Retail outlets and restaurants

Overview

NSW has around 50,000 food businesses which have notified NSW Health of their activities in the food industry, including bakeries, B&Bs, beekeepers, butchers, canteens, charity groups, delicatessens, health food shops, home delivery services, hotel/motel operations, kiosks, licensed clubs, food manufacturers and packers, pharmacies, pubs, restaurants, service stations, street vendors, takeaways, food transporters and wineries (source: Notification and Food Safety Information System, NSW Health)

The NSW food service and retail food industries are regulated by the Food Standards Code which sets out the standards for food and food businesses.

The Food Standards Code also requires businesses which sell any sort of food to be either licensed or to notify the Authority of its details (there are significant fines for failing to be notified).

• More on notification

The NSW Food Authority and local councils work together at the retail business level to inspect notified businesses to verify compliance with the Food Standards Code.

Food safety supervisors

An initiative for certain businesses to designate a trained food safety started on 1 October 2010.

• see food safety supervisors

Nutrition labelling for standard food outlets

NSW Government is introducing new rules to require energy (kJ) values on some outlets in NSW which sell standard food items.

For implementation information, see:

• fast & snack food outlets: implementing nutrition information requirements

Temporary food events and markets

Guidelines to improve the food safety of temporary food events and reduce red tape are available. Food Handling Guidelines for Temporary Events (pdf, 225 KB) will reduce duplication by having one set of uniform regulations covering markets and special food events across NSW. See also the launch statement.

Mobile food vending vehicles

A guide for mobile food vending vehicle operators is available. The Mobile food vending vehicle guideline (pdf, 210KB)  sets out the legal requirements for selling food from vending vehicles, and suggests ways to achieve food safety.

School canteens

Food Safety in School Canteens (678 KB) is for canteen managers and volunteers; produced for the Fresh Tastes @ School program by the Authority and the Department of Health.

Guide dogs

Guide dog users in NSW are allowed to enter all public places including food service businesses such as:

• restaurants
• cafes
• pubs
• clubs

If a guide dog is in a harness it means it is working and assisting a blind or visually impaired person to move around safely and independently.

A harnessed guide dog is allowed entry into restaurants under the:

• Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Clth), s (9)
• Companion Animals Act 1998 (NSW), ss (14) & (59)
• Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, ch 3, s 24(1)(b).

Refusing a harnessed guide dog entry to a café or restaurant can result in legal action.

For further information about the legal rights of guide dogs and their users to enter food service businesses please see Guide Dogs NSW/ACT

Food regulation partnership

New food laws from 1 January 2008 enable a new Food Regulation Partnership between councils and the NSW Government.

The changes:

• better protect business reputations as suppliers of quality safe food
• create a level playing field for retail food businesses
• improve food industry performance
• introduce some fees and charges

The impact of the changes on retail food businesses varies between councils depending on their individual food regulation program.

see: Impact of the new partnership a summary for stakeholders

Related information

• Factsheets and assistance for food businesses
• Read the latest news from the Authority about food businesses in NSW in the current issue of Foodwise