FOOD SAFETY
Food safety
General food safety
Food safety and food handling requirements
Food preparation
Food storage and display
Cleaning procedures
Legal requirements and processes
Training providers
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Healthy Canteen Kit – Canteen Manual I 25
General food safety
When we talk about healthy food, we are
concerned not only with food that provides
nutrients for health, but also with food that is
safe and not contaminated.
Each year in Australia, more than seven million
people get sick from the food they eat. Food
poisoning can cause severe illness and even
death. Children are particularly at risk, which
is why preparing and selling ‘safe food’ in your
school canteen is very important.
The following section outlines the importance
of food hygiene and safety, and gives you lots
of useful tips about preparing safe food in
your canteen. It provides information on legal
accountabilities for school canteens, material
that can be used for training, and directs you
to resources that will provide you with extra
information.
What is food poisoning?
Food poisoning occurs when a person eats a food
which causes them to become sick. Symptoms
vary, but may include one or more of the
following:
nausea
vomiting
stomach cramps
diarrhoea
fever or chills
headaches.
Germs that often cause food poisoning are
everywhere in our environment – in the soil, on
animals, on people and on everyday things people
touch and use – but are too small to see with the
naked eye. Sometimes foods naturally contain
the germs and other times foods may become
contaminated. Food contamination can occur as a
result of:
people working with food
other food that is already contaminated
dirty equipment and benches
animals and insects near food.
Under the right conditions germs on food can
multiply rapidly – a single bacterium can multiply
into more than two million bacteria in just seven
hours! The good news is that by controlling the
conditions that germs need to grow we can
prevent food poisoning.
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Food safety and food
handling requirements
Food safety and food handling requirements
in the canteen cover:
personal hygiene practices
food preparation practices
food storage and cleaning procedures.
Personal hygiene practices
Wash your hands with warm soapy water and
dry thoroughly with paper towel:
• before touching food
• after visiting the toilet
• after blowing your nose or sneezing into
your hand
• after touching your hair
• after handling garbage
• after touching animals
• after smoking
• after handling money.
Keep long hair tied back or covered so that it
does not fall in the food.
If you have a cut or sore on your hands, cover
with a brightly coloured waterproof dressing
and wear gloves before touching food.
If you have an infectious illness (for example
flu or a gastric upset), you should not work
with food as you may spread diseases to other
people or contaminate food.
Wear a clean apron while preparing food.
Use a handkerchief or tissue when coughing
or sneezing.
If possible, make handling the money and the
cash register a separate responsibility, so the
person handling money does not need to come
into contact with the food.
Hint: Make a habit of saying to volunteers
‘After you wash your hands, would you please
be able to help me ...’
Posters on personal hygiene and hand-washing
are available from the Department of Human
Services (DHS) Food Safety Unit. You can display
these above your wash basin in the canteen.
To order, go to: www.health.vic.gov.au/foodsafety
or telephone 1300 364 352.
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26 I Healthy Canteen Kit – Canteen Manual
Food preparation
Two important elements of food preparation
are temperature control and the prevention of
cross-contamination.
Temperature control
Bacteria that commonly cause food poisoning
grow quickly in temperatures between 5˚C and
60˚C – commonly known as the temperature
danger zone. It is very important to limit the time
high-risk foods spend in the danger zone. High-risk
foods have common features that most bacteria
need to grow. Such foods contain protein and are
usually moist or wet, for example meat, poultry,
dairy products, eggs, smallgoods, seafood,
cooked rice, cooked pasta, prepared salads,
coleslaw, pasta salads and fruit salads. There
are a number of precautions that can be taken to
decrease the risk of food poisoning.
Make sure food is thoroughly cooked or
reheated and that the centre has reached 75˚C
– cooking food over 75˚C kills most of the
bacteria.
Ensure that cold food is stored below 5˚C.
Ensure that frozen food is stored below minus
15˚C.
Ensure that hot food is maintained over 60˚C.
Minimise the time that food is kept in the
temperature danger zone – between 5˚C
and 60˚C.
Avoid leaving food that has just been cooked
out on the bench to cool for more than one
hour. Once it has cooled, immediately place
it in the refrigerator. Food Safety Victoria
recommends when cooling hot, high-risk
foods that they are cooled from 60˚C to 21˚C
within two hours and to 5˚C within a further
four hours.
Cross-contamination
Cross-contamination occurs when germs that
are naturally found on raw food move or are
transferred onto cooked food. To prevent this,
cooked foods and raw foods should be stored
separately.
Hint: Designate shelves in refrigerators for
specific foods and label these. Raw meats should
be well-wrapped and stored on trays on a shelf
below fruit and vegetables to avoid juices dripping
on the food and causing cross-contamination.
Receiving food
Ensure that supplied perishable foods are being
transported in a refrigerated food vehicle or
container. Check the temperature of deliveries
on arrival.
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Check deliveries of dry goods for quality.
Broken packaging and damage may mean the
contents are contaminated and therefore not
suitable for consumption.
Preparing food
Ensure that benches are clean.
Ensure that there are suitable areas for food
preparation,
Keep animals out of food preparation areas.
Use separate chopping boards and utensils
for raw and cooked foods.
If possible, use separate areas to prepare raw
and cooked foods.
If you cannot have separate areas, ensure that
the bench is washed with hot soapy water
and sanitised with a commercial sanitiser after
preparing raw foods and before preparing
cooked foods.
Rinse raw fruit and vegetables well in plain
water and remove visible dirt particles.
Handling food
Use separate cleaning cloths for raw and
cooked food preparation areas.
Avoid handling food with bare hands. Wearing
disposable gloves or using a kitchen utensil
is preferable. Change disposable gloves as
regularly as you would wash your hands.
Always put on new gloves between handling
raw foods and ready-to-eat foods.
Remove gloves when handling money or non-
food objects.
Cooking and heating
When cooking or reheating high-risk foods,
make sure the centre of the food is thoroughly
heated and has reached 75°C.
Meat is not properly cooked unless the juices
run clear.
When reheating food, ensure that it is brought
to the boil and simmered for at least five
minutes. The centre of the food must reach
75°C.
Thaw frozen food on the bottom shelf of the
refrigerator and keep it in the refrigerator until it
is ready to be cooked.
If food is to be cooked from a frozen state,
take extra care to ensure that it is cooked right
through.
When using a microwave oven to thaw food,
be aware that the food must be cooked
immediately afterwards.
Be aware that microwave ovens can heat
unevenly. If using a microwave for cooking and
heating, stir the food regularly and ensure that
heat is evenly distributed.
Never refreeze food that has been thawed.
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Healthy Canteen Kit – Canteen Manual I 27
Food storage and display
Check equipment temperatures regularly and
report malfunctioning equipment immediately.
Pack foods carefully so as not to damage the
packaging.
Do not use swollen cans or damaged food
packets, as the food inside may be spoiled.
Use and store foods so that older products are
used first. For example, do not empty a new
bag of flour into a plastic bin on top of the old
flour. Finish the old flour before refilling the bin.
Cover foods stored in the refrigerator with
plastic wrap or foil to prevent food spilling over.
Do not overfill front-loading refrigeration
display cabinets; otherwise the cold air
may be prevented from flowing around
the foods inside.
Check that food looks and smells good before
using it. Remember, if in doubt, throw it out!
Before using fruit and vegetables, wash
carefully to remove dirt and germs.
Store chemicals, cleaning equipment
and personal belongings away from food
preparation and food storage areas.
Wrap or cover displayed food.
Monitor use-by dates on food packaging.
Food should not be sold or eaten beyond its
use-by date, as it may not be safe.
Hint: Mark the date on prepared food before
storing it.
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Cleaning procedures
Before cooking, wipe down benches and other
equipment with hot soapy water and sanitise.
Use a commercial sanitiser and follow the
directions on the label carefully.
After cooking, wash the benches and other
equipment in hot soapy water, sanitise and
allow to air dry. If it is necessary for you to dry
the equipment immediately, ensure that the
cloth you use is clean.
Store saucepans and containers upside down.
Write procedures for the storage and disposal
of garbage and the location of bins and make
sure that all workers follow them.
Clean the floors and walls regularly.
Have a cleaning roster or routine, record chart
and procedures displayed in the canteen to
ensure that all duties are performed regularly.
Hint: Mark regular ‘spring cleaning’ working-
bee days on your calendar at the beginning
of the year. This will ensure that the larger
cleaning tasks, for example washing walls
and rangehoods, are not overlooked. Plan this
day for a quiet time of year such as school
holidays. Recruit volunteers to help with
the working-bee and see if the cleaning and
maintenance person at the school is available
to help.
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28 I Healthy Canteen Kit – Canteen Manual
Legal requirements
and processes
Under Victoria’s Food Act 1984 and the
subsequent Food Amendment Act 1997 and Food
Amendment Act 2001, school canteens in Victoria
are required to be registered as a Class 2 food
premises by their local council, which involves
developing a Food Safety Program (FSP).
This ensures that all the food they prepare and
serve is safe to eat.
Most school canteens in Victoria base their FSP
on a Department of Human Services-registered
template. Templates are an easy way to write
an FSP and may be quicker and simpler than
employing someone to write one for the business.
A template is a simple document that describes
a standard approach and the steps required to
ensure that the food that is sold is safe to eat.
A generic template, the ‘Food safety program
template for retail and food service businesses’,
as well as other resources on FSPs, can be
downloaded from the DHS website at:
www.health.vic.gov.au/foodsafety.
FSPs can also be completed online at:
www.foodsmart.vic.gov.au.
Food businesses may alternatively choose
to develop their own independent FSP, which
will have to be audited by a certified food
safety auditor.
As each local council differs in its requirements,
it is important to contact your council to find out
exactly what is required for your school.
An important part of the FSP is the appointment
of a food safety supervisor. This person has the
authority, skills and knowledge to ensure that
all food handlers who work (paid or voluntary)
in that establishment have the skills and
knowledge for the job they do. To be deemed
competent, the food safety supervisor must
complete units of competence from a registered
training organisation.
› Training providers
For information on registered training
organisations that provide food safety training,
visit the following websites:
National Training Information Service
www.ntis.gov.au
Education Network Australia
www.edna.edu.au
TAFE Courses Directory
www.tafe.vic.gov.au
Australian School Canteens Association
www.asca.com.au
Telephone 1800 219 566
Victorian Home Economics and Textiles
Teachers’ Association
www.vhetta.com.au
Telephone (03) 9888 2240
More information on food safety supervisor skills
and knowledge can be found on the DHS food
safety website: www.health.vic.gov.au/foodsafety
or by telephone on 1300 364 352. Alternatively,
you can contact your local council health
department for more information.
Auditing for Class 2 food premises occurs at
least annually, as determined by the Secretary
of the Department of Human Services. Class 2
food businesses using a registered template
can choose either to have their FSP audited
by a certified food safety auditor, or have their
FSP compliance checked by the local municipal
council. Class 2 food businesses with their own
independent FSP need to have the FSP audited
by a certified food safety auditor. You have
the responsibility to engage the services of an
approved auditor and ensure that your FSP and
records are on the premises at all times.
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