Food Handling Controls (Show all)

When displaying unpackaged ready-to-eat self-service food, a food business must:

• ensure that the food is supervised;
• provide separate serving utensils for each food; and
• provide protective barriers

to prevent the likelihood of contamination (see Standard 3.2.2 cl 8(2) of the Code).

These requirements apply to all ready-to-eat foods on display (e.g. self-service salad bars, bread, buffets and smorgasbords). However, these requirements do not apply to self-service nuts in the shell and whole, raw fruits and vegetables that are intended to be hulled, peeled or washed before consumption.

The food must be supervised so that if a customer has, or is likely to have, contaminated the food, the business can remove it from display. Adequate supervision may be achieved by requiring staff to monitor the display or by the use of surveillance cameras that continuously are monitored. Note that supervision is only required when customers are accessing food from the display.

The food business must provide separate serving utensils for each food on display, or other dispensing methods that minimise the likelihood of the food being contaminated.

Physical barriers between customers and the food discourage direct hand contact and ensure that contamination is minimised (e.g. from customers’ coughs and sneezes). Ideally, a protective barrier should be provided by the use of permanent display units. Permanent display units should be provided where food is being displayed regularly.

For temporary displays other mechanisms will need to be used to protect the displayed food from contamination. For example, if food is being displayed for self-service as part of an outdoor event, a permanent display unit may not be available. Instead, dishes with removable covers may be provided. These covers must remain available so that they can be placed back on the food when the customers have finished serving themselves.