Council and food safety
Places that sell, transport, store or make food for people to eat and for sale must be registered by law.
Food safety inspections
Council’s Environmental Health Officers inspect registered food premises to make sure food safety standards are being maintained.
Some examples of different registered food premises are:
- food manufacturers
- milk bars
- delicatessens
- supermarkets
- takeaways
- childcare centres
- nursing homes
- food stalls at festivals
- food vehicles
- school canteens, and
- pubs and clubs.
Food Sampling Program
In Council’s Food Sampling Program, Environmental Health Officers submit food from premises in Moreland for analysis. The food is analysed to check food safety and compliance with regulations and standards.
Food safety complaints
Council investigates food safety complaints about food hygiene, foreign object contamination, suspected food poisoning and food handling.
Food Recalls
A food recall is where the Victorian Department of Health that food is unsafe for sale and decides that it needs to be recalled. The reason for a recall can include:
- microbiological or chemical contamination
- presence of foreign matter
- labelling errors and packaging defects
- undeclared allergens
Council receives information from the Department of Health about products that need to be recalled. Council may contact businesses that are known to use or sell the recalled food products and ensure that they are not used and are removed from sale. Food businesses involves in a food recall must carefully follow instructions from Council and the Department of Health for the removal of food from their shelves.
Further information can be obtained from the Department of Health and FSANZ.
Food businesses not governed by Council
Some food businesses are not governed by Council, but by other authorities.
If a business predominantly does one of the activities listed below (for example, a butcher mostly sells meat, even though it might sell other food items like packaged marinades), contact the relevant authority.
Contact Primesafe for businesses that mostly do:
- meat or game handling or processing, for example, a butcher
- poultry handling or processing, for example, a butcher, and
- fish and seafood handling or processing, for example, a fishmonger or seafood shop.
Contact Dairy Food Safety Victoria for businesses that mostly do dairy handling or processing.
Links
Food Recall information from FSANZ
Food Recall information sheet from the Department of Health
