Safe Food Australia is a guide to the four mandatory food safety standards:
- Standard 3.1.1 Interpretation and Application
- 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.
The guide is for government agencies who are responsible for enforcing the standards. Food businesses may also find it offers helpful information about the standards and food safety issues.
Fourth Edition, February 2023
Download the complete Safe Food Australia guidebook (PDF 12 mb), print friendly with opposing pages, or individual chapters:
- Status and context (PDF 195 kb)
- Contents (PDF 233 kb)
- Introduction (PDF 224 kb)
- Standard 3.1.1 Interpretation and Application (PDF 291 kb)
- Standard 3.2.2 Food Safety Practices and General Requirements
(PDF 893 kb) - Standard 3.2.2A Food Safety Management Tools (PDF 1 mb)
- Standard 3.2.3 Food Premises and Equipment (PDF 568 kb)
- Appendix 1 - Potentially hazardous foods (PDF 271 kb)
- Appendix 2 - Time as a control for potentially hazardous food (PDF 479 kb)
- Appendix 3 - Limits for food processes (PDF 214 kb)
- Appendix 4 - Foods requiring special care (PDF 296 kb)
- Appendix 5 - Cooling of meats after cooking (PDF 188 kb)
- Appendix 6 - Cleaning and sanitising surfaces and utensils (PDF 384 kb)
- Appendix 7 - Pest management (PDF 169 kb)
- Appendix 8 - Template examples (PDF 319 kb) | APPENDIX 8 - Template examples (Word 96 kb)
- Appendix 9 - Temporary and mobile food premises (PDF 1.5 mb)
- Appendix 10 - Home based food businesses (PDF 292 kb)
- Appendix 11 - Food safety culture (PDF 210 kb)
- Resources and References (PDF 618 kb)
- Amendment history for 4th edition (PDF 99 kb)
New content in this edition
Standard 3.2.2A is a new food safety standard for food service, caterer and related retail businesses, which became enforceable from 8 December 2023. It contains requirements for food handler training, a food safety supervisor, and evidence that specific food handling activities are being adequately managed. Businesses need to implement either two or three of these tools depending on their food handling activities.
- Standard 3.2.2A Food Safety Management Tools (PDF 1 mb)
- Our InfoBite factsheets also include guidance on the new Standard 3.2.2A.
- APPENDIX 8 - Template examples (Word 96 kb): revised Word templates for businesses to adapt to their needs, to record food safety management activities, including food temperatures, supplier details and cleaning and sanitising.
- Appendix 11 - Food safety culture (PDF 210 kb): why is food safety culture important? Where to start and what strong culture looks like.
InfoBites factsheets for food businesses
We've also developed some short factsheets to help you understand the food safety standards, by topic. See our InfoBites.