Help / Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, there are real benefits. Most businesses will see a saving from reducing their waste and improving their productivity. The safety of your food will be constant and your customers will know you are working to protect them from possible food poisoning. If your business faces legal charges resulting from food which you sold which was unsafe and harmed one of your customers, your Food Safety Program will be used as evidence of your business commitment to providing safe food. Where your records are up to date and staff are familiar with their responsibility the safety of the food they prepare.

No, Victoria is leading the way in national food safety reforms, but all other States and Territories will be adopting similar systems in the future. The Governments of Australia and New Zealand want to streamline food regulation.

The manager or food safety supervisor looks at the skills and knowledge of the people working with food and measures that against the skills required to handle food safely and then decides which workers require what training for the job they are doing, and how best to have that carried out.

If you have a food vehicle you should list the registration number next to the business trading name in the FoodSmart registration step. If you have more than one vehicle, you should do a Food Safety Program for each vehicle.

No. All food businesses, other than class A, that have a food safety program that has been approved by their Council will be able to continue to use that food safety program until 1 January 2004, after which they will be required to use a template unless they choose to have their program audited by a 3rd party auditor.

This means you that you are using an outdated version of Acrobat Reader. FoodSmart records are in Acrobat version 5, so you need Acrobat Reader version 5. To get a free up-to-date version return to FoodSmart, click on the yellow icon "Get Acrobat Reader", and follow the instructions. Once installed on your computer you will be able to view and print the record.

Record the details of the Error message,your user name and password then save and Logout. Email these details to: food.safety@dhs.vic.gov.au or Call the Template Hotline Number (1300 888 498) We will address the problem as quickly as possible.

All food businesses other than class A will have a choice of using a template to develop their food safety program (and be subject to a compliance check by the Council), or they may choose to develop their own food safety program. Those businesses that choose to develop their own Food Safety program will also be required to have both their FSP and their business processes indepentantly audited by a suitably qualified and approved auditor.

Click Here to retrieve your password. Or Email food.safety@dhs.vic.gov.au with your name and business details (including your phone number and address) if you cannot retrieve your password.

A Food Safety Program is a written plan that shows what your business is doing to manage the safety of the food you prepare, serve, manufacture and sell.

All businesses will need to have a food safety supervisor. A food business must nominate a Food Safety Supervisor for each premise used in conjunction with the business. A Food Safety Supervisor must have the food safety skills and knowledge appropriate to the processes conducted at the premise. The Food Safety Supervisor must ensure that each person engaged in food handling within the premise has the skills and knowledge appropriate to the tasks they are engaged in. For further information see the Food Safety Unit website at www.health.vic.gov.au/foodsafety/

A Template is a document that provides guidelines and advice on the food safety procedures that should be applied within a specified type of food business. A Template MUST must be assessed and authorised by DHS prior to use. A Template is usually designed so that you will be able to customize the template to create your own food safety program. FoodSmart is a DHS approved template.

FoodSmart is an interactive web program that helps food businesses to build a Food Safety Program for their business. It is regarded as an official registered template.

The email address is food.safety@dhs.vic.gov.au

People suffering from Food Allergies need to be able to get information about the food you make or sell in order for them to decide can they eat this food without having an allergic reaction. Without medication these reactions can be serious. For more information on food allergies see: www.allergyfacts.org.au For information on how your business can deal with food allergies see: www.anaphylaxis.org.uk/cater.html

1. You can add to Standard Operating Procedures and Support Programs before you submit the program to your council or download the program.
2. If you have submitted your Food Safety Program to council, your local council Environmental Health Officer may request that you edit you Food Safety Program and re-submit.
3. If you business is developing in to a new product area or making structural changes, you will need to notify your Environmental Health Officer and adjustments may need to be made to the Food Safety Program and re-summit to council to refeclt these changes.

All food businesses need to have a Food Safety Program. The compliance date for all businesses other than class A is the first registration period after 2 January 2002, which for most businesses will be 1 January 2003. Check with your Council to find out what is your first registration date after 2 January 2002.

From 1 January 2002 all new businesses or businesses that transfer ownership will be required to have a food safety supervisor. Food Safety Victoria has guidelines on the competency requirements of Food Safety Supervisors. The competancies are available from the Food Safety Unit website at www.health.vic.gov.au/foodsafety/. All food businesses will have ample notice for what they need to do.

DHS registered templates should start becoming available by September 2001. If you are a member of an industry association they will keep you informed of what they are doing, otherwise your local council and Food Safety Victoria will be providing you with further information on what templates will be available and how you can access them. All registered templates will have a registration number from the DHS and will be listed on the Food Safety Unit webpage: www.health.vic.gov.au/foodsafety/

The business owner is responsible for their Food Safety Program. The business owner needs to protect the business by making sure the Food Safety Program is complete and in place. Local Councils are responsible for administering the food laws and checking to see that a Food Safety Program is adequate

Any food retail or food service business (with the exception of those involved in meat, dairy or abbotoir businesses ) that have opted to use a template to generate a Food Safety program.
IMPORTANT If your business sells ONLY low risk, prepacked foods (eg Newsagents) it is highly likely you will not need to use FoodSmart. Check with your local council Environmental Health Officer.

Everyone who works with food is responsible for that food being safe. Staff need to understand how unsafe handling practices can make food dangerous to eat. Having the right food handling skills means workers provide food that is safe.

Check that you are using the correct user name and password. Check upper /lower case letters are correct, space bar or '.' are correct. If you continue to have a problem, call 1300 888 498. Or, email food.safety@dhs.vic.gov.au with your User Name, Password and the type of Internet Browser you are using. We will check the details for you and get back to you in due course.