This new standard aims to provide a more comprehensive and practical approach to food safety management in the food industry.
Standard 3.2.2A is a new food safety standard for food service businesses, and was enforceable from 8th December 2023.
The three key changes are: requirements for food handler training, a food safety supervisor, and evidence that specific food handling activities are being adequately managed.
All food businesses in Australia who are considered Category one businesses will need to implement all three food safety tools. Category one businesses are food businesses who process food onsite in a kitchen which is then served to a consumer to eat without further processing.
Let's take a closer look at the three tools:
A food safety supervisor, also referred to as FSS is a person who has a recognised, formal certification as a FSS. This certification must have been obtained in the past 5 years. A FSS will have recent, relevant skills and knowledge to handle food safely, particularly high-risk food.
Food businesses need to make sure that anyone who handles food has completed a food safety training course, or has appropriate skills and knowledge, before they start handling high-risk foods.
Food handler training must include:
Food businesses must keep records or show that requirements for safely receiving, storing, processing, displaying and transporting food, as well as cleaning and sanitising are being met.
Food businesses must show how these have been achieved or verified via a record, or demonstrated to an authorised officer (food regulator).
Records must be kept for at least 3 months and can be paper based or digital.
There has been a massive increase in kitchens moving to digital record keeping primarily for overall cost savings and brand protection.
The benefits of implementing a digital food safety management system such as Chomp include:
Find out more about implementing a digital food control plan with an online demo.
*Source: Talent.com as at 23/02/23