Food Safety

Even food that looks, tastes and smells good can make you sick. Food poisoning is caused by natural toxins, chemicals and, most commonly, bacteria.

There are two types of bacteria:

• Food spoilage bacteria – these are harmless microbes that can cause food to smell off, taste bad and look terrible but not make us sick,
• Pathogenic bacteria – these cause bacterial infections after entering the body through food or water.

Foodborne illness occurs when food poisoning bacteria contaminate food and multiply to dangerous levels due to poor food handling and storage. For bacteria to multiply to pathogenic levels, they need food, warmth, moisture and time.

Bacteria prefer high protein foods that when not stored, prepared or cooked properly can cause foodborne illness. These foods are called Potential Hazardous Foods and include:

• meat and poultry – bacteria such as Salmonella and E. Coli occur naturally in raw meat and poultry, so ensure meats are thoroughly cooked to kill bacteria;
• gravy and stews – bacteria such as Clostridium perfringens, are food poisoning bacteria commonly associated with these foods. Gravies prepared and cooled in large batches provide a perfect, warm environment for this organism to grow, and increase the risk of food poisoning. It’s best to divide these foods into smaller batches to cool faster;
• milk, cream and egg products – the use of raw eggs and unpasteurised milk products, which may contain bacteria such as Salmonella, can cause food poisoning. Use only clean and uncracked eggs and pasteurised milk products; and
• seafood – much of the seafood we eat is raw and not cooked before eating, so ensure seafood is stored at the right temperature to prevent food poisoning.

Ten common contributors to food poisoning:

1. Inadequate refrigeration – store high risk food at 5˚C or less.
2. Food stored at room temperature – minimise the time high risk food is stored at room temperature (a maximum of 4 hours). 
3. Food prepared too far in advance can increase the likelihood of contamination and time in the ‘danger zone’.
4. Inadequate cooling – cool food quickly in small batches.
5. Inadequate re-heating – heat food quickly to over 60˚C to destroy bacteria.
6. Inadequate thawing – ensure raw meat such as poultry is thawed thoroughly so the cooking process heats the internal temperature to over 60˚C, destroying bacteria naturally present.
7. Poor housekeeping – clean premises reduce the number of bacteria that can be transferred during food preparation.
8. Cross contamination – staff with good food handling practices will reduce the likelihood of cross contamination.
9. Contaminated processed food – use reputable suppliers to ensure you receive good quality food.
10. Poor personal hygiene – ensure staff know and practice good personal hygiene habits.

Providing safe and suitable food to your customers is not only good for business it is required by law. Queensland legislation requires food businesses to produce food that is safe for consumers, and most food businesses to be licensed by Council.

Council’s Environmental Health Officers monitor the standard of food businesses against the requirements of the Food Act 2006 and the Australian New Zealand Food Standards Code.

To find out more about the licensing requirements or starting and operating a food business, refer to the relevant icon for more specific information.

If you are opening a food business, you may need a food business licence.

Who needs a food business licence?

If you handle or prepare unpackaged food, you generally will require a licence. Examples of unpackaged foods that require a licence are:

• fruit or vegetable juice that is processed at place of sale;
• cakes, muffins or biscuits with fresh cream or custard in the filling or icing;
• takeaway food such as hot chips and hamburgers;
• making food by combining ingredients to make jams, sauces, curries or soup;
• producing bread and bread rolls;
• making sandwiches, including toasting sandwiches at a café;
• repackaging bulk coffee into smaller containers; or
• any other unpackaged food that is not exempt under Schedule 1 of the Food Regulation 2016.

This is not an exhaustive list and if you still have queries about the type of product you are going to prepare and sell, contact Council’s Environmental Health Officer on 1300 005 872.

Find out more about the food licensing requirements for child care and the food licensing requirements for outside school hours care.

Who does not need a food business licence?

You do not need a licence for the following activities.

• Selling pre-packaged food only;
• Selling whole fruit and vegetables only;
• Production of primary produce such as milk or meat at a butcher, with accreditation. Refer to the Food Production (Safety) Act 2000 for more information;
• Selling drinks such as tea, coffee and soft drinks;
• Selling alcohol. A liquor licence may be required to sell alcohol;
• Selling pre-packaged fruit or vegetable juice. You do not need a food business licence for fruit and vegetable juice not prepared at the place of sale (e.g. ginger juice manufactured elsewhere), but you will need to comply with labelling requirements, and you may need a food manufacturer licence;
• Selling snack foods that are not potentially hazardous:
  • biscuits and cakes (without fresh cream or custard in the filling or icing);
  • carob;
  • chocolate bars;
  • chocolates;
  • churros;
  • confectionary;
  • corn chips and potato chips;
  • crackers;
  • croissants;
  • doughnuts;
  • dried or glazed fruit;
  • dried vegetable chips;
  • friands;
  • meat jerky (pre-packaged);
  • muesli bars;
  • muffins (without fresh cream or custard in the filling or icing);
  • nuts;
  • popcorn;
  • pretzels;
  • puffed rice;
  • soy chips; and
  • toasted corn;
• Selling seeds, spices and dried herbs;
• Selling tea leaves;
• Selling coffee beans and ground coffee;
• Grinding coffee beans;
• Selling ice and flavoured ice;
• Selling the following foods when they are not potentially hazardous:
  • cereals;
  • cocoa;
  • coconut;
  • uncooked couscous;
  • crushed, puffed or toasted nuts, grains and seeds;
  • edible oil, for example, olive oil, vegetable oil and macadamia oil;
  • flour;
  • legumes and lentils;
  • noodles;
  • oats;
  • uncooked pasta;
  • preparations for spreading on bread, for example, honey, peanut butter, hazelnut spread, Vegemite, jam and marmalade;
  • quinoa;
  • sugar; and
  • syrups, for example, golden syrup, maple syrup, rice syrup, malt syrup, glucose syrup and coconut syrup.

You may not need a food business licence for the activities listed but you still need to comply with the relevant requirements of the Food Act 2006.

Non-profit food businesses

Different rules apply to licensing of non-profit organisations.

• Non-profit organisations need a licence when preparing and serving meals 12 or more times in a financial year. A meal is food that is meant to be eaten at a table with cutlery. Examples of a meal are:
• casserole;
• roast meat and vegetables;
• curries and stir-fry; or
• salad.

Examples of food that are not a meal include:

• pie and sausage roll;
• hot dog;
• hamburger and hot chips;
• sausage sizzle; or
• soup in a cup.
• Non-profit organisations don’t need a licence for these activities:
• selling packaged food (e.g. lollies, chips and canned drinks);
• selling unpackaged food that is not a meal (e.g. chips and pies);
• reheating or serving pre-prepared meals, for example, reheating frozen meals or making soup from a packet mix;
• selling food that is not potentially hazardous:
• tea and coffee;
• biscuits and cakes;
• soft drink;
• confectionary and nuts;
• selling food that has a low risk of causing food poisoning:
• whole fruit;
• toast;
• cereal;
• selling food that the customer helps to prepare, for example, a carer helping to prepare food at an accommodation facility;
• selling food as part of a training or educational activity, for example, a cooking course where the food produced is served to customers to raise money for the organisation; or
• surf live saving clubs selling meals for a small price when a member of the club helps to prepare the meal.

Whether a licence is needed or not, all non-profit organisations involved with food production need to comply with the relevant requirements in the Food Act 2006. You can find more information in Queensland Health's Food safety in non-profit organisations.

Fixed food business

A fixed food business includes:

• Cafe/restaurant;
• takeaway food shop;
• Bakery;
• homebased food business;
• childcare centre;
• fruit and vegetable shop;
• food manufacturer; or
• on-site or off-site caterer (as defined in the Food Act 2006).

Mobile food business

A mobile food business includes:

• food trucks;
• caravans;
• ice cream van (e.g. Mr Whippy vans);
• smoko trucks (e.g. selling unpackaged food);
• domestic water carriers; or
• unpackaged food from a vending machine.

A mobile food business only requires licensing from one local council area in Queensland from where it is based.

Temporary food businesses

A temporary food business includes:

• Market or Fete food stall (single day or multi-day events); and
• Annual market food stall (e.g. monthly markets in the Lockyer Valley area).

Please see Permits and Licensing for relevant forms and application process.