THE State’s catering industry is headed for a significant shake up following the introduction of new National Food Safety Standards last month.
THE State’s catering industry is headed for a significant shake up following the introduction of new National Food Safety Standards last month.
The new standards provide caterers with greater flexibility when deciding how to produce safe food – provided they can prove that the practices will achieve a safe result – but also make catering businesses responsible for the prevention of food-borne illness.
The new standards require that businesses register as commercial food operators with their local health enforcement agency. It also defines the requirements for food premises and equipment to achieve safety in the way food is produced, handled, processed, stored, displayed and transported.
The new National Food Safety Standards rely on the adoption of the Model Food Act and, as such, are running concurrently with existing Food Hygiene Regulations. In cases of inconsistency, the latter will prevail. This will remain the case until the Model Food Act has been ratified and the State Government repeals the Food Hygiene Regulations later this year.
The new standards have been implemented to produce food hygiene regulations that are nationally consistent, up to date and are based on a preventative approach that will serve to reduce the incidence of food-borne illness.
Restaurant and Catering Industry Association executive director Terry Bright said the regulations would help clean up the State’s catering industry by removing businesses from the industry that do not have appropriate commercial cooking facilities, relevant training and insurances.
“Backyard caterers are a potential source of health risks to the community, as they cook the food on a domestic stove without adequate storage facilities, and then they transport the food to the venue in the boot of the car next to the golf clubs,” he said.
Mr Bright said these operators were the blight of the industry, as they could undercut larger caterers by 10 per cent due to the lack of the expenses such as rent, insurance and the cost of compliance with health regulations.
“They are the group that poses the greatest risk of food poisoning to the public, and people use them because they can be cheaper,” he said.
“And they can be cheaper because they don’t maintain premises and they don’t pay the correct wage rates.”
In order to raise the standards of catering within the industry, the Restaurant and Catering Association of Australia has introduced an accreditation scheme known as the Caterers Gold Licence, which lays down minimum standards. To qualify a business must have a commercial standard kitchen, up-to-date and relevant insurances and adequate and appropriate training or experience in food handling safety.
The new standards provide caterers with greater flexibility when deciding how to produce safe food – provided they can prove that the practices will achieve a safe result – but also make catering businesses responsible for the prevention of food-borne illness.
The new standards require that businesses register as commercial food operators with their local health enforcement agency. It also defines the requirements for food premises and equipment to achieve safety in the way food is produced, handled, processed, stored, displayed and transported.
The new National Food Safety Standards rely on the adoption of the Model Food Act and, as such, are running concurrently with existing Food Hygiene Regulations. In cases of inconsistency, the latter will prevail. This will remain the case until the Model Food Act has been ratified and the State Government repeals the Food Hygiene Regulations later this year.
The new standards have been implemented to produce food hygiene regulations that are nationally consistent, up to date and are based on a preventative approach that will serve to reduce the incidence of food-borne illness.
Restaurant and Catering Industry Association executive director Terry Bright said the regulations would help clean up the State’s catering industry by removing businesses from the industry that do not have appropriate commercial cooking facilities, relevant training and insurances.
“Backyard caterers are a potential source of health risks to the community, as they cook the food on a domestic stove without adequate storage facilities, and then they transport the food to the venue in the boot of the car next to the golf clubs,” he said.
Mr Bright said these operators were the blight of the industry, as they could undercut larger caterers by 10 per cent due to the lack of the expenses such as rent, insurance and the cost of compliance with health regulations.
“They are the group that poses the greatest risk of food poisoning to the public, and people use them because they can be cheaper,” he said.
“And they can be cheaper because they don’t maintain premises and they don’t pay the correct wage rates.”
In order to raise the standards of catering within the industry, the Restaurant and Catering Association of Australia has introduced an accreditation scheme known as the Caterers Gold Licence, which lays down minimum standards. To qualify a business must have a commercial standard kitchen, up-to-date and relevant insurances and adequate and appropriate training or experience in food handling safety.
