Children’s services

The NSW Food Authority does not require NSW children's services to be licensed with us but you will still need to:

1. notify your business and food activity details to your local council prior to starting operation. You may need to apply for a service, permit or approval, or complete a notification form. Contact your local council
2. meet the food safety requirements under the Food Standards Code
3. be regularly inspected by your local council.

Children’s services are required to appoint a Food Safety Supervisor (FSS) if the food they prepare and serve is:

• ready-to-eat,
• potentially hazardous (needs temperature control), and
• NOT served in the supplier's original package.

An FSS is someone associated with the business who is certified to have skills and knowledge in food safety. Training is delivered by approved Registered Training Organisations (RTOs).

There are 2 learning pathways in NSW to achieve FSS certification – hospitality and retail. Children’s services staff can qualify to be an FSS through either pathway. 

Please see Food Safety Supervisors for information, including how to obtain a certificate.

Children’s services that supply and serve unpackaged, potentially hazardous, ready-to-eat food, must ensure their food handlers have appropriate skills and knowledge in food safety and hygiene for their duties. This is different to the Food Safety Supervisor requirement.

Services can choose how food handlers are trained. They may use or recognise free online food safety training programs, past experience, internal training tailored to suit their own procedures, or courses from vocational training providers.  

Additional training is not needed if food handlers can already demonstrate adequate skills and knowledge for their duties.

See Food Handler Basics training for the Food Authority’s free online training.

Children’s services that undertake higher risk food handling need to be able to demonstrate they are are monitoring and managing key food safety risks. This requirement applies to services that process potentially hazardous food into a food that is ready-to-eat and potentially hazardous. 'Process' is defined as chopping, cooking, drying, fermenting, heating, thawing and/or washing.

Specific risks must be controlled related to:

• food receipt
• storage
• display
• transport
• pathogen reduction (cooking)
• minimising time during food processing
• cooling food
• reheating food
• cleaning and sanitising.

Services can meet this requirement by:    

• demonstrating safe food practices, and/or
• keeping records.

For more information, including templates for recording keeping, see Showing food is safe.

Like any food service provider, earl​y childhood education centres and schools have a responsibility to help parents and children by providing information about food allergens that may be present directly and/or indirectly in food menu items.

If you are not 100% certain you can provide a child with a meal free of their allergen, you must let parents know.For more information on allergen management in childcare settings, see:

• Information for childcare centres and schools - Food Standards Australia New Zealand
• Best practice guidelines for anaphylaxis prevention and management in children’s education and care - Allergy Aware
• Anaphylaxis and Allergy Prevention and Management– NSW Education  

Construction and layout of food handling areas must be designed to minimise food contamination.

Operators must ensure:

• the food premises, fixtures, fittings, and equipment are designed and constructed so they can be easily cleaned and, where necessary, sanitised
• adequate hand washing facilities are available - check with your local council on what is considered adequate
• food is kept protected from pests and vermin at all stages, including storage of ingredients
• the premises is designed to exclude pests where practical
• adequate refrigeration capacity - overloading domestic refrigerators and constantly opening the door means food takes longer to cool and harmful microorganisms have more chance to grow.  

Requirements are set out in the Food Standards Code, Chapter 3, Standard 3.2.3 - Food Premises and Equipment. 

Operators must ensure there are adequate facilities for food handlers to wash their hands. Hand wash facilities must be only used for washing hands, arms and face and should include warm running water, soap (or soap alternative) and single-use hand towel.

Food handlers need to take all reasonable measures not to handle food or surfaces likely to come into contact with food in a way that is likely to compromise the safety and suitability of food.

Food handlers must ensure all food contact surfaces are kept clean and sanitised and adequately protected from contamination.

If a food handler believes they could have or be a carrier of a foodborne illness they must advise their supervisor immediately and ensure they do not handle food, which they could contaminate as a result.

For more see our fact sheet Health and hygiene for food handlers.

Full requirements are set out in Food Standards Code, Standard 3.2.2, Division 4 - Health and Hygiene. See also the Safe Food Australia guide to the Food Safety Standards.

Children's services must:

• keep food preparation areas and equipment clean
• ensure surfaces and equipment that come into contact with food, such as kitchen benches, knives, chopping boards, pots, meat slicers, and eating and drinking utensils, are kept clean and sanitised.

For more information, see Cleaning and sanitising for food businesses.

Foods containing raw or lightly cooked egg need to be handled with special care, especially for children. If eggs aren’t handled correctly, Salmonella bacteria on the shell can grow and cause young children to be sick.

Most Australian eggs are clean and free from Salmonella but sometimes bacteria can be found: 

• inside the egg, which is more likely if the shell is cracked. Some cracks are obvious but even
  hairline cracks where the shell membrane looks intact can be a problem, and
• on the egg, which is more likely if the shell is dirty with yolk, albumen, soil, feathers and faecal or
  other matter stuck to the outside.

Foods linked to food poisoning outbreaks as a result of uncooked or lightly cooked eggs include: 

• pikelets
• custard
• mousse
• cheesecake
• tiramisu
• runny or under-cooked eggs.

Check eggs 

• Buy good quality, clean eggs in cartons that show the name of the supplier and the ‘best before’ date.
• Check the eggs have been stamped with the producer’s unique identifier, which traces back to
  place of production.
• Check the eggs are clean, free from visible dirt and feathers, and the shells have no visible cracks.
• Make sure the eggs have not been stored in the sunlight

Store safely 

Store eggs under refrigeration in their carton. Check the temperature in the refrigerator is below 5°C.

Keep it clean 

• Wash hands before and after handling eggs. 
• Don’t use cracked or dirty eggs.
• Use fresh eggs (a fresh egg will sink in water, but a stale one won’t). 

Cook thoroughly 

Cooking eggs thoroughly (so the yolk is not runny) kills any Salmonella that may be present. When making pikelets or other batters: 

• wash and dry hands before and after cooking 
• make sure pikelets are cooked all the way through the middle (tip: make the pikelet consistency runnier with more milk) 
• wait until the pikelet surface has bubbled before turning over 
• cook other side until golden brown 
• don’t let children lick the bowl or utensils 
• refrigerate any pikelets not used immediately.

Fresh fruit and vegetables are an important and necessary part of a young child’s diet. When serving to young children: 

• refrigerate fruit and vegetables at less than 5°C to maintain optimum freshness and ensure food safety
• avoid using fruit and vegetables that are bruised, damaged, mouldy or slimy 
• wash all fruit and vegetables with cool tap water immediately before serving 
• refrigerate fruit and vegetables as soon as possible after peeling or cutting 
• throw away leftover cut produce if it’s been at room temperature for more than 4 hours 
• wash your hands thoroughly in hot soapy water, and dry them with paper towel, before and after handling fresh fruit and vegetables. 

Honey is not safe for children under one. If an infant consumes honey, it can lead to infant botulism.  Botulism is where Clostridium botulinum bacteria releases toxins into the body, causing weakness and paralysis. 

If an adult eats honey containing botulinum spores, defence systems in the intestine stop the spores growing. However, young children’s digestive systems aren’t protective enough to stop bacteria from growing and producing toxins.

Honey is safe for children over one. 

Operators of children’s services wanting to implement best practice processes and procedures may opt to use our Food Safety Program template. It is tailored for services that prepare potentially hazardous food for children 4 years of age and under.

Use of the template is voluntary – it is designed as a practical guide on food safety and record keeping in long day care, occasional care and employee sponsored day care settings.

• PDF version (PDF, 503 KB)
• MS Word version

Children's service providers will be routinely inspected by the local council to check their compliance with the above standards.
 
Centres may be charged:

• an annual administration charge
• inspection fees
• fees for issuing improvement notices
• fees for conducting follow up inspections.

You will also need to meet the requirements set out in:

1. Food Act 2003 (NSW)
2. Food Regulation 2025
3. Food Standards Code including:
   • Standard 3.2.2 – Food Safety Practices and General Requirements
   • Standard 3.2.2A – Food Safety Management Tools  
   • Standard 3.2.3 – Food Premises and Equipment