Home-based and mixed businesses

On this page

• Am I a home-based food business?
• What are my obligations?
• Product labelling

Am I a home-based food business?

A food business is any food preparation, food storage or food distribution activity which handles food for sale (including in-kind rewards). It includes non-profit and community organisations. (See the NSW Food Authority’s fact sheet Charities, community groups and volunteers for more details on these groups.) If the handling of food for sale occurs at an address which is also a domestic premises, there are special food safety issues to consider. Examples include: preparing food for sale at markets or school canteens in a domestic kitchen; bed and breakfast accommodation; home-based child care for a fee involving provision of food and home-based catering businesses, among others. Some of the issues below also apply where the food premises is mostly commercial, but where people also live at the premises, eg. restaurants with accommodation for the restaurant owner, family or staff.

What are my obligations?

• Some food processes have higher priority and must be directly licensed by the NSW Food Authority. Some of these will need to be licensed for the first time during the next year – see www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/industry for details.
• All other commercial food operations must be ‘notified’ to the NSW Food Authority before they start operating - see www.foodnotify.nsw.gov.au.

There are penalties for food businesses which are not properly licensed or notified.

• Like all food businesses, those based at home must comply with all relevant parts of the Food Standards Code. There are helpful User Guides and other publications available – see www.foodstandards.gov.au/assistanceforindustry/.

Before starting, make sure your proposed activities are allowed by the local council. Some councils may not approve operations involving high risk foods.

If you receive approval, there are some food safety issues that need special attention:

Premise design and construction

• Dedicated food premises are built to meet minimum standards and must be easy to clean. In the case of domestic premises, there may be certain exemptions granted based on practicality and frequency of the business food handling. Standards for flooring in kitchens and storerooms and requirements relating to personal hygiene areas, among others, are not exempt. Adequate hand washing facilities, for example, must be available. Check with local council on what is considered adequate.
• For more details on construction requirements - see Safe Food Australia at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/mediareleasespublications/publications/safefoodaustralia2nd519.cfm.
• Food must be kept protected from pests and vermin at all stages, including storage of ingredients. Premises must be designed to exclude pests where practical.
• Temperature control for certain foods is an important way to minimise food safety issues. Overloading domestic refrigerators and constantly opening the door means food takes longer to cool and harmful microorganisms have greater chance to grow. Adequate refrigeration capacity is essential.
• Refrigerate foods in small portions to allow proper cooling. Refrigerated foods should be kept below 5°C.

Food handling and hygiene

There are a number of aspects to safe and hygienic food handling that need to be considered in a home-based food business.

• Avoiding cross contamination between ready-to-eat food and raw food or ingredients – including from food contact surfaces, utensils, sinks, taps, splash areas, tea towels and so on.
• Temperature control is important.
• Cook food thoroughly without overloading the oven.
• Keep hot food hot then cool as quickly as possible for storage.
• Keep cold food cold below 5^oC.
• Monitor temperature with thermometers in the oven and refrigerator.
• Control temperatures during transport.
• Some food containers are not intended for re-use and can transfer harmful chemicals to food if not used properly. Food containers and other materials should not be re-used if they are not rated for multiple uses by the manufacturer.
• Maintaining hygiene with frequent, adequate hand washing. Consider using single-use towels for drying hands. Do not use tea towels.
• An adequate cleaning regime should be in place.
• Other people living at or visiting the premises who are sick can leave bacteria in bathrooms, laundries and common areas. These can be passed onto food. Limit their access to food preparation areas.
• Young children and pets should not have access to food preparation or storage areas.

More detailed information about safe food handling can be found in the Food Authority’s fact sheets Correct Cooking Temperatures, Safe Food Tips and Safe Handling – Poultry & Red Meat.

All food handlers must have food safety skills and knowledge appropriate to their activities. Short food safety courses can be helpful. Food handlers have specific hygiene obligations which apply to them as individuals and which they must observe.

For further details on handling requirements - see the fact sheet Health and Hygiene Requirements for Food Handlers.

Product labelling

There are various minimum labelling requirements for all foods, but there are also some exemptions.

• Requirements include: manufacturer details; ingredient lists; ‘best before’ or ‘use by’ marking as appropriate to the product; batch numbering for traceability; and certain other requirements – see the Food Standards Code User Guides (above) for details.
• Unless exempt, all packaged food for retail sale is required to display a Nutrition Information Panel (NIP). There is an online calculator to help generate complying NIPs – see http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/mediareleasespublications/nutritionpanelcalculator/index.cfm

There are also labelling restrictions to comply with, such as ‘characterising ingredients’, making health claims in product marketing and other prohibitions.

Other issues

• Anyone in charge of a food business should be able to identify all relevant food safety issues and control them. Particular qualifications are not mandatory but there are short courses on food safety run by specialist providers and some educational institutions.
• Home-based businesses should consider how they will keep the operation running if the usual food handlers are sick. Sick food handlers must not prepare or handle food for sale.

Keep records

• It’s a good idea to keep records of ingredients’ batches used to enable traceability, for example if an ingredient is recalled by another producer.
• Proprietors should be aware that food safety officers from the NSW Food Authority and environmental health officers (EHOs) from the local council are entitled to visit and inspect premises involved in a food business. EHOs may charge an inspection fee.
• Licensing or notification to the NSW Food Authority does not override any local council requirements. It is highly recommended to contact the local council with respect to zoning restrictions, development planning, construction and fit-out standards (e.g. AS 4674.2004), waste disposal, environmental controls and other local regulations.

This fact sheet is an introduction to food safety issues for home-based food businesses and does not list every issue to consider. It is the responsibility of each food business to understand relevant food safety requirements and comply with them. Some food businesses engage consultants to help them meet compliance obligations.