeds and sesame seed products
• soybean and soybean products
• added sulphites in concentrations of 10 mg/kg or more
• lupin

There are also strict mandatory warning statement requirements to declare the presence of royal jelly.

Find out more by reading the Food Standards User Guide to Labelling of Ingredients.

Cleaning and sanitising should usually be done as separate processes. A surface needs to be thoroughly cleaned before it is sanitised, as sanitisers generally do not work well in the presence of food residues and detergents.

The six recommended steps for effective cleaning and sanitising are:

1. Pre-clean: scrape or wipe food scraps and other matter off surfaces and rinse with water.
2. Wash: use hot water and detergent to remove grease and food residue. (Soak if needed.)
3. Rinse: rinse off detergent and any loosened residue.
4. Sanitise: use a sanitiser to destroy remaining microorganisms (refer to manufacturer’s instructions.
5. Final rinse: wash off the sanitiser if necessary (refer to manufacturer’s instructions).
6. Dry: allow to drip dry or use single use towels.

Sanitising 

Check with your chemical supplier for advice about what cleaning and sanitising agents are suitable for your food premises, vehicles, food contact surfaces and equipment.

However, if you are using a bleach sanitiser the following must be undertaken -

• To sanitise equipment at 100 parts per million chlorine, use appropriate bleach and water solution ratios –
  • 2.5 ml (1/2 teaspoon of bleach) to 1 litre of water for household bleaches (4% chlorine) or 1 ml of bleach to 1 litre of water for commercial bleaches (10% chlorine).
• Make up your bleach and water solutions every 24 hours because the chemical breaks down and becomes ineffective after this time.
• Prepare solutions away from food and food preparation areas. Old batches or out of date chemicals should be disposed of safely.

Refer to Food Standards Appendix 6: Cleaning and sanitising surfaces and utensils for more information

The Food Industry Recall Protocol provides information on recalling food in Australia and guidance for food businesses on developing a written food recall plan. A food recall is action taken to remove from distribution, sale and consumption, food which is unsafe. This means food that may cause illness or other physical harm to a person consuming the food.

The three primary objectives of a food recall are to:

• stop the distribution and sale of the product as soon as possible
• inform the government, the food businesses that have received the recalled food and the public (consumer level recalls only) of the problem
• effectively and efficiently remove unsafe product from the market place.

Find further information at the Food Standards website.

All packaged foods sold in Australia must comply with the labelling requirements stated within the Food Standards Code. These requirements have been adopted into food law by all states and territories in Australia, ensuring that food labelling regulations are consistent across Australia. The Code can be accessed via the Food Standards Australia New Zealand website.

Food labels are required by law to carry essential information so that consumers are informed of the nature and properties of foods prior to purchase –- this includes statements about the presence of allergenic ingredients that could lead to life-threatening allergic reactions in susceptible persons if the labelling information is not accurate. Some information may also voluntarily be offered on food labels by food businesses, giving consumers greater information to make informed purchasing choices.

Food businesses must also ensure that they are not potentially misleading or deceiving consumers with any claims that are made on food labels (whether intentional or not).

As food labelling requirements may differ around the world, businesses that are importing food for sale in Australia need to ensure that these foods comply with Australian labelling regulations before selling the food.

It is an offence under the Victorian Food Act 1984 to sell food that is not compliant with the Code. It is the responsibility of the supplier of the food (this includes manufacturers, distributors, importers and retailers) to ensure that food labels are compliant with all relevant regulations before selling the food. If food businesses are unsure whether their food complies with the relevant regulations, they should engage the services of a lawyer or food regulatory consultant.

Further information

• Food Standards Code
• Food Standards - Overview and Application of Food Labelling and Information Requirements
• Food Standards - How to read food labels
• Interactive guide - How to read a food label

Submit your application - Class 1, 2 or 3

Register a new food business

Submit your notification - Class 4

Notification for a new food business

If you are purchasing a food business that has an existing food business registration, the existing registration will be cancelled. As the new owner, you must submit an application for a new food business registration.

Food business registrations cannot be transferred from the previous owner to the new owner.

Pre-purchase inspection 

We advise arranging a pre-purchase inspection before entering into a contract to purchase an existing food business. A pre-purchase inspection will inform you of any outstanding items or structural requirements placed on the business. A pre-purchase inspection may also help with negotiating the settlement with the existing proprietor. Please contact the Environmental Health team (9433 3340 or health.services@nillumbik.vic.gov.au) to arrange a pre-purchase inspection. 

A domestic kitchen registration is available for businesses where food is prepared, handled or stored for sale at events or markets from a private dwelling.

All registered domestic kitchens should be designed appropriately for the nature and quantities of foods produced and are only suitable for small amounts of foods.

The design and construction of the domestic kitchen must comply with the following:

• Food Act (Vic) 1984 including National Food Safety Standard 3.2.3
• Australian Standard 4674-2004, design, construction and fit out of food premises
• Yarra Valley Water Grease Trap requirements or Council's Onsite Wastewater Management Plan(PDF, 7MB) if sewer is not available.

The fit out requirements to register a domestic kitchen include, but are not limited to:

• Separate hand wash basin with warm running water for hand washing
• Separate sink for food preparation
• Dishwasher
• Separate and adequate storage area for the storage of food
• Durable, smooth, impervious and easy to clean surfaces for benches, floor etc.
• Adequate ventilation
• A separate drain for the disposal of wastewater
• Adequate pest proofing of the premises
• A food grade sanitiser
• A digital probe thermometer

For more information, contact a member of the Environmental Health team on 03 9433 3111 or environmental.health@nillumbik.vic.gov.au

Operators of food businesses must renew their food business registration every year. We do not send renewal notices for Class 4 food premises registrations, as they do not need to be renewed.

Renew food business registration  

You can view a list of fees and charges(PDF, 458KB) that may apply.