Home Based Food Business

Approval from Council

When considering a Home-Based Food (HBF) Business, you should enquire if the use of your home kitchen is permitted for use as a food business or to determine what works will need to be undertaken to ensure the kitchen meets the requirements for classification as a HBF Business. Approval and a satisfactory pre trade inspection must be sought from an Environmental Health Officer prior to trade.

Registering Your Food Premise

Before operating your food business you are required to register your business with Muswellbrook Shire Council. You will be required to fill out a Food Premise registration form which can be found here. You must ensure all details are correct and if any changes to the registration occur, such as a business owner changing, they are sent to council to be updated.

Inspections

Once approval has been granted from Council and a satisfactory final inspection has been undertaken by an Environmental Health Officer, (where applicable) ongoing inspections of the premises may be undertaken to assess compliance with the relevant legislation.

The frequency of these inspections is based on the risk associated with the food being prepared.

All food businesses and inspections are charged as per Council’s fees and charges.

Designating a Food Safety Supervisor

The Food Act requires certain food businesses in the NSW hospitality and retail food service sector to have at least one trained Food Safety Supervisor (FSS) per premises. The FSS needs to have gained specific units of competency gained through training by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) that has been approved by the Food Authority.

Some activities are exempt from requiring a FSS.

The FSS requirements apply to businesses that process or sell food at the retail level, e.g. food that is:

• Ready-to-eat,
• Potentially hazardous (requires temperature control), and
• Not sold and served in the supplier’s original packaging.

It should be noted that certificates of competency do not satisfy the requirement of having a designated FSS. If you are enrolling in a Food Safety Training, ensure they are a RTO and provide you with the FSS Certificate at the successful completion of the course, or the adequate qualifications to apply to the NSW Food Authority for a FSS Certificate.  It is good practice to have the certificate in an easy to see location on the premises for ease of presentation when requested by a Council Officer. The Certificate must remain on the premises.

For more information on FSS, please visit the NSW Food Authority’s Website at http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/rp/fss-food-safety-supervisors

Design and Construction

You are to ensure the premises design and construction complies with all Australian Standards and the Food Safety Codes. It is important to familiarise yourself with these requirements. A guideline has been developed to assist business owners in complying with the Australian Standards. Access this guideline below:

Operators of domestic premises need to ensure:

• Adequate designated hand washing facilities are available with a constant supply of warm potable water, soap, and single use towel.
• All food contact surfaces are smooth, easily cleanable, and impervious to moisture
• food is kept protected from pests at all times including storage of ingredients, and regular pests control is undertaken
• pets and children are restricted from areas of the premises used for the food business
• adequate refrigeration capacity is available   – overloading domestic refrigerators and constantly opening the door means food takes longer to cool and harmful microorganisms have more chance to grow
• potentially hazardous foods must be kept below 5°C or above 60°C.
• personal items are kept separately from business items. Areas used for business should be labelled.

If you are unsure if your HBF business Complies, please do not hesitate to contact Council for further advice.

Food Labelling

All food sold in Australia must comply with the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code for labelling. For more information on Food Labelling, and assistance in this area please visit: https://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/food-labelling

Check List Prior to Operating a Food Business

• You have registered your business with Council
• You have a current Food Safety Supervisor (where applicable)
• You have an understanding of the requirements for food handlers under the relevant legislation and food safety standards
• You have a working thermometer accurate to +/- 1 °C
• You have an appropriate sanitising method such as a Food Grade Sanitiser
• The premise is in a clean and sanitary condition and the premise complies with Australian Standards
• The designated hand wash facility is serviced by constant supply of single use towel, soap and potable warm water
• You have received a satisfactory final inspection from a Council Environmental Health Officer
• You understand the Food Labelling requirements
• Ingredients for the HBF business are separated from domestic ingredients
• Pets and children are excluded from all areas of the HBF business when in operation