New Food Services Standards in effect - plus a free info session to learn more

Businesses that serve food need to be aware that Food Safety Standard 3.2.2A – Food Safety Management Tools is now in effect. The new Standard became law on 8 December 2022 and businesses must implement the Standards before 8 December 2023.

The Standard introduces new requirements for all food service, catering, and retail businesses that handle unpackaged, potentially hazardous, ready-to-eat foods. 

Businesses must implement either two or three new food safety management tools, depending on their category, which is based on the risk of the food handling activities of the business. The tools are:

• food handler training

• implementation of a food safety supervisor

• substantiation of key food handling activities.

The Standard applies to food businesses that are defined in the Standard as a category one or category two business:

• Category 1 businesses are caterers or food service establishments that make and serve potentially hazardous, ready-to-eat foods, such as restaurants, bakeries, fast-food outlets, mobile food vendors, bakeries, child care centres and school canteens.

• Category 2 businesses are businesses that sell potentially hazardous ready-to-eat food that has arrived unpackaged or been unpackaged by the business but is not made by the business, such as delis, markets stalls, supermarkets, service stations, seafood retailers and butchers.

The graphic below provides a quick snapshot of the requirements of the Standards. For other resources, visit www​.sahealth​.sa​.gov​.au/​f​o​o​d​s​a​f​e​t​y​m​a​n​a​g​ement.

If you would like further information, SA Health is hosting a free, virtual information session for the South Australian food industry on Tuesday 9 May 2023 at 9.30am on the new Standard and how this will be implemented in South Australia. Please register your interest via Eventbrite here: https://​www​.eventbrite​.com/​e​/​q​a​-​s​t​d​-​3​2​2​a​-​f​o​o​d​-​s​a​f​e​t​y​-​m​a​n​a​g​e​m​e​n​t​-​t​o​o​l​s​-​t​i​c​k​e​t​s​-​5​3​8​4​0​8​1​82367 and pre-submit any questions to healthfood@​sa.​gov.​au before 29 April 2023.