Food Handling Controls (Show all)

Food Processing - When processing, is all food: safe and suitable; prevented from being contaminated; and adequately processed to make safe.

Guidance		Standard 3.2.2 cl 7(1) of the Code requires a food business take all practical measures to process only safe and suitable food. When processing food, a business must prevent the likelihood of food being contaminated. Practical measures that can be taken by the food business to ensure only safe and suitable food is processed include: sourcing ingredients from reputable suppliers; specifying quality parameters for foods to the supplier e.g. the food must be free from detectable Salmonella bacteria or dried fruit must be free from seeds; checking that packaging is intact, if packaging is needed to protect the food from contamination; inspecting the food for visible signs of contamination; inspecting the food to determine if it is damaged, deteriorated or perished; if the food is potentially hazardous, checking that the food has been kept at temperatures that minimise the growth of pathogenic bacteria; and removing contaminants that may be present in the food before use (e.g. washing fruits and vegetables). To avoid contamination during processing, a food business must: ensure that utensils used to prepare raw food are not used to prepare ready-to-eat food unless they have been cleaned, sanitised and dried; minimise contamination from food handlers; use clean, dry equipment that is in good working order to process food; ensure chemicals are kept separate from food processing areas; minimise the likelihood of contamination of the areas where the food is being processed including contamination from dirt and dust, pests and foreign objects such as glass and metal; and not mix different batches of food (to avoid transferring contamination from one batch to another). If a particular processing method is generally known to achieve the microbiological safety of a food, a food business must use this processing method. For instance, if a food must be cooked to ensure it is safe to eat, then a food business must ensure this processing method is taken. For example, if a food business cooks whole chickens, the business must determine how long the chickens need to cook at a particular temperature to ensure they are thoroughly cooked.
Non-compliance	Minor	N/A
	Major	Damaged or deteriorated equipment and/or utensils are being used to process or handle food. E.g. a damaged handle on a meat slicer is tapped together and unable to be cleaned, or wooden chopping block has deep cracks. Food is being contaminated during processing and handling. E.g. an ornament or bug zapper is located over the top of a preparation bench leading to the potential of contamination of food or food contact surface. Ready to eat food items requiring washing. E.g. fruit and vegetables are not being washed prior to use. Refilling squeeze bottles or service dishes without washing. E.g. a squeeze bottle of aoli used during service is out of temperature control and is continuously refilled without being washed. Food is being prepared next to wash up and waste area. E.g. salads are being prepared next to the wash up area where water is splashed from rinsing of plates.
	Critical	Utensils and equipment used to process raw foods are used to process ready-to-eat foods without first being washing, sanitised and dried. E.g. (1) a chopping board used for slicing raw chicken is used without thorough washing and sanitising before slicing tomatoes for a salad; (2) food handlers are not checking food for suitability prior to being processed; (3) spoiled meat or items contaminated by pests are being processed by a food handler for use in curry dish. Food business is processing food in a way that does not make it safe. E.g. undercooking of raw mince patties or chicken. Food is being used is pasts its use by date or prepared outside of the food preparation area.