If you are planning to open a new food business there are a few things you should consider:

• Have you notified Council of your food business?
• Are minimum design requirements met as under the Food Safety Standards and Australian Standard (AS4674-2004)?
• Are any other forms of approval required, i.e. Council planning approval?

Please contact Council’s EHOs prior to opening or renovating your food business.

Fact sheet – Kitchens in a food business: Design and fit-out requirements

Fact Sheet - Home-based food businesses

If you are a new food business Council must be notified before your business starts operating. Notifications are required for restaurants, home kitchens, mobile food vans and other businesses, that sell food or handle food intended for sale.

The notification form only needs to be completed once unless certain business details change.

To notify please complete Food Business Notification Form.

As a temporary food premise, you should consider the design and layout of your stall or mobile food vehicle. It is essential to ensure that the food you are producing is safe and suitable for sale.  For further information please refer to the following:

• Fact Sheet - Temporary food stalls
• Fact Sheet - Mobile food vans fact sheet
• SA Health Guideline for Mobile Food Vendors

Many events involving the sale of food occur throughout the community during the year. These include community fundraisers, school fetes, sausage sizzles, weekend markets, festivals and concerts. All organisations that sell or handle food for sale are defined as a food business and should be notified with their home Council (as mentioned in the FBN section).

You must ensure that you have handwashing facilities in place (running water, soap and paper towel) and that you have your food under adequate temperature control (i.e. you need to have a thermometer on site) and the food is stored appropriately. Council’s EHOs randomly undertake inspections of temporary food premises so be prepared for a visit.

If your food stall or van is operating in the RCMB at an event, a Temporary Food Stall notification form may be required to be completed and returned to Council.

Make sure that you check in with the relevant section at Council if you are planning to do one of the following activities:

• If you are holding an event, please reach out to the Events team at Council for information on any possible requirements.
• If you plan on trading as a food business on Council land please contact City Assets for details on the requirements.
• If you are planning to operate a food van or stall on private property please contact the planning team at Council.

When the initial food inspection is undertaken, a risk classification is given to the food business. This classification is based on what and how the food is produced at the business, which determines inspection frequency. Food businesses can be classified as P1, P2, P3 or P4, with P1 and P2 premises processing and handling higher risk food (i.e. handling raw meat, cooling and reheating food).

Refer to SA Food Business Risk Classification for further information.

If your business serves food to vulnerable populations, the business must adhere to Standard 3.3.1 of the Food Standards Code. Businesses primarily included are hospitals, aged care facilities, childcare centres and delivered meals organisations.

Businesses in these sectors are required to have a mandatory food safety program and will require an audit at least annually by a SA Health approved Food Safety Auditor.

The Rural City of Murray Bridge has an approved Food Safety Auditor and is available to undertake this service to businesses within our Council area. If you would like to get your business audited by the Rural City of Murray Bridge, or if you have any questions regarding these requirements, please call our Environmental Health Team on 8539 1100.

The following resources may be of assistance to explain the food safety auditing requirements:

• Food Safety Audits - SA Health
• Food Safety Guidelines For Food Service To Vulnerable Persons - SA Health
• Food Safety Programs for Food Service to Vulnerable Persons - Food Standards Australia New Zealand

DoFoodSafely

DoFoodSafely is a free, non-accredited, online learning program provided by the Department of Health and Human Services Victoria and proudly supported by Queensland Health and South Australia Health.

DoFoodSafely is designed to enable you to understand how to safely work with, and handle, food in commercial settings. Upon completion of training and assessment quiz you will receive a DoFoodSafely Certificate of Completion.

This training can easily be translated into Vietnamese, Arabic & Simplified Chinese by using the drop down menu at the top of the page.

The DoFoodSafely FAQs page can answer any questions you may have around the program.

Food Allergy Training

This course is designed to assist proprietors and workers in any food business to gain knowledge about food allergens, and to develop best practice procedures for making their food business safe for customers with allergies.

Allergen Training

Please follow the links below for further food safety resources and fact sheets:

• Food labelling guide for businesses
• Fact Sheet - Pest Control
• Fact Sheet - Kitchens in a Food Business
• Fact Sheet - Home-based Food Businesses
• Fact Sheet - Temporary Food Stalls
• Fact Sheet - Mobile Food Vans
• Fact Sheet - Labelling Packaged Food
• SA Health Resources Webpage
• Australian Food Safety Information Council – Egg Safety Quiz