Food safety
Learn about food safety requirements for food businesses. Find out how to improve your Eat Safe Brisbane star rating.
Know your food safety obligations
As a food business owner, it’s your responsibility to ensure the way food is handled and served is safe. Good food safety management helps protect the health and wellbeing of your staff and customers.
All food businesses in Brisbane need to meet food safety requirements under the Food Act 2006 (the Act) and the Food Safety Standards.
They include:
- handling food safely
- using food safety management tools
- appointing a food safety supervisor
- complying with an accredited food safety program.
Council’s Eat Safe Brisbane program assesses food safety compliance by licensed food businesses.
If your business fails to comply with food safety obligations, you risk:
- making customers sick and suffering reputational damage
- being issued an improvement notice or on-the-spot fine
- cancellation or suspension of your food licence
- prosecution.
Certain businesses must use food safety management tools to handle food safely and manage risks.
What is a food safety program?
A food safety program outlines procedures for the safe handling, preparation, storing and serving of food.
It’s not mandatory for all food businesses to have a food safety program, but having one helps you to:
- identify food safety hazards in the business
- determine how you can prevent food safety hazards
- help ensure your staff’s safety at work
- help ensure the food your business handles and serves is safe for consumption.
Licensed food businesses must have an accredited safety program if:
- services involve offsite catering
- your primary activity is onsite catering at the business premises
- your primary activity is onsite catering at part of the premises and the onsite catering is provided more than 11 times for 200 or more persons in any 12-month period (e.g. a restaurant in a hotel that has an additional function room)
- it's part of the operations of a private hospital
- you process or serve potentially hazardous foods to 6 or more vulnerable persons (e.g. childcare centres, aged care facilities).
You can prepare a food safety program yourself.
A food safety program must be specific to your food business and:
- identify food safety hazards
- detail how each hazard can be controlled
- identify how the control measures will be monitored
- detail what action will be taken when a hazard is not under control
- provide for the regular review of the program to ensure it suits the business
- provide for the keeping of appropriate records
- contain other information relating to controlling food safety hazards.
Get your food safety program accredited
Licensable food businesses that are required to have a food safety program must have their food safety program accredited by Council.
Once accredited, you will be audited for compliance.
Accreditation is a one-off process. You only need re-accreditation if you make a major process change to your program.
Steps in the accreditation process
You must arrange to have your food safety program reviewed by an approved food safety auditor. This will ensure you have identified and addressed all risks and hazards.
The auditor will assess your program and provide a notice of written advice that the food safety program complies with the requirements of the Act.
| Application type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Food safety program accreditation | $820.95 |
| Amendment to existing accredited food safety program | $602.95 |
Once you’ve received the notice from an approved auditor, you can apply for accreditation from Council.
Complete the Food business licence application and select 'Food safety program accreditation/amendment'.
You must also pay the relevant fee.
Your compliance audits are based on the timeframe and frequency set by Council. You need to book these directly with the auditor. The auditor will then send the results to Council.
Eat Safe Brisbane star ratings
Every licensed food business in Brisbane is issued an Eat Safe Brisbane star rating by Council.
The star rating reflects your level of compliance against the Food Act 2006 and your overall food safety standards.
Eat Safe Brisbane benefits
A good star rating can encourage potential customers to choose your business. It assures them that your business takes food safety seriously.
Food businesses with an Eat Safe star rating of 3 stars or more receive:
- annual fee savings for food business licence renewals
- fewer audits
- free listing on the Eat Safe search on Council's website
- free promotional tools to display your rating, including stickers and a certificate.
Getting your star rating
An Environmental Health Officer will assess your food safety management practices through:
- a visual inspection
- discussions with staff
- review of documentation
- observation of business activities.
You will be issued a licence and an Eat Safe rating following this inspection.
Council will audit your business at a frequency aligned with your Eat Safe rating. The higher your rating, the fewer your audits.
What do the star ratings mean?
5 stars: Excellent performer
The business is fully compliant with the Food Act 2006 and Food Safety Standards.
4 stars: Very good performer
The business demonstrates a high level of compliance with the Food Act 2006 and Food Safety Standards.
3 stars: Good performer
The business demonstrates a good level of compliance with the Food Act 2006 and Food Safety Standards.
2 stars: Poor performer
The business demonstrates a low level of compliance with the Food Act 2006 and Food Safety Standards, with more effort required.
No stars
The business demonstrates a general failure to comply with the Food Act 2006 and Food Safety Standards, with major effort required to rectify the issue.
Request an audit review
If you disagree with your star rating, you can apply for an audit review. You must apply within 5 business days from the date of the audit.
To request an audit review, apply online and pay the $377.75 fee. If the outcome is in your favour, the review fee will be refunded.
How to improve your rating
You can improve your star rating at any time.
Follow our Eat Safe guidelines and fact sheets. They include checklists of what you need to do to comply with the Food Act 2006 and the Food Safety Standards.
You can also use our Food safety industry checklist online form to self-assess your current food safety practices and identify areas that may require attention.
If you’ve stepped up your food safety management practices since your last audit, you can request a reassessment.
A waiting period applies before you can request a reassessment:
- 2 stars or below: 90 days
- 3 stars and above: 60 days.
Request a reassessment
To request a reassessment of your star rating, apply online and pay the relevant fee.
| Based on size of area for handling or storing food | Fee |
|---|---|
| Minor <250 m2 | $919.15 |
| Medium >250-1,000 m2 | $1,256.90 |
| Major >1,000 m2 | $3,938.15 |
Frequently asked questions
The frequency of food safety program third-party audits is based on a timeframe set by Council. Following accreditation of your food safety program, you must comply with it at all times. You should regularly review your program to ensure it meets the needs of your business.
Food businesses in Brisbane that participate in the Eat Safe Brisbane program can qualify for an Eat Safe certificate. The certificate shows the star rating issued to the business after an audit of their food safety practices.
Businesses that receive a rating of 3 stars or more receive a certificate to display at their premises. Find out more about Eat Safe Brisbane.
Brisbane City Council is responsible for accrediting food safety programs for local businesses. All licensable food businesses must have an accredited food safety program if:
- they provide off-site catering, e.g. catering at events
- their primary activity is on-site catering
- they are part of the operations of a private hospital or otherwise processes/serves potentially hazardous food to six or more vulnerable people. For example: nursing home, childcare facility.
Find out more about food safety programs.
Council provides free access to I’m Alert Food Safety online training. It includes 24 modules, which are also available in Simplified Chinese.
You can qualify for a certificate if you complete the training within 30 days.
Sign up for free online food safety training.
You must submit an amendment application if you want to change the way food is handled in your food business.
Changing the way food is handled means your existing program can no longer identify or effectively control food safety hazards.
The process you must follow to amend a food safety program is the same as the accreditation process.
- Program assessed by an approved third-party auditor.
- Apply for food safety program accreditation amendment using the Food Business Licence Application form.
- Schedule a compliance audit. Compliance audits are based on the frequency set by Council.