The Food Safety Mistakes We See In Almost Every Food Business

Most food businesses don’t fail food safety because they don’t care, they fail because they’re busy.

Service is pumping, someone’s called in sick, the delivery just arrived during the lunch rush, and suddenly the small shortcuts start creeping in.

Over time, those shortcuts turn into habits. And those habits? They’re exactly what show up during audits, or worse, an incident.

Here are the most common food safety mistakes we see in Australian and New Zealand cafés, restaurants, and commercial kitchens, and how to fix them without slowing service to a crawl.

1. The overloaded fridge problem

You know the one. The cool room that’s packed tighter than a Friday night service.

Why it’s a problem:

• Air can’t circulate properly
• Temperatures creep above 5°C
• Raw and ready-to-eat food end up closer than they should be
• Cleaning becomes almost impossible

In both Australia and NZ, cold food must be kept at 5°C or below. But an overloaded fridge works harder, and often loses.

Quick fix:

• Do a weekly “fridge reset”
• Apply FIFO properly (first in, first out)
• Leave space between containers
• Keep raw meat stored below ready-to-eat foods

If you can’t see the back wall of your fridge, it’s probably time for a declutter.

2. The mystery container with no label or dates

Every kitchen has one. A container of something brown-ish, made… sometime.

Why it’s risky:

• No date marking = no way to manage shelf life
• Staff guess instead of knowing
• Potentially hazardous food can sit too long

Under AU/NZ food standards, ready-to-eat potentially hazardous foods must be date-marked if stored.

Quick fix:

• Label everything with product name + prep date
• Add discard date
• Make labelling part of the prep routine 

If someone says, “It should be fine,” that’s your red flag.

3. The sanitiser guessing game

Spray bottle? ✔
Cloth? ✔
Correct dilution? …Maybe?

We often see sanitiser solutions that are too weak (ineffective) or too strong (chemical risk).

Why it matters:

• Incorrect dilution won’t kill pathogens
• Over-concentrated chemicals can contaminate food surfaces
• It’s a common audit failure

Quick fix:

• Use test strips daily
• Train staff on correct mixing ratios
• Change cloths regularly (don’t let them become permanent residents)

4. The temperature log that tells a fairytale

The fridge has apparently been 3°C every single day for six months. Impressive. Suspicious, but impressive.

We get it, logging temps can feel repetitive, but falsified or rushed records defeat the whole purpose.

Why it’s serious:

• If there’s an outbreak, your records are your defence
• Inconsistent logs can trigger deeper inspections
• It undermines your entire food safety plan

Quick fix:

• Make temperature checks part of opening and closing routines
• Use calibrated probe thermometers
• Consider automated fridge temperature logging to save you a lot of time and manual logging

Your logs protect your business just as much as they protect your customers.

5. The “quick handwash” or no handwash

The rush hits, gloves go on, and hands maybe get rinsed. Maybe.

Gloves don’t replace handwashing, and in busy hospitality environments, cross-contamination spreads fast.

High-risk moments we see often:

• Handling raw chicken, then plating ready-to-eat food
• Using phones mid-service
• Clearing plates and returning straight to prep

Quick fix:

• Make handwashing sinks accessible and stocked
• Reinforce the “when”, not just the “how”
• Lead by example (culture starts at the top)

6. The cool room that became a storage unit

We sometimes see cleaning chemicals, staff drinks, personal items, and food all living together.

Why this matters:

• Risk of chemical contamination
• Increased clutter = reduced cleaning
• Poor segregation practices

Quick fix:

• Separate chemical storage entirely
• Keep personal items out of food areas
• Make weekly cleaning non-negotiable

Why these mistakes keep happening

It’s rarely laziness. It’s usually:

• Staff turnover
• Lack of clear systems
• Poor training
• “We’ve always done it this way”
• Service pressure

A quick self-check for this week

Ask yourself:

• Are all fridges consistently under 5°C?
• Is everything labelled and date-marked?
• Are staff confident with sanitiser dilution?
• Are temperature logs accurate and honest?
• Is cross-contamination genuinely controlled?

If you hesitated on any of those — start there.

The bigger picture in food safety

Australia and New Zealand have some of the strongest food safety standards in the world. Compliance is about protecting your reputation, your customers, and your livelihood. 

A single food safety incident can mean:

• Temporary closure
• Lost customer trust
• Negative reviews
• Financial loss
• Legal consequences

Most of the issues above take minutes to fix, but months to recover from if ignored. When done right, it means you'll pass your audit with flying colours!

Learn how Chomp’s digital food safety tool keeps your kitchen safe, audit-ready and can save you time over paper logs.