Looking after - Food Standards

Looking after

OUR KIDS

NATIONAL SCHOOL CANTEEN FOOD SAFETY PROJECT

© Commonwealth Departmentof Health and Ageing 2002

An initiative of

proudly funded by

A video and handbook resource for school principals, parentbodies, canteen managers, canteen assistants and volunteersto help them understand and comply with the Food SafetyStandards.

Looking after

OUR KIDS

NATIONAL SCHOOL CANTEEN FOOD SAFETY PROJECT

© Commonwealth Departmentof Health and Ageing 2002

An initiative of

proudly funded by

A video and handbook resource for school principals, parentbodies, canteen managers, canteen assistants and volunteersto help them understand and comply with the Food SafetyStandards.

iLooking After Our Kids

National SchoolCanteen Food Safety

Project

Looking After Our Kids

© Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, 2002

A 30-minute video and handbook package developedby the Federation of Canteens in Schools (FOCIS)with funding from the Commonwealth Department ofHealth and Ageing.

iiLooking After Our Kids

National School Canteen Food Safety ProjectLooking After Our Kids

ISBN 0 642 82045 7Publication Approval No. 3048© Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, 2002

Project management committee:

Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageingrepresentatives:

Katie BirchCatherine GayDr Ian McKay

Federation of Canteens in Schools representatives:Robin Bromley, (Project co-ordinator)Rob BrysonJudy BundyNancy EarleySusan FulcherCarmel GlasgowLynn KelsallDeirdre LoveCarol NicholsonTeresa O’MalleySandy Towell

For more informationContact your local school canteen/tuckshop association, statehealth department, local government or public health unit or:

Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA)Advice line: 1300 652 166Email: [email protected] page: www.anzfa.gov.au

Proudly funded by theCommonwealth Department of Health andAgeing

Tel: (02) 6289 5131Email: [email protected]

An initiative of theFederation of Canteens in Schools (FOCIS)PO Box 613ALBION Qld 4010

Tel: (07) 3260 4122 Fax: (07) 3260 4120

iiiLooking After Our Kids

Acknowledgments

Commonwealth Department of Health and AgeingFederation of Canteens in SchoolsState and Territory Senior Food OfficersAustralian Council of State School Organisations

State associationsAustralian Capital Territory School Canteen AssociationNorthern Territory School Canteen AssociationQueensland Association of School TuckshopsSouth Australian Association of State School OrganisationsTasmanian School Canteen AssociationSchools’ Canteen Buying Group Inc - VictoriaWestern Australian School Canteens Association

Schools assisting with filming and research for handbookBanksia Park Primary SchoolBelmont City CollegeComo Primary SchoolHoly Rosary Primary SchoolJohn Septimus Roe Anglican Community SchoolJoondalup Primary SchoolOrana Catholic Primary SchoolWhite Gum Valley Primary School

Video productionCentre for Educational Advancement, Curtin University ofTechnology

Project technical consultantsIan Doughty, Laister Consulting Services P/LCarole Theobald, Cormorant Technical Services P/L

Many thanks to the following organisationsfor kindly reviewing the materialsAlawa Primary School, NTAltona North Primary School, VicAnula Primary School, NTArdeer Primary School, VicBakewell Primary School, Palmerston, NTBees Creek Primary School, NTBridgewater High School, TasBrighton Primary School, TasCambridge Primary School, VicCanberra Girls Grammar School, ACTCaroline Chisholm High, ACTCastletown Primary, WAChisholm Primary, ACTChristian Brothers College, SACondingup Primary School, WADriver Primary School, Palmerston, NTEdney Primary School, WAEsperance Primary School, WAEsperance Senior High School, WAExcelsior Public School, Castle Hill, NSWCurtin University of Technology nutritionstudents, WAGuilford Young College, TasHallett Cove East Primary School, SAHillcrest Primary School, TasHoly Family, ACTHoly Rosary Primary School, WAInglewood Primary School, WAJohn Forrest Senior High School, WAJohn Paul II Primary School, TasKambah High, ACTLeanyer Primary School (Canteen and AfterSchool Care), NTLisarow High School, NSWMacKillop College, TasMacquarie Primary School, ACTMalak Primary School, NTManigrida Community Education Centre, NTMiles Franklin Primary, ACTMillner Primary School, NTNorthern Territory University Food SafetyCoursesNSW School Canteen Association focus groupNulsen Primary School, WAOur Lady of Mercy Primary School, TasOur Lady Star of the Sea Catholic PrimarySchool, WAPadbury Primary School, WAParafield Gardens Primary School, SAPenguin Primary School, TasPrinces Street Primary School, TasRiana Primary School, TasSebastopol Secondary College, VicSt Agnes Catholic Primary School, PortMacquarie, NSWSt Gerard Majella Catholic Primary School, QldSt Mary’s Catholic College, QldSt. David's School, SASt. Paul’s Catholic Primary School, NTTaminmin High School, Humpty Doo, NTTanunda Primary School, SATaroona High School, TasWilloughby Public and High School, NSWWoree State Primary School, QldWynyard High School, Tas

ivLooking After Our Kids

How to use this package

Everyone working with food has a personal responsibility tohandle food safely. This video and handbook informationpackage has been designed to help people involved with schoolcanteens understand their legal responsibilities. Training forskills and knowledge needs to be completed in addition toviewing this video and handbook (see page 6 for moreinformation about training).

The video is set in real canteens and follows the food fromdelivery to sale. The practices shown apply to all schoolcanteens whether large or small, new or old.

The handbook accompanying the video details a range of foodsafety issues that are of particular interest to school canteens.The relevant national Food Safety Standards are quoted in themargin for reference and advice on how to comply with them iscontained in the text. The handbook is intended to be a practicalguide and so also contains example charts and informationsheets suitable for photocopying as required.

The “Here’s an idea” feature boxes contain suggestions that arenot required by the three national Food Safety Standardsdescribed in this handbook. However, they may help a canteenmanager to monitor food safety practices and will form part of afood safety program if you wish to implement one or if your stateor territory government requires one.

Ideally, the proprietor and school canteen manager shouldwatch the video and read the handbook first. Then they canarrange the most suitable way for the information to be sharedwith other canteen workers.

For example, they may choose to arrange a social eveningsession at the start of each term for canteen volunteers and paidemployees to meet each other and learn about the canteen.The video could serve as the “entertainment” for the eveningand trigger a discussion about food safety.

Alternatively, the package can be loaned to individuals to watchthe video and read the handbook at home, before commencingwork in the canteen.

Choose the method that will work best in your school canteen.

School canteens

In this package, theterm school canteenincludes schoolcanteens, tuck shopsand other facilitiesassociated with theschool where food issold.

This handbook includes extra informationthat is not shown in the video.

vLooking After Our Kids

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ......................................................................................... iiiFor more information ...................................................................................... iiHow to use this package ............................................................................... ivTable of Contents ...........................................................................................vBackground.................................................................................................... viIntroduction.....................................................................................................1Why do we need the Standards? ...................................................................2Notification......................................................................................................2Skills and knowledge ......................................................................................3How do you protect food from contamination? ...............................................5Getting skills and knowledge ..........................................................................6Food handling controls ...................................................................................7

Food receipt ..............................................................................................7Food brought from home ...................................................................12

Food storage ...........................................................................................12Storing food in the fridge or cool-room ..............................................13Frozen food........................................................................................15

Food processing......................................................................................17Safe food............................................................................................17Suitable food......................................................................................17How to process food safely................................................................17Thawing food .....................................................................................18Washing food.....................................................................................18Chopping and handling food..............................................................18Cooking..............................................................................................20Cooling...............................................................................................20Heating...............................................................................................22

Food display............................................................................................24Serving food.......................................................................................25

Food packaging.......................................................................................26Food transportation .................................................................................27Food disposal ..........................................................................................29

Health and hygiene requirements.................................................................30Hand washing facilities............................................................................35Protective clothing...................................................................................36

Cleaning and sanitising ................................................................................41Cleaning ..................................................................................................41Sanitising.................................................................................................43

Why do you need to clean and sanitise? ...........................................43Sanitising methods ............................................................................43

What about tea towels?...........................................................................44Animals and pests ........................................................................................47Maintenance .................................................................................................48Summary ......................................................................................................49Does your school canteen comply with the Standards?...............................50

Charts and information sheets

Rejected deliveries chart .............................................................................10How to store food safely in the fridge or cool room .....................................14Temperature monitoring chart .....................................................................16How to clean and sanitise a probe thermometer .......................................21Thermometer information ............................................................................23Four Hour/Two Hour Guide .........................................................................28Handwashing information ...........................................................................34Food handling – your legal responsibilities..................................................37Cleaning schedule .......................................................................................42Cleaning & sanitising – equipment and work surfaces ...........................45-46

viLooking After Our Kids

Background

In October 1999, the Australia New Zealand Food Authority(ANZFA) recommended four national Food Safety Standards toHealth Ministers, meeting as the Australia New Zealand FoodStandards Council (ANZFSC). The following three standardswere adopted on 24th August 2000 and are being progressivelyimplemented by each State and Territory Government:

• Standard 3.1.1 (Interpretation and Application)• Standard 3.2.2 (Food Safety Practices and

General Requirements)• Standard 3.2.3 (Food Premises and Equipment)

The fourth Standard, Standard 3.2.1 Food Safety Programs, wasgazetted in November 2000 as a model standard that could beadopted voluntarily by State and Territory Governments.Therefore, school canteens will need to check with theirenvironmental health officer to see if a food safety programis required.

This package focuses on the provisions of the first threestandards that are law around Australia.

The Federation of Canteens in Schools (FOCIS) is the peakbody for school canteens in Australia. FOCIS was concernedthat school canteens should have access to accurateinformation about the national Food Safety Standards and howthey relate to the unique environment of school canteens.

Consequently, FOCIS approached the CommonwealthDepartment of Health and Ageing (DoHA) to fund thedevelopment and production of this information package for useby all school canteens in Australia.

FOCIS has worked closely with the DoHA, state canteenassociations and senior food officers from all State and Territoryhealth departments to ensure the information is accurate,relevant and practical for school canteens.

1Looking After Our Kids

Introduction

School canteens have an important job. They provide food toone of the most vulnerable groups in the community - ourchildren. Canteens can be found in the biggest metropolitanschools to the smallest country schools. Some canteens areoperated by full time paid employees; others have a paidconvener with volunteers, while others rely totally on the help ofvolunteers. However, regardless of their size or location,canteens all have one thing in common - they have aresponsibility to produce safe food.

Recently, new national food laws have been passed called theFood Safety Standards. The Standards apply throughoutAustralia and provide the minimum requirements to handle foodsafely.

The Standards identify responsibilities of the proprietor of thefood business and food handlers. For a school canteen theproprietor may be the school principal, the president of theparent body or the school canteen manager - so you will need tobe quite clear who is ultimately responsible for the canteen.

When it comes to handling food, the Standards do notdifferentiate between paid and unpaid food handlers. TheStandards apply equally to volunteers and paid canteenworkers. After all, everyone who handles food needs to handleit carefully - regardless of whether they are paid or not.

Looking After Our Kids is a video and handbook resourcedesigned to help school canteens comply with the national FoodSafety Standards. By following the practices shown in the videoand handbook, school canteens will be able to demonstrate thatthey handle food safely and, more importantly, are looking afterour kids.

Standard 3.1.1

4 Compliance(1) The proprietor of a foodbusiness must ensure the foodbusiness complies with all therequirements of the Food SafetyStandards.

1 InterpretationProprietor of a food businessmeans:a) the person carrying on thefood business, orb) if that person cannot beidentified - the person in chargeof the food business.

Food handler means a personwho directly engages in thehandling of food, or who handlessurfaces likely to come intocontact with food, for a foodbusiness.

Photo 1: The nationalFood Safety Standards


Why do we need the Standards?

You only have to read the newspapers and speak to your friendsto know that things can and do go wrong with food. Most peopleat some stage have suffered from food poisoning. Symptomsinclude nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach pains, sweats andheadaches – not very nice at all.

Young children are very vulnerable to food poisoning, and mostother diseases. This is because their young immune systemsaren’t fully developed. So, when we make food for children weneed to be extra careful to make sure we get it right.

The national Food Safety Standards are laws that apply to allfood sold in Australia. This includes food that is raffled or sold toraise funds for a charity or community group. School canteensare regarded as food businesses. The government monitorsfood businesses to make sure they comply with food laws. Tohelp them do this, the national Food Safety Standards requirebusinesses to advise the government if they sell food.

Notification

The local government in your area needs to know where all foodpremises are located. This information is used to:

• Identify food businesses and types of food produced• Plan inspection frequencies to make sure that businesses

are complying with legislation• Follow up on outbreaks of foodborne disease or food

recalls.

The information required includes contact details for the foodbusiness, such as:

• Name of food business• Name and business address of proprietor• Nature of food business• Location of all food premises of the food business (e.g. if

there is more than one site for the canteen).

The business must inform the local government of any changesto the information provided, before the change occurs.

In some States and Territories the business may need to beregistered. Registration provides the opportunity for governmentto put conditions on the operation of the business where theymay be necessary to protect public health. In addition, agovernment may charge a fee to register a food business. Ifregistration applies in your State or Territory, extra informationmay be required but your local environmental health officer willbe able to advise you about this.

Standard 3.2.2

4 Notification

A food business must, before thefood business commences anyfood handling operations, notifythe appropriate enforcementagency of the followinginformation:(a) contact details for the food

business including the nameof the food business and thename and business addressof the proprietor of the foodbusiness;

(b) the nature of the foodbusiness; and

(c) the location of all foodpremises of the foodbusiness that are within thejurisdiction of theenforcement agency.


Skills and knowledge

Everyone working in the canteen must have the skills andknowledge to handle food safely. This does not mean thateveryone has to have qualifications in food safety - but just thatthey have the knowledge to understand what can go wrong withfood and the skills to prevent it.

For example, food poisoning is caused when something thatshouldn’t be there, gets into food.

When something gets into food that shouldn’t be there, we saythe food has been contaminated. There are three main types ofcontamination:

Physical contamination includes things like insects, dirt, hair,and bits of metal, glass or plastic getting into food.

Chemical contamination happens when chemicals such asinsect sprays, detergents or sanitisers get into food.

Microbiological contamination occurs when bacteria or virusesget into food. Bacteria are everywhere, on vegetables, rawmeat, clothing and our hands. Not all bacteria make us sick.Some are used to make yoghurt and wines but others can put usin hospital!

Bacteria need time at the right temperature with enough foodand moisture to grow.

Bacteria that cause food poisoning multiply quickly onpotentially hazardous food. These are high-risk foods for foodpoisoning as they support the growth of bacteria. Theygenerally contain protein and moisture.

Standard 3.2.2

3 Food handling - skills andknowledge

(1) A food business must ensurethat persons undertaking orsupervising food handlingoperations have:(a) skills in food safety and foodhygiene matters and(b) knowledge of food safety andfood hygiene matters,commensurate with their workactivities.


Some types of bacteria on potentially hazardous food maydouble in number every twenty minutes between 5°C and 60°C.This is known as the temperature danger zone. Foodpoisoning bacteria are unable to multiply rapidly outside thetemperature danger zone.

When it comes to having skills and knowledge about food safety,it makes sense if everyone that handles food knows how toprotect it from contamination.

Examples of potentially hazardous foodsIf you handle any of these foods, you need to know how to handle them safely.

• Raw meats, cooked meats and food containing them such ascasseroles, curries, lasagna and meat pies

• Dairy products and foods containing them such as milk, cream,custard and dairy based desserts

• Seafood and food containing it such as cooked prawns and crab butnot live seafood

• Processed fruits and vegetables such as prepared salads, readyto use vegetable packs and unpasteurised juices

• Cooked rice and pasta

• Processed foods containing eggs, beans, nuts or other protein richfood such as quiche and soya bean products

• Other foods that contain any of the above foods such assandwiches and quiche.


How do you protect food from contamination?

To protect food from physical contamination youshould:

• Wear clean protective clothing e.g. anapron and a hat

• Wash your hands• Keep insects and animals out of the

kitchen and• Keep food covered.

To protect food from chemical contamination youshould:

• Store chemicals away from food• Use insecticides carefully e.g. wash hands after

placing cockroach baits and not sprayingfly spray over food or work benches

• Use cleaning chemicals carefully e.g.following instructions on the label and notusing them near food.

To protect potentially hazardous food frommicrobiological contamination you should:

• Stop bacteria and viruses getting into food byo keeping food coveredo washing hands and utensils before

touching foodo storing ready-to-eat food above raw meats and

vegetables so bacteria in meat juices and soildon’t fall onto other foods

o not working if you have diarrhoea orvomiting e.g. a tummy bug

• Stop bacteria multiplying on the food byo keeping it cold (at or below 5°C)o keeping it hot (at or above 60°C).

What other information do food handlers need to know?

The canteen manager will need to check that foodhandlers are confident and competent to undertake thetasks required of them.

A “train as you go” approach can work very well. This meansthat you show food handlers what to do and supervise them untilthey are comfortable doing the task.

Photo 3: Store chemicals away fromfood

Photo 2: Protect food from physicalcontamination

Photo 4: Store potentiallyhazardous food at or below 5 °C


Getting skills and knowledge

If your canteen prepares potentially hazardous foods then youmust understand the dangers associated with handling thesefoods and have the skills to handle them safely. For example,you are preparing potentially hazardous foods if you:

• Cook raw meats e.g. chickens, kebabs, rissoles, stews• Prepare soups from fresh ingredients e.g. vegetable

soups• Make sandwiches with potentially hazardous fillings, e.g.

ham, chicken, other cold meats, egg, fish• Heat foods e.g. pies, chicken strips, fish

The following table identifies the minimum level of skills andknowledge that may be required to safely carry out activities inthe canteen.

While the Standards do not require food handlers to have formaltraining, the canteen manager may benefit from attending an

accredited food hygiene-training course, forexample at a local college.

The manager could consolidate her/hisknowledge about food safety and also getideas from other course participants andlecturers on how to pass on information toother canteen workers.

However, if there is no suitable course toattend the manager may be able toundertake in-house training using books andvideos. Ask your local school canteenassociation for details of suitable coursesand resources in your area.

The canteen manager will need to check thatfood handlers are confident and competent toundertake the tasks required of them. Showfood handlers what to do and supervise themuntil they are comfortable doing the task.Don’t assume that food handlers will knowwhat to do. Check first!

Many canteens have induction evenings forvolunteers at the beginning of each term,(see page iv). Show this package toeveryone so they know what the law requiresof them. Food safety relies on everyonehandling food with care.

Standard 3.2.2

3 Food handling - skills andknowledge

(1) A food business must ensurethat persons undertaking orsupervising food handlingoperations have:(a) skills in food safety and foodhygiene matters and(b) knowledge of food safety andfood hygiene matters,commensurate with their workactivities.

Work activity Skills and knowledgerequired

Handle potentiallyhazardous food:

• Storing• Preparing• Cooking• Cooling• Reheating• Serving

Understand whatbacteria need to growTemperature controlContaminationPersonal hygiene

Handle non-potentiallyhazardous food onlye.g. bread (not filled),confectionery(including ice cream),wrapped food thatdoes not need to berefrigerated

ContaminationPersonal hygiene

Serve food only ContaminationPersonal hygiene

Clean canteen only ContaminationHandling chemicals


Food handling controls

The national Food Safety Standards have been written in apractical way. For example, when it comes to handling food,they follow the food from when it is received to when it is sold.

These Standards detail how to handle food during:• Food receipt• Food storage• Food processing• Food display• Food packaging• Food transportation

They also include information about food disposal and recall.

So, what is in these Standards?

Food receipt

Garbage in, garbage out, is a well used expression in thecomputer industry - but it can also apply to food businesses.

If you accept substandard product into the canteen, no matterwhat you do to it, it will still be substandard when you sell it! Sosave yourself a lot of hassle and only accept food that is withinits date coding and in good condition.

From a practical point of view this means that you shouldarrange for someone to receive deliveries and, where possible,check them as soon as they arrive. You should reject thefollowing:

Food

Receipt

Food

Storage

Food

Processing

Food

Display

Food

Packaging

Food

Transportation

Date marking

Generally, food must be date marked and stored under theconditions shown on the label.

• Use by date - the date by which the food should be eatenand still be safe. Food may not be sold beyond its use bydate, as it may not be safe to eat.

• Best before date - the date the manufacturer recommendsthat the food be eaten to be in best quality condition. A foodmay be sold beyond its best before date provided it is stillsafe to eat.

• No date marking is required on food with a shelf life of longerthan two years.


Standard 3.2.2

5 Food receipt

(1) A food business must take allpracticable measures to ensure itonly accepts food that isprotected from the likelihood ofcontamination.

All prepackaged foods should be labelled with a food name e.g.“Sausage roll” or “Meat pie” and have an Australian address onthe label (or on associated paperwork e.g. invoice).

This information is important in case there is a recall of the food- you will not be able to identify the food without the name andyou would not be able to complain about the food or return it ifthere is no address.

You may need to transfer some information from the outerboxes of catering packs e.g. use by dates, to any containersyou store the food in.

Reject food without anAustralian address

Photo 5: Reject damaged food

Reject damaged food andfood in damaged packages

Holes and tears in packagesIf a package has a hole in it you do not know what causedit or what may have entered the package. The hole maybe due to gnawing by rodents or other animals, boring byinsects or tearing by machinery or rough handling.Chemicals, bacteria or insects may have contaminated thefood through the hole - so don’t take a chance - don’taccept it!

Dented, rusted or blown cansIf cans are damaged you cannot see if tiny holes havebeen formed in the cans. When a hole has been made thecan may suck up dirt and bacteria. Cans which arebulging may contain gas from decomposing food.

Dirty or contaminated packagingPackages that are dirty will contaminate shelves, and otherfoods stored near them. Also when you open the package,dirt will contaminate your hands and other foods.

Be aware of the smell of the packaging. If it smells ofanimal urine or chemicals, the product inside may alsosmell. Some foods e.g. fats and eggs absorb smellseasily. For example solvents stored near eggs may makeeggs smell and taste unpleasant.

Standard 3.2.2

5 Food receipt

(2) A food business must provide, tothe reasonable satisfaction of anauthorised officer upon request, thefollowing information relating to foodon the food premises:(a) the name and business addressin Australia of the vendor,manufacturer or packer or in thecase of food imported into Australia,the name and business address inAustralia of the importer; and(b) the prescribed name or, if thereis no prescribed name, anappropriate designation of the food.


You may wish to keep a record of rejected deliveries, so you canidentify suppliers that regularly send you substandard food.

Photocopy and enlarge the Rejected Deliveries chart on page 10as required. You can then decide if you wish to keep gettingfood from suppliers that regularly appear on the list or look foranother supplier.

Reject potentially hazardousfood out of temperaturecontrol

Potentially hazardous food should be rejected if it is:• Not frozen solid or• Not at or below 5°C or• Not at or above 60°C.

Do not accept potentially hazardous food delivered in thetemperature danger zone, unless your supplier candemonstrate the food will be safe. (See page 28 for moreinformation.)

For example, if you receive warm pies direct from the bakeryyou need to make sure they are not going to be in thetemperature danger zone for longer than four hours. Theymay be received warm on the day of baking and putimmediately in the fridge or preheated pie warmer.

Standard 3.2.2

5 Food receipt

(3) A food business must, whenreceiving potentially hazardousfood, take all practicablemeasures to ensure it onlyaccepts potentially hazardousfood that is at a temperature of:(a) 5°C or below; or(b) 60°C or above,unless the food businesstransporting the fooddemonstrates that thetemperature of the food, havingregard to the time taken totransport the food, will notadversely affect themicrobiological safety of the food.

(4) A food business must, whenreceiving potentially hazardousfood, take all practicablemeasures to ensure that foodwhich is intended to be receivedfrozen, is frozen when it isaccepted.


REJECTED DELIVERIES

Only accept food in good condition. Check that:• Frozen food is hard• Chilled food is at or below 5°C• Hot food is at or above 60°C (or complies with Four Hour/Two Hour Guide)• Food is within use by date or best before date

Date Product Supplier Problem andaction taken

Checked by


Have you told your suppliers how you want to receive yourfood?

It makes sense to let your suppliers know that you expect fooddelivered to comply with the National Food Safety Standards.As the Standards are new, some suppliers may not be aware ofthem. The following example Suppliers letter may help you todesign your own.

Dear Sir or Madam

Food deliveries to the school canteen

(Insert name of school) is committed to providing safe food and complying with food safetylegislation. Therefore, the school canteen will only accept food that complies with Standard 3.2.2 ofthe Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

Please be advised that if your product fails to meet the specifications outlined below it maynot be accepted by the school canteen when delivered.

• All foods: To be within use by or best before date. Australian address of vendor,manufacturer, importer or packer to be on label or in associated documentation

• Dry goods: Packages to be intact and clean. No dented, rusted or blown cans will beaccepted.

• Cold potentially hazardous foods (e.g. cooked and raw meats, dairy foods, ham, fish,seafood, prepared salads etc): must be received at or below 5°C

• Hot potentially hazardous foods (e.g. hot pies): must be received at or above 60°C.

If foods are delivered outside these temperatures, supporting evidence will be required todemonstrate that the products are safe to eat. This is in accordance with clause 5 of Standard3.2.2, which states:

(3) A food business must, when receiving potentially hazardous food, take allpracticable measures to ensure it only accepts potentially hazardous food that isat a temperature of:

(a) 5°C or below; or(b) 60°C or above,

unless the food business transporting the food demonstrates that thetemperature of the food, having regard to the time taken to transport the food, willnot adversely affect the microbiological safety of the food.

If you require further information about the national Food Safety Standards please visit the AustraliaNew Zealand Food Authority web site at www.anzfa.gov.au.

This school takes food safety very seriously and appreciates your support in this matter.

Yours faithfully


Food brought from home

What do you do if volunteers have made food at home for sale inthe canteen? This can be a difficult situation. You need to beconfident that the food is safe and suitable and complies with thelegislation – but it is unlikely that you will be able to check all thehomes where food is made!

If the canteen is selling the food it is the canteen’s responsibilityto make sure the food is safe. The volunteer becomes asupplier of food in the same way as any other supplier is.

Some foods are more risky than others – so a canteen maychoose to limit donated foods to those that are “low risk”. Lowrisk foods include cakes (not containing fresh cream), biscuitsand confectionery (e.g. toffee).

Remember it is the canteen’s choice to accept food. It must fullycomply with the standards regardless of where it has beenprepared. If you do not want to risk selling food from unknownsources – don’t accept it. It is better to be safe than sorry!

Food storage

Now the food has been delivered, what do you do with it? Youneed to store food so it can’t be contaminated!

Foreign objects, chemicals, bacteria and viruses can allcontaminate food. The best way to stop any of these objectsgetting into food is to keep it covered.

Look at the food and ask yourself – can objects, chemicals orbacteria get onto this food? If the answer is yes, then you needto do something to stop food contamination.

For example, you could• cover or put away food before using fly spray,• store raw meat below other foods to prevent

blood dripping onto them and• wear a hat or tie hair back so it cannot fall into

food.

Some foods need special storage conditions. Forexample, potatoes need to be stored in a dark placeto stop them going green and chocolate needs to bestored below 34°C to prevent it from melting.

Most packages contain storage instructions, forexample, frozen food temperatures and others such

as “refrigerate after opening”. Make sure you follow them so thefood will be kept at its best.

Standard 3.2.2

6 Food storage

A food business must, whenstoring food, store the food insuch a way that:

(1) (a) it is protected from thelikelihood ofcontamination; and

(b) the environmentalconditions under whichit is stored will notadversely affect thesafety and suitability ofthe food.

Photo 6: Cover food to preventforeign objects getting into it


However, to prevent any bacteria in potentially hazardous foodfrom multiplying, it is very important that this food is storedcorrectly in the fridge or cool-room.

Storing food in the fridge or cool-room

To protect food from contamination - keep it covered.Remember that “raw foods” e.g. raw meats, raw unwashed fruitsand vegetables need to be on the bottom shelves and “ready-to-eat foods” on the top (See page 14)

This is because raw foods can drop dirt or drip juices onto otherfoods. The cleaner the food, the higher the storage shelf!

In many fridges the fruit and vegetable crispers are located onthe bottom shelf. Any raw meat stored on the shelf above couldcontaminate fruits and vegetables in the crispers below.Therefore, make sure that any raw meat is placed in a containerto collect drips and is wrapped.

You may want to label each shelf in the fridge so everyoneknows where food should be stored.

Be careful not to overload the fridge. The fridge keeps food coldby moving cold air around every package. If the food is jam-packed in the fridge there will be no room for the air tomove around the food. The food will not keep cool enoughto stop bacteria multiplying.

How well does your fridge work? Do you check thetemperature of it? If you check the air temperature in thefridge you will find that it varies a lot depending on wherethe thermometer is located and how often the door isopened.

An easy way to check the temperature is to keep acontainer of water in the fridge and take the temperature ofthe water. The water temperature will not change everytime you open the door and will give you a better idea ofhow cold the food is.

You can move the container to a different place in the fridgeevery couple of days to find out where the warmest spot is.When you find the warmest spot, keep the container there! – ifthe water is below 5°C in the warmest spot, then you know thatall food in the fridge should be cold enough.

Standard 3.2.2

6 Food storage

(2) A food business must, whenstoring potentially hazardous food:

(a) store it under temperaturecontrol;

Is the probe thermometer accurate?

It should read 0°C when placed in melting ice.

Photo 7: Use water to check temper-ature in warmest part of the fridge

Cooling food in thefridge?

See page 20 for moreinformation on how to dothis safely.


How to store food safely in the fridge or cool-room

Top shelfReady-to-eat food

Next shelf downDairy foods

Next shelf downRaw vegetables

Bottom shelfRaw meats


If you write down the temperature of the water in the container,you can see over time if the temperature is slowly going up. Usethe example Temperature Monitoring chart on page 16 todevelop your own chart.

If the temperature is rising, just check the fridge for the following:• Is it overloaded?• Are the door seals dirty or damaged letting cold air escape?• Does the thermostat need adjusting for the season?

Frozen foodWhen you are storing frozen foods – the Standards require thefood to be kept frozen. The easiest way to check if food isfrozen is to tap or feel it. If it is hard, then it is frozen.

Some foods will show condensation on the outside of thepackages when they are starting to melt. Ice cream does thisvery quickly – so use the ice cream as the indicator of how wellthe freezer is working.

You may choose to measure thetemperature of your freezer by placing athermometer between two packages offood. The temperature recordings willgive you an idea as to how well thefreezer is working.

If, over a few days, the temperature isslowly rising you can arrange for theequipment to be serviced before itbreaks down!

Standard 3.2.2

6 Food storage

(2 )(b) if it is food that isintended to be storedfrozen, ensure the foodremains frozen duringstorage.

Photo 8: Frozen food should behard


TEMPERATURE MONITORING

TERM – WEEKS TO Dates: ………………………

Week Day PersonFridge 1(Food at orbelow 5°C)

Fridge 2(Food at orbelow 5°C)

Freezer 1(Frozen food

hard)

Freezer 2(Frozen food

hard)

Warmer/Oven

(Food at orabove 60°C)

Week Mon

Tues

Wed

Thurs

Fri

Week Mon

Tues

Wed

Thurs

Fri

Week Mon

Tues

Wed

Thurs

Fri

Week Mon

Tues

Wed

Thurs

Fri

Week Mon

Tues

Wed

Thurs

Fri


Food processing

The canteen must only process food that is safe and suitable.

What do these terms mean?

Safe food

Safe food is food that will not cause physical harm to a personeating it. However, this does not include people who may beallergic to a particular food.

Some canteens may prepare food for children with severeallergies. Before preparing food for these children find outexactly what it is they are allergic to and how sensitive they are.It may be necessary to prepare the food for allergy sufferersbefore any other food is handled.

Suitable food

Suitable food is food that is in good condition and is notdamaged, deteriorated, perished or contaminated.Examples of unsuitable food include food in brokenpackages, mouldy bread, rotting meat and food containingchemicals, objects or bacteria.

In summary, you cannot make a “safe and suitable”sandwich from “off” or substandard ingredients.

How to process food safely

Food processing includes anything you do to food before yousell it! In particular, this includes:

• thawing• washing• chopping and handling• cooking• heating• cooling.

Before you begin, make sure that you fully understand the recipeand don’t sell food that you don’t know how to cook. Keep itsimple!

To process food safely, you need to make sure that it doesn’tget contaminated.

Let’s look at how we can achieve this in the canteen.

Standard 3.2.2

1 Interpretation

Process in relation to food,means activity conducted toprepare food for sale includingchopping, cooking, drying,fermenting, heating,pasteurising, thawing andwashing, or a combination ofthese activities.

Standard 3.2.2

7 Food processing

(1) A food business must:(a) take all practicable measures toprocess only safe and suitable food

Photo 9: Don’t use mouldy food


Thawing food

Foods should be thawed using either of these methods:

• Fridge – plan ahead as some foods take over a day to thaw.Remember to store in the right place – ready-to-eat foodsabove raw vegetables and raw meats.

• Microwave – great for small amounts of food in a hurry. Besure to use the defrost setting.

Additionally, raw meats that are going to be cooked may besafely thawed by these methods:• Clean running water – the water must keep flowing

over the food and the food should be wrapped or it willget waterlogged.

• Room temperature – keep food covered and containedin a dish so it cannot contaminate the work surface orother food.

Put the raw meat in the fridge as soon as it has thawed or itwill spoil and become rotten.

Washing food

Thoroughly wash fruit and vegetables before use. Where areyou washing the food? Clean and sanitise the sink before usingit to wash food. You don’t want the food to pick up bacteria anddirt from the sink.

Use the food preparation sink (if you have one) or the washingup sink. Do not be tempted to use the hand basin!! It is againstthe law to use it for anything other than handwashing.

Chopping and handling food

Where possible, prepare food fresh each day. If youprepare food in advance remember to use the oldest foodfirst. Never mix fresh food with old food. For example,don’t mix freshly made rice or egg mix with the previousbatch.

Keep potentially hazardous food out of the temperaturedanger zone as much as possible. Take food ingredientsout of the fridge, as you need them.

After use, return ingredients and finished products to thefridge. Don’t leave ingredients on the workbench “just incase” they are needed - bacteria in them could be quicklymultiplying to dangerous levels.

Standard 3.2.2

7 Food processing

(2) A food business must, whenprocessing potentially hazardous foodthat is not undergoing a pathogencontrol step, ensure that the time thefood remains at temperatures thatpermit the growth of infectious ortoxigenic micro-organisms in the foodis minimised.

Standard 3.2.3

14 Hand washing facilitiesHand washing facilities must be:(d) clearly designated for the solepurpose of washing hands, armsand face.

Photo 11: Take food ingredients outof the fridge as you need them

Photo 10: Only thaw ready-to-eatfood in the fridge or microwave


During preparation, food may be physically contaminated bya) food handlers or b) chopping surfaces and utensils.

a) Food handlers - Make sure that you have washedyour hands before handling food. Try not to touchfood with your bare hands – use tongs, utensils orclean paper instead. See Handwashing informationon page 34.

Think about your hair … could it fall into the food?Not if your hair is tied back or you are wearing a hat!See Food handling – your legal responsibilities onpage 37.

b) Chopping boards and utensils - Make sure that thechopping boards and utensils are cleaned and sanitised asshown on page 45 and are thoroughly dry. Remember tochange the chopping board and the utensils when you changethe type of food you are chopping.

For example, wash your hands and change to a clean board andknife between handling raw meats, raw vegetables, cookedmeats, washed vegetables, cheeses, fish and bakery products.If you don’t you will transfer bacteria from one food to another.

You may choose to use different colour chopping boards, tongsand knives for particular foods. For example, red, green, white,blue, yellow and brown chopping boards and utensilsare among the many colours available on the market.

Generally, red is used for raw meat, green forvegetables and white for ready-to-eat foods. Justmake sure if you are using different colour boards,that everyone knows which colour you use for what!

Check the condition of the chopping boards andutensils to make sure they can be easily cleaned.Sometimes chopping boards get deep cuts in themand this makes them very difficult to clean. Throwout those that are not in good condition – they couldbe contaminating your food!

Wooden chopping boards and utensils are not as easy to keepclean and sanitised as plastic ones. They cannot be put indishwashers (if you are lucky enough to have one), they chipeasily and the knife can drag bits of wood from a board into thefood. They also take longer to dry out as they hold moistureinside the wood, making them an ideal place for bacteria to hide!However, they may be used if they have been cleaned, sanitisedand dried and are in good condition.

Photo 13: Prepare raw meats andvegetables on separate boards

Photo 12: Wash hands beforehandling food


Cooking

Raw meat naturally contains bacteria. During processing, meatis cooked thoroughly to kill bacteria on it and make it safe to eat.• Whole muscle meat e.g. leg of lamb, may be cooked to

preference for example until the juices run clear.• Minced and formed meats e.g. rolled roasts and chopped

meats, chicken nuggets etc must be cooked to at least 75°Cin the middle to kill bacteria that can grow inside them.

You will need an accurate probe thermometer to check thetemperature of foods. See How to clean and sanitise a probethermometer on page 21 to learn how to take temperatureswithout contaminating food.

Cooling

If cooked potentially hazardous food such as soups, stews andcasseroles have to be cooled, they need to be rapidly cooledwithin two hours as shown in clause 7(3) in the margin. Why isthis?

Just like seeds from our native plants survive bush fires, somebacteria produce ‘spores’ that survive the cooking process. Thespores germinate when the food is kept in the temperaturedanger zone and before you know it there are lots of bacteria inthe food, quickly multiplying…! The longer potentially hazardousfood is at temperatures between 5°C and 60°C the more chancethere is of it causing food poisoning.

To cool large amounts of food quickly:1. Remove from the oven or stove2. When the temperature drops to about 60°C, ladle

food into a few shallow containers – avoid pouringhot foods from a big pot as this can be dangerous

3. Cover containers with a lid or clean paper andplace into the fridge or cool room on a shelfabove raw meats and vegetables.

Standard 3.2.2

7 Food processing

(1) A food business must:(b) (ii) when processing foodwhere a process step is neededto reduce to safe levels anypathogens that may be present inthe food – use a process step thatis reasonably known to achievethe microbiological safety of thefood.

Photo 14: Check that rolled roastshave reached 75°C in the middle

(3) A food business must, whencooling cooked potentiallyhazardous food, cool the food:(a) within two hours – from 60°Cto 21°C; and(b) within a further four hours –from 21°C to 5°Cunless the food businessdemonstrates that the coolingprocess used will not adverselyaffect the microbiological safety ofthe food.

It may take some time for food to coolto 60°C when it first comes out of the

oven.

However, in total, the food shouldtake less than 6 hours to cool from

60°C to 5°C or below.


OR

Repeat process before inserting probe into next food

Step 3: Dry probe

Air dry Wipe dry with a cleanpaper towel

OR

Step 2: Sanitise probe

How to clean and sanitise a probe thermometer

Clean and sanitise a thermometer probe before inserting it into food.

Wipe with alcohol wipe Place in boiling water forone minute

Step 1: Wash probe

Use hot soapy water andshake off excess water


Heating

Many foods in a canteen have been cooked in a factory and areheated in the canteen. For example, some pies and pasties canbe heated direct from the fridge or freezer.

Follow the instructions on the packet when heating foods. Forexample, they may need to be placed in a pre-heated oven atabout 150°C for 25 minutes if chilled or 45 minutes if frozen.

Some pie warmer display cabinets get very hot and may be ableto heat foods rapidly, just like an oven.

So use an oven thermometer to check yourequipment to make sure it can get to temperaturescapable of rapidly heating food to a temperature of60°C or above within two hours. Then, they need tobe kept warm. You may turn the oven down, so theydon’t burn or transfer them to a pie warmer displaycabinet. See the Four Hour/Two Hour Guide onpage 28.

Display cabinets are generally designed to run attemperatures of less than 100°C, which is fine to keepfood warm but not to rapidly heat it. So, check yourdisplay cabinet before using it to rapidly heat food!

Standard 3.2.2

7 Food processing

(4) A food business must,when reheating previouslycooked and cooled potentiallyhazardous food to hold it hot,use a heat process that rapidlyheats the food to atemperature of 60°C or above,unless the food businessdemonstrates that the heatingprocess used will not adverselyaffect the microbiologicalsafety of the food.

Heating foods – summary

• Follow the heating instructions on the labels of food.

• If there are no instructions, make sure food israpidly heated to 60°C or above within two hours.

• Do not warm food up slowly – it gives time forbacteria to multiply

• After rapid heating keep food at or above 60°C.

Photo 15: Use an oven thermometerto check the oven temperature

Handy Hint

Don’t want to probe hot foodsevery day? Just use time to helpcontrol the temperature.

For example,• you place frozen pies into an

oven pre-heated to 150°C.(check temperature with anoven thermometer)

• after 25 minutes you checkthat the internal temperature ofa pie is hotter than 60°C (use aprobe thermometer for this)

If it is, in future you only need tomake sure that• the oven is pre-heated to

150°C and• the pies are in the oven for at

least 25 minutes.


Thermometers

There are various types of thermometers. Some measure air temperature and others measurefood temperature. When purchasing a thermometer check that it can measure the temperaturerange than you require. For example, a probe thermometer may need to be able to check that foodis cooked to above 75°C in the centre, is displayed at or above 60°C and that it is stored at 5°C orless.

If you want to check that your freezer stores foods at the temperatures advised on the productsthen the thermometer may need to measure to below –20°C.

Your local school canteen association may be able to provide information regarding local suppliersof thermometers.

Air temperaturethermometers –

You can get air temperaturethermometers suitable for

measuring either cold air in fridgesand freezers or hot air in ovens.

They are usually made of metal andhave a dial similar to a clock. Airtemperature thermometers do not

tell you the temperature of the food–only the temperature of the air

around the food.

Infra red thermometers –These can look like space age ray guns.

They only measure the surface temperatureof food – so cannot be used to measure the

internal temperature.

Make sure you follow the instructions onthe thermometer carefully as if it isused too close or too far away from

the food it will give an inaccuratetemperature. These thermometers

can be very useful for checkingdeliveries or the surface

temperature of food insidea refrigerator or freezer.

Probe thermometers –Canteens that handle potentially hazardous foodmust have a probe thermometer on site that iscapable of measuring the internal temperature offood.

The probe thermometer must be accurate to withinone degree Celsius. This means that when thetemperature of the food is 5°C its actualtemperature is between 4°C and 6°C.

To find out the accuracy of the thermometer lookin the instruction booklet that comes with it orask the sales assistant before you purchase it.

Check the thermometer regularly (e.g. monthly) to see that it is working properly.

Put ice cubes in a cup and add enough water to cover but not float the ice – let probestand in the cup for at least two minutes. The reading should be between –1°C and+1°C when placed in the ice.

Standard 3.2.2

22 Temperature measuringdevices

A food business must, at foodpremises where potentiallyhazardous food is handled, havea temperature measuring devicethat:(a) is readily accessible; and(b) can accurately measure thetemperature of potentiallyhazardous food to +/- 1°C.


Food display

There are many ways of displaying food and these aresometimes limited by the design of the canteen.

Some schools have a counter servery with limited display spacefor confectionery, biscuits and bags of popcorn. Others have a“self service cafeteria” arrangement where students helpthemselves to a range of hot and cold foods.

Regardless of how food is displayed,there are three actions that must betaken to keep food safe.

1. All foods must be protected fromcontamination

Cover or wrap all food on display.

Whole fresh fruits do not need to bewrapped as they have their skins toprotect them. However, fruits thatare not peeled should be washed

prior to display and served to children to minimisecontamination.

Use tongs to serve bulk confectionery e.g. liquorice, fruit balls,jelly snakes etc and keep the box covered between servings ordisplay individual portions in bags.

2. Unpackaged, self-service food must be supervised; theremust be separate utensils for each food item; and suitablebarriers to minimise possible contamination from customers.

It is always difficult to construct a sneeze guard that allowsaccess to food, but protects food from tall and short children.Most self-service units are designed for adults and the servingzone is often at the head-height of smaller students. So what doyou do?

You can get around this problem inthe following ways:

a) Closely supervise all self-service of food and if foodgets contaminated, throw itaway immediately.

Standard 3.2.2

8 Food display(2) A food business must,when displaying unpackagedready-to-eat food for self -service:a) ensure the display of thefood is effectively supervisedso that any food that iscontaminated by a customer oris likely to have been socontaminated is removed fromdisplay without delay;b) provide separate servingutensils for each food or otherdispensing methods thatminimise the likelihood of thefood being contaminated; andc) provide protective barriersthat minimise the likelihood ofcontamination by customers.

3) Subclause (2) does notapply to food in tamperresistant equipment orcontainers.

4) A food business must notdisplay for sale on any counteror bar, any ready-to-eat foodthat is not intended for self-service unless it is enclosed,contained or wrapped so thatthe food is protected from likelycontamination.

Photo 16: Cover or wrap foods ondisplay

Standard 3.2.2

8 Food display

(1) A food business must, whendisplaying food, take all practicablemeasures to protect it from thelikelihood of contamination.

Photo 16: Closely supervise all self-service of food


b) Put small amounts of open food on display, this couldreduce waste if food gets contaminated.

c) Provide tongs, spoons, bags or paper for students toserve themselves without touching food directly.

If sneeze guards do not protect food, you may want to considerwrapping all foods on display. If the food is wrapped it does notneed to be supervised.

3. Potentially hazardous foods must be displayed either at orabove 60°C or at or below 5°C. Frozen foods must be hard.

Display potentially hazardous food under temperaturecontrol. This means:

- keeping hot pies, pasties, sausage rolls, pastas andpizzas at or above 60°C

- keeping rolls, sandwiches, salad plates and milkdrinks at or below 5°C.

Serving food

In canteens, all the food is sold in a very short period oftime. If there are leftover sandwiches or hot prepared foodssuch as pizza slices, eat them immediately or throw them out.

If you are concerned about serving hot food to young children,you can apply the Four Hour/Two Hour Guide. Basically, thismeans that after the food has been thoroughly cooked, it can bekept at room temperature for a maximum of four hours before itmust be thrown away.

However, to use the Guide you must record the time the food isbetween 60°C and 5°C. This may involve recording the timefood was taken out of the oven and noting the time it must besold by. The Guide can also be applied to ready-to-eatfoods such as hams. (See the Four Hour/Two Hour Guideon page 28).

It is not unusual for trays of unwrapped hot food to beplaced on the servery counter for serving by canteen staffduring recess and lunch. The trays may include pizza subs,cheesies, party pies, hot dogs etc.

The trays of food should be kept as far away from childrenas possible – so that distance becomes a barrier betweenthem and the food.

Standard 3.2.2

8 Food display

(5) A food business must,when displaying potentiallyhazardous food:(a) display it undertemperature control; and(b) if it is food that isintended to be displayedfrozen, ensure the foodremains frozen whendisplayed.

Photo 17: Keep hot food at or above60°C

Photo 18: Keep uncovered food outof reach of children


Unwrapped food should be served using tongs and placed ontopaper or in a bag. If serving food directly into the children’shands, don’t let them touch the end of the tongs!

To reduce littering, some canteens serve the food that eachchild requests, directly onto large plastic plates. The child takesfood off the plate. This system works well provided children donot touch the plate with dirty hands. Keep extra plates on handso they can be swapped as necessary.

Food packaging

To wrap or serve foods, most school canteens use:

• single use items including plastic spoons for yoghurts,straws for drinks, paper plates and napkins

• food packaging including paper pieces for wrapping foods,paper bags, plastic film and cardboard boxes and buckets.

These items could contaminate food, so only use new cleanmaterials and do not re-use them.

To protect single use items and food packaging fromcontamination, store them in clean areas away from chemicals,insects and dirt. If items get contaminated, throw them away.

Canteen staff should make sure that packaging cannotcontaminate food. For example, if you intend to microwavefood that is wrapped in plastic film, check the packet label tomake sure the film is safe for use in a microwave. Someplastic films contain chemicals that break down duringmicrowaving and may contaminate food.

In many schools, children write their lunch orders onto asandwich bag and put their money inside it. If all food goinginto sandwich bags will be wrapped, it is not necessary towrap the money.

When putting food in bags and boxes, use tongs whereverpossible to open them. Don’t be tempted to spit on the food byblowing into bags or licking your fingers to separate pieces ofpaper.

Standard 3.2.2

9 Food packaging

A food business must, whenpackaging food:a) only use packaging material thatis fit for its intended use;b) only use material that is not likelyto cause food contamination; andc) ensure that there is no likelihoodthat the food may becomecontaminated during the packagingprocess.

Photo 19: Where possible, use tongsto put food in bags and boxes

Standard 3.2.2

23 Single use items

A food business must:(a) in relation to all single useitems, take all practicablemeasures to ensure they do notcome into contact with food or themouth of a person if they are:i) contaminated; orii) reasonably suspected of beingcontaminated; and(b) in relation to single use itemsthat are intended to come intocontact with food or the mouth ora person:i) take all practicable measures toprotect them from the likelihood ofcontamination until use; andii) not reuse such items.

Handling food and moneyWash hands (or change gloves) between handling money and

unwrapped food.Handy Hint: Wrap all foods or serve using paper, tongs orspoons. This way your hands will not spread any bacteria ordirt from money to food. Consider having a dedicated moneyhandler who does not serve food.


Food transportation

Often school canteens will have to transport food, even if it isonly between the school canteen and the classroom. Someschools prepare food for other schools in the area, so need totransport food by car to other locations.

Regardless of how the food is transported, it needs to beprotected from contamination during the journey. For example,lunch orders should be wrapped and transported to theclassrooms in clean, washable containers such as plasticbaskets or boxes.

Ideally potentially hazardous foods should be kept undertemperature control during transport from the canteen to theclassroom. This means that hot food should be kept at 60°C orabove, cold food should be at 5°C or belowand frozen food stays frozen duringtransport. The easiest way to control foodtemperature is to use insulated cool-boxesor bags.

You can transport potentially hazardous foodout of temperature control if you candemonstrate that this will not affect foodsafety (See the Four Hour/Two Hour Guideon page 28).

You may chose to use the example overleafto develop a policy to demonstrate howpotentially hazardous food will betransported safely out of temperature controlusing the Four Hour/Two Hour Guide.

Standard 3.2.2

10 Food transportation

A food business must, whentransporting food:

a) protect all food from the likelihoodof contamination;

b) transport potentially hazardousfood under temperature control; and

c) ensure that potentially hazardousfood which is intended to betransported frozen remains frozenduring transportation

Think!

Baskets and boxes that have been stored on a floor, or in acar, may have dirt on their bases.

When they are placed on work surfaces for filling, the dirtmay transfer from the base of the basket to the work surface– therefore you must clean and sanitise the work surfacebefore using it for food preparation.

Make sure baskets and boxes cannot be contaminatedby animals, chemicals or anything else during transport.


Using the Four-Hour/Two-Hour Guide

A canteen operates from 7.30 am to 3 pm each weekday during term.

All deliveries of potentially hazardous foods are received at or below 5°C andplaced immediately in the refrigerator. Deliveries of hot foods are received ator above 60°C and placed immediately in a pre-heated pie warmer. Outsidethese temperatures, potentially hazardous food will be rejected unless suppliercan provide information detailing how long the product has been in thetemperature danger zone.

Pizza slices, pies, burgers, lasagnes etc are rapidly heated and kept warm in apie warmer or oven at or above 60°C until required. Sandwiches containingpotentially hazardous food are made up in small batches after 9.30 am and putimmediately in the fridge. (Maximum time at room temperature is 30 minutesduring preparation)

Sandwiches from the fridge and other hot potentially hazardous foods are wrappedand placed in baskets or put on display at room temperature from 11.45 am. Hotfoods are placed in baskets last. Baskets are delivered to classrooms by 12.30 pm.(Maximum time at room temperature is 45 minutes during transport or display beforelunch).

Any sandwiches or other displayed potentially hazardous foods not sold at theend of the lunch period should be used for canteen staff lunches or thrown out.(Maximum time at room temperature is 30 minutes during lunchtime display).

Therefore the maximum time potentially hazardous food is at room temperatureis 30 minutes + 45 minutes + 30 minutes = 1 hour and 45 minutes – well withinthe Four Hour/Two Hour Guide.

The Four Hour/Two Hour Guide onlyapplies to ready-to-eat potentiallyhazardous foods.

As it takes time for food poisoningbacteria to grow to unsafe levels, it issafe for them to be in the temperaturedanger zone for the times as shown inthe diagram.

The total time includes all the time thefood has been at room temperature, forexample during delivery, preparation andtransportation.

Four Hour/Two Hour Guide


Food disposal

You may have food on the premises that you do not want to besold.

In a canteen, this would include food that is awaiting return tothe supplier such as

♣ a food recalled by the manufacturer♣ unsafe and unsuitable food e.g. a damaged can or

mouldy product (but this should have been checked ondelivery)

♣ a food complaint e.g. a packaged food with a hair in it.(You may wish to advise your environmental healthofficer about food complaints before contacting themanufacturer, so that follow up action may be taken.)

Food awaiting return needs to be clearly identified andseparated from other food, so that it cannot be accidentally usedor sold.

You can separate food by a variety of methods. For example:• Mark the containers and store them on a separate

shelf away from other food• Place the food in a plastic bag with the label on it• Mark all containers with distinctive tape• Place in a separate room e.g. an office.

Standard 3.2.2

11 Food disposal

(1) A food business mustensure that food for disposal isheld and kept separate until itis:

a) destroyed or otherwise usedor disposed of so that it cannotbe used for humanconsumption;b) returned to its supplier;c) further processed in a waythat ensures its safety andsuitability; ord) ascertained to be safe andsuitable.

(2) In Subclause (1) food fordisposal means food thata) is subject to recall;b) has been returned;c) is not safe or suitable; ord) is reasonably suspected ofnot being safe or suitable.

(3) A food business mustclearly identify any food that isheld and kept separate inaccordance with Subclause (1)as returned food, recalled food,or food that is or may not besafe or suitable, as the casemay be.

(4) A food business must notsell food that has been alreadyserved to a person to anotherperson unless the food wascompletely wrapped whenserved and has remainedcompletely wrapped.

When food has to be returned to thesupplier, mark it and store it away fromother foods so it cannot be accidentally

used or sold.

Photo 20: Separate recalled orreturned food from other food


Health and hygiene requirements

All food handlers must prepare food safely so it does not harmconsumers. There are minimum requirements detailed in theStandards for handling food that can be used to help youprepare food safely in the canteen, home or anywhere youhandle food.

However, if you prepare food for sale you must follow theserequirements. If you do not follow them, you are taking achance with someone’s health.

In some ways, food laws are like traffic laws. We all rely ondrivers obeying the laws to drive safely so people are notharmed. If you jump a red light you may be lucky and not hitanything – but another time you could crash and injure yourselfor someone else.

With food, we all rely on food handlers obeying food safety lawsso people are not harmed. If you take a short cut and don’thandle food safely you may be lucky and not make anyone ill –but another time you could make someone very ill, possiblyputting them in hospital, or killing them. Is it worth taking thatrisk? Remember, food poisoning can kill people, especially thevery young, very old or those whose immune systems areweakened by heart and kidney disease, cancer, AIDS, etc.

The legislation is there to protect the community and those thatchoose not to follow the food safety rules may be fined in the

same way as those driving cars will befined if they do not obey traffic laws.

So the person in charge of the canteen hasto inform you about and, make sure youunderstand, your hygiene and healthresponsibilities before you handle food.They may provide you with a copy of theinformation sheet from this handbookcalled Food handling – your legalresponsibilities on page 37.

The Standards identify specificrequirements for individual food handlers and for the businesswhich relate to the following issues:

Standard 3.2.2

18 General duties of foodbusiness

(1) A food business must inform allfood handlers working for the foodbusiness of their health and hygieneobligations under Subdivision 1 ofthis Division.

Photo 21: Make sure food handlersare aware of their responsibilities


Issue Businessresponsibility

Food handlerspersonalresponsibility

Spreading diseasePeople (includingchildren) withthese symptomsmay be sufferingfrom food-bornedisease:• Diarrhoea

(unless due todiagnosedbowel disorder)

• Vomiting (unlessdue topregnancy)

• Sore throat withfever

• Fever• Jaundice.

People couldspread thedisease to otherseither bycontaminatingfood or bytouchingequipment orsurfaces that willbe in contact withfood.

People who arecarriers ofdisease, may nothave symptoms,but can still spreaddisease.

To stop the spread ofdisease to other foodhandlers andcustomers

Make sure sick foodhandlers do not touchfood, or anything thatwill touch food.

Sick food handlersand carriers of food-borne disease shouldstay at home untilcleared by theirdoctor to work withfood.

If people withsymptoms do come towork, make sure theydo jobs that are notnear food or foodcontact surfaces. Forexample, they couldwork outside washingflyscreens or dopaperwork away fromthe kitchen.

To stop the spreadof disease to otherfood handlers andcustomers

You must stay athome if you aresick.

If you get sick whenyou are at work,then tell thecanteen manager.

The canteenmanager will sendyou home or makesure you do notwork near food orfood contactsurfaces.

(This also meansyou cannot servethe childrendirectly. You mayhave bacteria onyour hands thatcould spreaddisease to thechildren.)

Standard 3.2.2

16 Health of persons whohandle food – duties of foodbusinesses

(1) A food business mustensure the following personsdo not engage in the handlingof food for the food businesswhere there is a reasonablelikelihood of foodcontamination:

(a) a person known to besuffering from a food-bornedisease, or who is a carrierof a food-borne disease; and(b) a person known orreasonably suspected tohave a symptom that mayindicate he or she issuffering from a food-bornedisease.

(3) A food business maypermit a person excluded fromhandling food in accordancewith paragraph (1)(a) toresume handling food onlyafter receiving advice from amedical practitioner that theperson no longer is sufferingfrom, or is a carrier of, a food-borne disease.

14 Health of food handlers

(1) A food handler who has asymptom that indicates thehandler may be suffering froma food-borne disease, orknows he or she is sufferingfrom a food-borne disease, oris a carrier of a food-bornedisease, must, if at work:

(a) report that he or she is ormay be suffering from thedisease, or knows that he orshe is carrying the disease, tohis or her supervisor, as thecase may be(b) not engage in any handlingof food where there is areasonable likelihood of foodcontamination as a result of thedisease; and(c) if continuing to engage inother work on the foodpremises – take all practicablemeasures to prevent food frombeing contaminated as a resultof the disease.

Remember

• Good hygiene helps stop the spread of disease• Don’t work if you have diarrhoea or vomiting• Don’t bring sick children to the canteen – no

matter how short-staffed the canteen is.

Keep the food safe – keep the kids safe.




Contaminatingfood with bacteria

People may nothave a food-bornedisease, but havea ‘condition’ thatcould contaminatefood.

Conditionsinclude:

• Infected skinlesions. Forexample, sores,boils, acne,cuts, abrasions

• Discharges fromears, noses andeyes. Forexample, colds,flu, sties, hay-fever and otherallergies

Take all practical measures to preventfood becoming contaminated

Food handlers must tell the canteenmanager if they have a condition thatcould contaminate food. If the canteenmanager agrees that the food handler cancontinue to handle food, then he/she mustavoid contaminating it. Practicalmeasures that can be taken include:

• Completely covering infected skinlesions on exposed parts of the bodywith waterproof bandages anddressings. Most band-aids are water-resistant; so they will need to becovered with a waterproof layer, e.g.clean disposable gloves. Wherepossible use blue or brightly-colouredbandaids so they can be easily seen.

• Avoiding touching the infected area ordischarge.

• Washing and drying hands thoroughlyafter touching infected area ordischarge.

• Using medication to dry up discharge.

• Using disposable tissues to wipe thedischarge then immediately washingand drying hands thoroughly.

Standard 3.2.2

16 Health of persons whohandle food – duties of foodbusinesses

(2) A food business must ensurethat a person who is known orreasonably suspected to besuffering from a condition andwho continues to engage in thehandling of food for the foodbusiness takes all practicablemeasures to prevent foodcontamination.


(2) A food handler who suffersfrom a condition must, if at work:

(a) if there is a reasonablelikelihood of food contaminationas a result of suffering thecondition – report that he or sheis suffering from the condition tohis or her supervisor; and

(b) if continuing to engage in thehandling of food or other work –take all practicable measures toprevent food being contaminatedas a result of the condition.

(3) A food handler must notify hisor her supervisor if the foodhandler knows or suspects thathe or she may have contaminatedfood whilst handling food.

Photo 22: Tell your canteenmanager if you contaminate food




Food handlers maybe fined up to$50,000 if theyknowinglycontaminate food.

Must tell foodhandlers about theirhealth and hygieneresponsibilities. Foodhandling - your legalresponsibilitiesprovides all thisinformation.

Must comply withtheir health andhygieneresponsibilities.

Confidentiality If a food handler tellsyou about theirmedical condition,then you must keepinformationconfidential.However, you can tellthe proprietor or anauthorised officer ifinformation is used toreduce risk of foodcontamination.

You must tell thecanteen manager ifyou are ill.

However, only thecanteen manager,proprietor andauthorised officermay be informed,unless you givepermission forothers to know.

Visitors to canteencould contaminatefood or food contactsurfaces

Must make sure that visitors• Do not contaminate food

− restrict visitors e.g. teachers, childrenand tradespersons in the kitchen toareas away from food and food contactsurfaces where possible

− supervise visitors to make sure they donot handle food, sneeze or eat overfood or food contact surfaces

− provide protective clothing e.g. hat andapron if they need to be nearunwrapped food.

• Do not touch ready-to-eat food and• Do not smoke or spit in the kitchen

Children in the canteen

Check with your Education Department before permitting any children in the canteen. You need tomake sure that you meet occupational health and safety obligations and that you have insurancecover.

From a food safety point of view, children may be in the canteen if, like all other food handlers, theydemonstrate they have the skills and knowledge of hygiene matters to handle food safely.

Very young children do not have these skills and should not come into the kitchen. They maydistract food handlers, contaminate work surfaces and are too small to wash their own handsor wear protective clothing. This could compromise food safety.

Standard 3.2.2

18 General duties of foodbusiness

(1) A food business must informall food handlers working for thefood business of their health andhygiene obligations underSubdivision 1 of this Division.(See Food handling – your legalresponsibilities information sheet)

(2) A food business must ensurethat any information provided bya food handler in Subdivision 1 ofthis Division is not disclosed toany person without the consent ofthe food handler, except theproprietor or an authorisedofficer, and that the information isnot used for any purpose otherthan addressing the risk of foodcontamination.(This means that any informationgiven by food handlers abouttheir diseases is to be keptconfidential)

(3) A food business must take allpracticable measures to ensureall people on the food premisesof the food business:(a) do not contaminate food;(b) do not have unnecessarycontact with ready-to-eat food;and(c) do not spit, smoke, or usetobacco or similar preparations inareas where there is unprotectedfood or surfaces likely to comeinto contact with food.


1. Wet 2. Soap

4. Rinse 5. Thoroughly dry

Handwashing InformationWash your hands

• Before handling food• In between touching raw meats and ready-to-eat foods• After using the toilet, smoking, coughing, sneezing, eating or drinking• After touching scalp, hair, body, money, dirt or rubbish

Don’t forget to wash all over the hands, between fingers and under nails.

3. Rub hands thoroughly under warm running water

You may use thetowel to turn off

the tap!


Hand washing facilities Standard 3.2.2

17 Hygiene of food handlers –duties of food business

(1) A food business must, foreach food premises:

(a) maintain easily accessiblehand washing facilities;

(b) maintain, at or near each handwashing facility, a supply of:

(i) warm running water; and(ii) soap; or(iii) other items that may beused to thoroughly cleanhands;

(c) ensure hand washing facilitiesare only used for the washing ofhands, arms and face; and

(d) provide, at or near each handwashing facility;

(i) single use towels or othermeans of effectively dryinghands that are not likely totransfer pathogenic micro-organisms to the hands; andii) a container for usedtowels, if needed.

Standard 3.2.3

14 Hand washing facilities

(1) Food premises must havehand washing facilities that arelocated where they can be easilyaccessed by food handlers;

(a) within areas where foodhandlers work if their hands arelikely to be a source ofcontamination; and

(b) if there are toilets on the foodpremises – immediately adjacentto the toilets or toilet cubicles.

(2) Hand washing facilities mustbe:

(a) permanent fixtures;

(b) connected to, or otherwiseprovided with, a supply of warmrunning potable water;

(c) of a size that allows easy andeffective hand washing; and

(d) clearly designated for the solepurpose of washing hands, armsand face.

Single use paper towelscan stop the spread ofbacteria.

Bin required to collectused paper towels.

Bar soaps or liquid soapsmay be used.

Warm running waterrequired (single outlet,not separate hot and coldwater taps). You cannotwash hands effectively incold water.

Basin• Located in food

preparation area• Large enough to

wash hands andarms

• Permanent fixture• Connected to

potable water supplyand drainage

• Labelled as only forhandwashing


Protective clothing

Food handlers have a personal responsibility to protect foodfrom contamination. Protective clothing provides a barrierbetween you and food in the following ways:

Aprons are worn to protect food from the bacteria you may haveon your clothes. On your way to the canteen your clothes mayhave picked up bacteria from objects such as animals, people,bushes and vehicles. Full-length aprons also protect yourclothes from spills, splashes and squirts. Remember to removeyour apron before going to the toilet. Wear a clean apron everyday.

Hair must be tied back and kept away from the face. Hats maybe worn during food preparation to stop hair falling into food andalso to prevent fingers touching hair when scratching your head.Hair control options include:

• Tying hair back (plaits aregood as they keep the hairtogether)

• Using clips to keep hairaway from face where itcould irritate the faceprompting you to scratchyour face

• Wearing a hat to cover thehead and keep hair awayfrom the face. If handlingfood, keep loose endsaround your face, insidethe hat. Hats are availablewith built in snoods andthese are great for “inbetween” hair that is tooshort to tie back.

• Wearing a hair netencloses all the hair, butprevents your head gettinghot. Wearing a cap or visorwith the hair net will give amore modern look

• Keeping beards short andclean.

Shoes are not included in thefood safety legislation as theyare an occupational health andsafety concern.

A word on gloves …

The Standards do not requiregloves to be used. Gloves willkeep your hands clean, but thegloves get dirty! Because yourfingers don’t get sticky, it is easyto forget to change the gloves…Gloves should be changed asoften as you would wash yourhands.

Remember to wash your handsbefore putting on gloves;otherwise you will just put thebacteria from your hands ontothe outside of the glove! (May aswell have used hands.)

Gloves are great for some messyjobs like stuffing potatoes, andfor covering bandaids, long nailsor fancy jewellery.

If you choose to use gloves, USETHEM PROPERLY!

Standard 3.2.2

15 Hygiene of food handlers

(1) A food handler must, whenengaging in any food handlingoperation;

(a) take all practicable measures toensure his or her body, anythingfrom his or her body, and anythinghe or she is wearing does notcontaminate food or surfaces likelyto come into contact with food

(b) take all practicable measures toprevent unnecessary contact withready-to-eat food

Photo 23: Tie hair back andkeep it away from the face

Photo 24: If you choose to weargloves, use them properly


Food handling

- your legal responsibilities

To keep food safe all food handlers mustcomply with these requirements fromnational Food Safety Standard 3.2.2.

If you require further explanation of any items, please ask yourcanteen manager or contact your local council environmental

health officer.

For more information about the Food Safety Standards, visit theAustralia New Zealand Food Authority web page on

www.anzfa.gov.au

Food handling – your legal responsibilities page 1

Photocopy the following 4 pages onto two sides of A4paper to make a useful handout for canteen workers.


Division 4 — Health and Hygiene RequirementsSubdivision 1 — Requirements for food

handlers

13 General requirement

A food handler must take all reasonable measures not tohandle food or surfaces likely to come into contact with foodin a way that is likely to compromise the safety andsuitability of food.


(1) A food handler who has a symptom that indicates thehandler may be suffering from a food-borne disease, orknows he or she is suffering from a food-borne disease, oris a carrier of a food-borne disease, must, if at work:

(a) report that he or she is or may be suffering from thedisease, or knows that he or she is carrying thedisease, to his or her supervisor, as the case may be;

(b) not engage in any handling of food where there is areasonable likelihood of food contamination as a resultof the disease; and

(c) if continuing to engage in other work on the foodpremises – take all practicable measures to preventfood from being contaminated as a result of thedisease.

(2) A food handler who suffers from a condition must, if atwork:

(a) if there is a reasonable likelihood of food contaminationas a result of suffering the condition – report that he orshe is suffering from the condition to his or hersupervisor; and

(b) if continuing to engage in the handling of food or otherwork – take all practicable measures to prevent foodbeing contaminated as a result of the condition.

(3) A food handler must notify his or her supervisor if thefood handler knows or suspects that he or she may havecontaminated food whilst handling food.


Photo 26: If you feel sick, tell yourcanteen manager

Photo 25: Take all reasonablemeasures to handle food with care

Photo 27: Tell your canteenmanager if you contaminate food


15 Hygiene of food handlers

(1) A food handler must, when engaging in any food handlingoperation:

(a) take all practicable measures to ensure his or herbody, anything from his or her body, and anything heor she is wearing does not contaminate food orsurfaces likely to come into contact with food;

(b) take all practicable measures to preventunnecessary contact with ready-to-eat food;

(c) ensure outer clothing is of a level of cleanliness thatis appropriate for the handling of food that is beingconducted.

(d) only use on exposed parts of his or her body bandagesand dressings that are completely covered with awaterproofed covering;

(e) not eat over unprotected food or surfaces likely to comeinto contact with food;

(f) not sneeze, blow or cough over unprotected food orsurfaces likely to come into contact with food;

(g) not spit, smoke or use tobacco or similarpreparations in areas in which food is handled; and

(h) not urinate or defecate except in a toilet.

(2) A food handler must wash his or her hands in accordancewith subclause (4):

(a) whenever his or her hands are likely to be a sourceof contamination of food;

(b) immediately before working with ready-to-eat food afterhandling raw food; and

(c) immediately after using the toilet.

(3) A food handler must, when engaging in a food handlingoperation that involves unprotected food or surfaces likely tocome into contact with food, wash his or her hands inaccordance with subclause (4):

(a) before commencing or re-commencing handling food;

(b) immediately after smoking, coughing, sneezing,using a handkerchief or disposable tissue, eating,drinking or using tobacco or similar substances; and

(c) after touching his or her hair, scalp or a bodyopening.


Photo 30: Wash hands beforehandling food

Photo 29: Don’t forget to take offyour apron before going to the toilet

Photo 28: Cover wounds withwaterproof covering


(4) A food handler must, whenever washing his or herhands:

(a) use the hand washing facilities provided;

(b) thoroughly clean his or her hands using soap orother effective means, and warm running water;and

(c) thoroughly dry his or her hands on a single usetowel or in another way that is not likely to transferpathogenic micro-organisms to the hands.

(5) A food handler who handles food at temporary foodpremises does not have to clean his or her hands with warmrunning water, or comply with paragraph (4)(c), if theappropriate enforcement agency has provided the foodbusiness operating from the temporary food premises withapproval in writing for this purpose.


Summary of main points:

If you have diarrhoea or vomiting – stay at home.

If you are sick at work tell the canteen manager.

If you have a skin condition on an exposed part of your body that couldcontaminate food – tell the canteen manager and put a barrier between you andthe food e.g. wear clean gloves and/or use utensils.

Make sure that your hair, clothing and jewellery do not touch food or foodcontact surfaces e.g. when handling food wear a hat/tie hair back, wear anapron and remove jewellery. If you must wear jewellery cover it with adisposable glove when handling food.

Don’t eat over food or work surfaces.

Wash hands (or change gloves)• Before handling any ready-to-eat food• In between handling raw meats and ready-to-eat foods• After going to the toilet• After touching hair or body, sneezing, eating or drinking• When they are dirty or sticky

Wash hands in the hand basin (not the sink)• Use soap and warm running water• Dry hands thoroughly on a single use towel

Always keep the hand basin clear and do not use it to wash food, crockery orstore umbrellas!

Photo 31: Dry hands thoroughly


Cleaning and sanitising

Cleaning

Have you ever tried to clean the kitchen before you have tidiedit? It takes a long time to sweep around stools, bins, basketsand other items left on the floor. If the kitchen is tidy you will beable to see the dirt and clean the canteen more quickly.

Cleaning removes all dirt, grease and waste that could attractand provide food for pests. Cleaning also maintains a safeworking environment by removing grease from floors reducingthe risk of people slipping or falling.

There are many items to clean in the kitchen – so it makessense to have a list so that no job is missed. Some jobs need tobe done all the time, others once a day, week, month or term. Awritten list may help you remember what needs cleaning andwhen! It may also be useful for contract cleaners.

Don’t forget to let all food handlers know where cleaningequipment is stored and how to use it correctly.

Canteens that have used a cleaning schedule have found that:• Jobs are shared among workers in the canteen

(though in canteens where there is one paidemployee, that person tends to do most of thecleaning!)

• Volunteers can see the jobs that need doing and pickup the cleaning jobs in between other duties

• Jobs do not build up.

Little and often is the way to go with cleaning! If the cleaning isleft to the end of term it will be very hard work to remove thebuild up of grease and grime!

Make sure that there is no build up of rubbish, foodwaste, dirt, grease or other visible matter in thekitchen or on equipment, fixtures and fittings. Use acobweb brush to dust high places and arrange for acontractor to clean when required. Don’t forget toclean the handles on taps and fridge doors!

Now here’s an idea! Use the Cleaning Schedule onpage 42 to help you develop one that includes all thejobs in your canteen.

Standard 3.2.2

19 Cleanliness

(1) A food business mustmaintain food premises to astandard of cleanliness wherethere is no accumulation of:(a) garbage, except in garbagecontainers;(b) recycled matter, except incontainers;(c) food waste;(d) dirt;(e) grease; or(f) other visible matter.

Photo 32: Use a cobweb brush todust high places

(2) A food business mustmaintain all fixtures, fittings andequipment, having regard to itsuse, and those parts of vehiclesthat are used to transport food, toa standard of cleanliness wherethere is no accumulation of:(a) food waste;(b) dirt;(c) grease; or(d) other visible matter.

Standard 3.1.1

(1) Interpretation

Clean means clean to touch andfree of extraneous visible matterand objectionable odour.


CLEANING SCHEDULE* Requires cleaning and sanitising

Cleaning job Person Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Clean continuously/daily

Benches*

Dishes*

Sweep andwash floorWaste bin

Sinks* andhand basins*Fridge and taphandles

Clean at least weekly (indicate day to be done)

Fridges

Cupboards

Clean as required (check weekly and indicate day to be done)

Oven/piewarmersFreezers

Dust the ceilingfans and airconditionervents.Dust the bugzappers/ lightfittings

Checked by:


Sanitising

If a food touches a surface, the surface must be cleaned andsanitised! Food contact surfaces include chopping boards,utensils or workbenches used to prepare food.

Why do you need to clean and sanitise?

Cleaning an item only removes the dirt and grease from it - itdoes not kill bacteria that hide underneath the dirt and grease.A surface can look sparkling clean – yet be covered withbacteria. You cannot see bacteria without a microscope – butthey are there!

Sanitisers reduce the number of bacteria on a surface to a safelevel. Sanitisers do not work on dirty surfaces, as they cannotget through the grease and dirt that surround bacteria. You cansanitise using hot water and/or chemicals.

Sanitising methodsHot water sanitising – soaking dishes in water that is over 77°Cfor 30 seconds will kill most bacteria. However, most hot watersystems do not get that hot and there are occupational healthand safety issues with using hot water at these temperatures.

Soaking dishes in hot water out of the tap for a couple ofminutes may reduce the number of bacteria. The water shouldbe hot enough that you need to wear rubber gloves when puttingyour hands in it! The combination of time and temperature willhelp reduce the number of bacteria on the dishes. The hotwater will make the dishes hot, so when they are drained theywill air dry very quickly.

Chemical sanitising – chemical sanitisers include QACs(quaternary ammonium compounds), chlorine releaseagents (hypochlorites including bleach) and iodophors(iodine based compounds). These chemicals are toxicand must be rinsed off a surface with clean waterbefore it is used to prepare food.

Some chemicals, such as chlorine dioxide are not toxicand do not require rinsing off.

When used correctly all sanitisers are safe, so it isimportant to read the label to know how to use them.

Standard 3.2.2

20 Cleaning and sanitising ofspecific equipment

(1) A food business must ensurethe following equipment is in aclean and sanitary condition inthe circumstances set out below:a) eating and drinking utensils –immediately before each use; andb) the food contact surfaces ofequipment – whenever food thatwill come into contact with thesurface is likely to becontaminated.

(2) In subclause (1), a ‘clean andsanitary condition’ means, inrelation to a surface or utensil, thecondition of the surface or utensilwhere it:(a) is clean; and(b) has had applied to it heat orchemicals, heat and chemicals, orother processes, so that thenumber of micro-organisms onthe surface or utensil has beenreduced to a level that:(i) does not compromise thesafety of the food with which itmay come into contact; and(ii) does not permit thetransmission of infectiousdisease.

Photo 33: Sanitisers come in bottlesof all shapes and sizes


The label will tell you• If the chemical is suitable for use in a kitchen• How to store the chemical – some need to be

kept in the dark• How to dilute the chemical – some need to be

made up fresh each day or they do not work• How long the chemical needs to be in contact

with the surface – this “contact time” may be afew seconds or a few minutes.

• Safety advice – such as avoiding contact withskin, eyes and food.

ALWAYS FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS ON THE LABEL

Your local school canteen association may have informationregarding products that canteens have found useful in your area.

What about tea towels?

Tea towels spread bacteria around the canteen, so wherepossible try to avoid using them. Tea towels are often seenhanging over shoulders or from belts. Food handlers will oftennot think before they use them to wipe benches, utensils, hands,knives, floors and anything else that needs wiping in a hurry!

The video has shown you that you do not need to use teatowels. However, if you have no option but to use a tea towel todry dishes, then make sure that you use:

• Freshly laundered tea towels. (Washing tea towelswith detergent will remove grease on them. Theyare then sanitised by the heat from a tumble dryeror the ultra-violet light and heat from the sun.)

• Use a clean tea towel for each batch of dishes.• Get into the routine of using a clean towel each

time you go near the draining board.• When the towel is wet, replace it with a clean dry

one.

Canteen managers should supervise anyone using a tea towel –it is too easy to spread bacteria unless it is used properly!

Photo 34: Always follow instructionson the label

Dishwashers

These may be useful for cleaning and sanitising crockery,utensils and smaller pieces of equipment. Larger items willstill need to be washed in the sink.

Domestic dishwashers may be used if they can achieve aminimum hot temperature before the rinse cycle starts.


Using a sink to clean and sanitise equipment(E.g. crockery, utensils, chopping boards)

Step 1: Prepare

Scrape waste offequipment

Step 2: Wash

Wash in warm, soapywater

Step 3: Sanitise

Soak for at least a minutein very hot water

(If water is only warm, addsanitiser as shown on label)

Step 4: Air dry

Leave to drain and putaway when dry


How to clean and sanitise a work surface(E.g. preparation benches or large equipment too big for the sink)

Step 1: Prepare

Scrape waste offequipment

Step 2: Wash

Wash in warm, soapywater

Step 3: Sanitise

Spray with sanitisingsolution

(at dilution and contact timeshown on label)

Step 4: Air dry

Leave to air dry or wipewith paper towels


Animals and pests

The Standards make it clear that animals are not allowed in thekitchen. They can contaminate surfaces and utensils andtransfer bacteria from their bodies onto anything they touch orlick. However, assistance animals such as guide dogs andhearing dogs are permitted in dining areas used by customers.

Pests can be a real problem in the kitchen. Cockroaches, flies,spiders, mice and rats are among the most common pests.Pests bring bacteria into the kitchen and spread them around ontheir feet and fur. Pests are most active at night and couldcontaminate food contact surfaces and equipment without youknowing.

You can manage pests by:• stopping them coming into the kitchen and• controlling those already in the kitchen.

To stop pests coming into the kitchen make sure that doors andwindows close properly. Also check where pipes enter thekitchen. You should not be able to see cracks of daylightthrough the walls or ceiling. If you do see holes, arrange toget them filled.

If doors and windows are kept open they will need to havesome method of stopping pests coming into the kitchen forexample fly screening or air curtains. Air curtains are electricair blowers that blow air across a doorway. Flies cannot flythrough the curtain of air.

To control pests already in the kitchen you need to stop themeating and breeding. The easiest way to do this is to keep thekitchen clean and tidy. If there is no food for the pests to eatand no material for rodents to make nests they will either starveto death or move on to another home.

When you are cleaning, look out for signs of pest activity,especially cockroach, mice and rat droppings. These are mostlikely found in warm dark places such as behind the fridgesand freezers, around hot water pipes, under cookers and indark cupboards. Don’t forget to check drawer units by takingout the drawers and check beneath heavy items of equipmentsuch as pie warmers.

If you use cockroach baits, make sure they are within theiruse by date - the chemicals may not be effective after thistime. Follow instructions on the label and keep them awayfrom food and food contact surfaces.

Standard 3.2.2

24 Animals and pests

(1) A food business must:(a) subject to paragraph (b), notpermit live animals in areas in whichfood is handled, other than seafoodor other fish or shellfish;(b) permit an assistance animal onlyin dining and drinking areas andother areas used by customers;(c) take all practicable measures toprevent pests entering the foodpremises; and(d) take all practicable measures toeradicate and prevent theharbourage of pests on the foodpremises and those parts ofvehicles that are used to transportfood.

Photo 35: Check fly screens are ingood condition

Photo 36: Remove food scraps thatmay attract pests


Maintenance

Do you know what condition your canteen is in? Are thefixtures, fittings and equipment well maintained and workingproperly? Have you checked recently?

It makes sense before the end of each term to have a good lookaround the kitchen and see what needs fixing. For example,there may be

• loose or cracked tiles on the floor or walls• damaged fly screens• leaking taps• broken lights and diffusers• damaged work surfaces• chopping boards and utensils that need replacing• broken waste bins• damaged cleaning equipment such as brooms, buckets

and mops• damaged food containers or baskets• damaged plaster on walls• broken shelving• cracked windows• broken fridge or freezer door seals

Take a walk through the canteen and make a noteof any item that needs to be repaired. This mayinvolve forwarding the list to whoever is responsiblefor the business. This may be the canteenmanagement committee, school principal or parentbody.

Plan your maintenance. It is much easier if work is done duringschool holidays. This way it doesn’t interfere with foodpreparation and reduces the risk of food contamination.

Throw away any chipped, broken or cracked platesand other dishes as soon as you notice them.They cannot be cleaned effectively as bacteria canhide in the cracks. Also they may be dangerous aspeople could cut their mouths when drinking fromchipped mugs or cut their fingers on crackedplates.

Standard 3.2.2

21 Maintenance

(1) A food business mustmaintain food premises, fixtures,fittings, equipment, and thoseparts of vehicles that are used totransport food, in a good state ofrepair and working order havingregard to their use.

(2) A food business must not useany chipped, broken or crackedeating or drinking utensils forhandling food.

Photo 38: Throw away chipped andcracked crockery

Photo 37: Check fridge door sealsare clean and in good condition

Full details of constructionalrequirements for buildings, fixturesand fittings are in Standard 3.2.3

obtainable from www.anzfa.gov.au


Summary

The national Food Safety Standards provide minimum standardsfor food safety in food businesses. By following the Standards aschool canteen will be able to produce safe food, all day, everyday.

The Standards require everyone who handles food to know whatthey are doing and to be aware of their personal responsibility tolook after the food.

What next?

While the National Food Safety Standards covered in thishandbook do not require anything to be written down, it isrecommended that school canteens consider keeping somerecords. Without records, it is difficult to demonstrate duediligence. Due diligence means that you did everything youcould reasonably be expected to do to keep the food safe. Forexample, if a parent thinks the canteen was responsible forpoisoning his/her child, the canteen could use the records toshow that it has safe food practices in place.

If you write down everything you have done to keep food safe,the documents could form part of a food safety program. SomeStates/Territories may require businesses to have a food safetyprogram and complying with the National Food Safety Standardsas described in this handbook is the first step towardsimplementing one.

If you are interested in developing a food safety program foryour canteen, contact your local school canteen association. Itmay be able to provide you with more information and put you intouch with other managers who have successfully implementedprograms in their canteens.

As young children are vulnerable to food poisoning, it makessense to do everything possible to look after our kids.

Remember

• Protect food from contamination• Only accept food in good condition• Wash your hands• Keep hot food hot and cold food cold• Use utensils wherever possible• Don’t handle food if you have diarrhoea

or vomiting• If in doubt – throw it out!

What is a food safetyprogram?

A food safety program isa written document thatshows how a canteen ishandling the food safetyrisks associated withpreparing food.

It identifies what can gowrong with food and theactions taken to preventthings from going wrong.

It may includeinformation aboutdeliveries, temperaturemonitoring, cleaning andprocedures for particularjobs.


Does your school canteen comply with theStandards?

Use the checklist to help monitor your progress. You should beable to answer ‘yes’ to all the questions.

Activity Yes No1 Skills and Knowledge (p3 - p6)

a) Do all food handlers have the skills and knowledge to handle foodsafely? (This may involve on-the-job or formal training) ❍ ❍

2 Food receipt (p7 - p12)a) Are all deliveries checked on arrival? ❍ ❍

3 Food storage (p12 - p16)a) Is food protected from contamination?b) Is cold potentially hazardous food stored at or below 5°C?c) Is hot potentially hazardous food stored at or above 60°C?d) Is all frozen food hard?

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4 Food processing (p17 - p23)a) Is food thawed safely?b) Is food cooked rapidly (less than 2 hours)?c) Is food cooled rapidly (total time less than 6 hours)?

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5 Food display (p24 - p26)a) Is food protected from contamination?b) Is potentially hazardous food displayed at safe temperatures:

i) Hot - at or above 60°C?ii) Cold - at or below 5°C?iii) Room temperature - complies with Four Hour/Two Hour Guide?

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6 Packaging (p26)a) Are packing materials protected from contamination? ❍ ❍

7 Transportation (p27)a) Is food protected from contamination?b) Is food transported at safe temperatures?

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8 Food disposal (p29)a) Is returned or recalled food stored away from other foods? ❍ ❍

9 Health and hygiene requirements (p30 – p40)a) Do all food handlers:

i) Know their legal responsibilities?ii) Know how and when to wash their hands correctly?iii) Know not to work when they are ill?iv) Know how to protect food from contamination?v) Know how to wear protective clothing correctly?

b) Do hand washing facilities have running warm water, soap, singleuse towel (e.g. paper towel) and bin?

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10 Cleaning and sanitising (p41 - p46)a) Is the kitchen cleaned regularly?b) Are food contact surfaces cleaned and sanitised?c) Are tea towels used correctly?

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11 Animals and pests (p47)a) Are pests kept out of the kitchen?b) Do you check for signs of pest activity?

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12 Maintenance (p48)a) Is the kitchen building and equipment in a good state of repair? ❍ ❍

Looking after - Food Standards

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