Food safety
Food safety has been a traditional role of local government. However, the role is changing from a purely regulatory/ enforcement inspection approach, based on prescriptive regulation, to assisting local food business operators and their staff with food safety management. This approach is based on minimising public health risk. Food safety and environmental assessments of retail food businesses are currently undertaken through environmental health reviews of food businesses, provision of resources and food handler training.
Skills and knowledge requirements
Persons undertaking food handling operations must have skills and knowledge commensurate with their duties. There are many approaches a food business can adopt to ensure that food handlers obtain the skills and knowledge required to produce safe food including:
- in-house training by business employees or the proprietor;
- distribution of relevant documentation to employees;
- having operating procedures in place that clarify the responsibilities of food handlers and supervisors;
- attendance at a food handler training seminar run by Council or other bodies such as industry associations;
- hiring a consultant to present a course to business employees; or other accredited training courses.