All GFSI and HACCP programs now require the business to build a positive food safety culture at work by developing awareness, empowerment and commitment to food safety.
There is a 2 minute free online U Tube video introducing the topic of "What is Food Safety Culture", produced by Safe Food Production QLD. It may be a useful introduction to staff to start discussion about the importance of building a positive Food Safety Culture. 

Codex Alimentarius  The General Principles of Food Hygiene CXC 1- 1969 has been updated in late 2020.
Changes include:

• The establishment and maintenance of a positive food safety culture.
  The commitment of the management and all personnel to the production and handling of safe food.
• Chapter 1. Good Hygiene Practices. Minor changes.
  Requirement for a traceability/product tracing system.
• A Code of Practice on Food Allergen Management for Food Business Operators CXC 80-2020
• Some additional and variations of definitions
• Subtle changes to The Principles of HACCP.
  Some of these changes are consideration of unintended use, as well as intended use of products. 
  Validation of Critical Limits.
  Validation of the HACCP plan prior to Verification of the HACCP system to ensure it is working as intended.
• Strengthening of HACCP training and competency as an essential element for the effective implementation of HACCP.

These changes to HACCP occurred late 2020.
Correct Food Systems will be working with our clients to make any required adjustment to HACCP plans. We will be allowing adequate time for businesses make the necessary changes to their HACCP plans.
Download  Codex HACCP 2020 below.
Register now for a Update - HACCP Refresher 2020 trainng

See our Utube interview with Gary Kennedy explaining this change.
Watch our short interview for an overview of the changes.

Late February 2021 the FSANZ Code was amended to introduce new requirements for the labelling of allergens in food, sold in Australia. FSANZ approved Proposal P1044 Plain English Allergen Labelling (PEAL).
Businesses have 3 years (till 25 February 2024) to adjust their product information and labels to meet the new requirements. There is a further 2 years stock in trade period.

These requirements change how allergen information is to be declared.
Products for sale in Australia will have specific allergen information, in a specific format, specific wording and terms, in bold font, in a specific location on food labels.
PEAL changes include

• Allergen identification in the Ingredients List, for each ingredient
• Required specific names for making allergen declarations
• Declaration of allergens in processing aids used
• Bolded format of specific allergen words
• In a size of type no less than that used for other text
• Molluscs as a new allergen category
• Specific nut type must be named rather than "nuts" or "tree nuts", eg cashew, hazelnut. almond
• Specific cereal type must be named rather than "cereals", eg wheat, barley, oats in the ingredient list
• ‘Wheat’ must still be declared when it is present in food, irrespective of whether gluten is present
• Specific declaration of gluten in the separate allergen statement
• A separate allergen statement in addition to the Allergens declared in the Ingredients list
• Allergen information clearly legible, and same size font so as to contrast distinctly with the background of the label
• FSANZ has specified the mandatory terms that must be used in both the Ingredient List and the Allergen Declaration Statement. In some cases - where gluten is present in the specific cereal, gluten must be named in the Allergen Declaration Statement

Note: This is not an exhaustive list of all the changes.

See the Plain English Allergen Labelling webpage at Correct Food Systems

Further information can be found at FSANZ in Standard 1.2.3 ( link to Standard 1.2.3), and Schedule 9 Mandatory Advisory Statements (link to Schedule 9) and in the proposal  approval report.

FSANZ Food Standards Code 3.2.2.
Food Standards Practices and general requirements
​

The NSW Food Authority has updated the learning resource for Allergen Management, that is to be taught as part of the Food Safety Supervisor training program, delivered by NSW Food Authority approved RTO's.
This updated resource  encourages food safety supervisors to ensure food handlers who work in retail and food service businesses to know the 10 common allergens (including Lupin to be declared as a allergen form May 2018) and food intolerances, and be aware of business responsibilities regarding communicating allergen information in food for sale.

Other key messages in this resource are:

• Always treat an allergy request seriously.
• Any food may contain an allergen. Once a customer informs of an allergy it is the businesses legal responsibility to prepare food that doesn’t contain the allergen or notify the customer they cannot guarantee the customer food that does not contain the allergen
• Be allergy aware during food preparation. Allergens may be introduced through cross contamination between allergenic and non-allergenic ingredients.
• If the product contains an allergen, you must let the consumer know by labelling the food product or telling them this is the case, when they ask.
• If you can’t guarantee a customer an allergen free meal, you must notify the customer.

You may download a pdf of this information published by the NSW Food Authority, that may be useful to businesses to educate staff about allergen management

.The NSW Food Authority has published a module of learning aimed to inform Food Safety Supervisors and businesses of their legal responsibilities, under the NSW Food Act 2003.
Key messages:

• All food handlers are responsible for, and may be prosecuted for selling unsafe food, or preparing food in such a way as to render it unsafe.
• All food handlers are responsible for, and may be prosecuted for selling aunsuitable food, or preparing food in such a way as to render it unsuitable.
• All food handlers must not falsely describe food and must not falsely describe food where there is risk of physical harm to the customer.
• All food for sale must comply with the requirements set out in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

The module of information is available here as a pdf document
This also contains information on potential penalties ( fines) should a business or food handler be  breach of the NSW Food Act 2003.
Businesses, Food Safety Supervisors, or Managers should be aware of the application of the Food Safety Standards, the laws and regulations in their state or territory and the potential for fines, criminal convictions or even prison time.

The Victorian Department of Health & Human Services Food Safety Unit has an excellent online learning resource (which was recently updated) called "DoFoodSafely".  This hour long food safety program is free to use and covers the basic concepts and principles of food safety with recently updated content including more allergen specific information.  It provides the underpinning knowledge of food safety that applies to  safe food handling. The program includes seven topics on food safety and an assessment comprising of 30 multiple choice questions (this may increase over time).  Participants who score more than 90 per cent in the assessment are awarded a certificate.  The certificate of completion will have the users name on it, along with a date and certificate number.  Participants will have to have an email address to receive the certificate.  Please keep certificate in a safe place as a duplicate certificate will not be made available.

Participants who complete the whole on-line course will be able to:

•  Define food handlers and their responsibilities with regard to the law;
•  Describe the ways in which food can become contaminated and potentially unsafe;
•  Describe the common causes as well as symptoms of food poisoning
•  Explain the dos and don’ts of maintaining good personal hygiene;
•  Handle food correctly at all stages of preparation;
•  Explain the dos and don’ts for accepting food deliveries, storing, displaying and   transporting food
•  Explain the dos and don’ts for cleaning the food preparation surfaces and equipment.

The link to the online food safety training is http://dofoodsafely.health.vic.gov.au/

Completion of this online training course and print out of the certificate are used as pre-reading and assessment of basic food safety knowledge in the Implement HACCP Food Safety Systems and Food Safety Supervisor training course.

Instructions:
​

1. Access the link to the online training course http://dofoodsafely.health.vic.gov.au/
2. Complete the necessary online training program (est. time is one hour).  Updated content including more allergen specific information.
3. Complete the assessment (there are now 30 multiple choice questions, which may increase over time)
4. Complete Name and Email address (ensure spelling of name and email address are correct as a duplicate certificate cannot be issued)
5. A Certificate will be emailed to you with your name, the date you passed the test, certificate number and the score you achieved
6. Keep certificate in a safe place as a duplicate certificate cannot be issued.  
7. Submit a copy of the "Do Food Safely" Certificate to Correct Training Systems as part of your assessment

Full instructions for completing this assessment task can be found here.

The NSW Food Authority has released an updated version of the food safety guideline for the preparation of raw egg products.
The NSW Food Authority has developed these guidelines to assist businesses to undertake practices that will ensure that they comply with requirements when making products known to cause salmonellosis.
The guidelines advise businesses to use safe alternatives to raw eggs in foods which are not cooked. Alternatives include commercially produced dressings and sauces, or pasteurised egg products. 
Should businesses choose to use raw eggs in products, the guidelines advise suitable control steps for foods and menu items containing raw egg, known to cause cases of salmonellosis, that:
-The  raw egg product is to be acidified to a pH of 4.2 (or less) or effectively heat treated (giving businesses instructions on how to achieve this)
-The treated raw egg product should be stored at or below 5˚C for no longer than 24 hours.
Download this guideline at NSW Food Authority 

Queensland Health has a excellent checklist for businesses to use to check their responsibilities under the Queensland Food Act and also the Food Standards Code.
A useful checklist with suggested records for all businesses

Queensland Health have a excellent guide on the design and fitout of food premises, using information in Standard 3.2.3 and Australian Standard 4674-2004: Design, construction and fit-out of food premises. It aims to provide users seeking further information on how to comply with the requirements of the Standard with acceptable solutions on how they may meet the outcomes.  The guide also provides some best practice options for those food businesses that choose to demonstrate a higher level of compliance.

The Australian Government has announced and released a new Standard for labelling food Country of Origin. This is effective from 1 July 2016, with a 2 year transition period.
Download a copy of the new standard here.

CSIRO "Make it Safe" is an excellent text on food safety, providing a solid foundation of information about food safety, within Australia.
Order the text from CSIRO. http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/6354.htm

The NSW Food Authority has published a useful information brochure outlining how audits of food businesses in NSW work.
This information guideline provides an explanation of  the audit requirements for various food businesses, grading of audits. Table 5 lists key areas for various types of food businesses.
Table 6 provides guidance on various aspects of audit compliance.
if you operate a food business that is audited by the NSW Food Authority scheme this is well worth a review.

This guide provides an simple introduction into the principles of food safety. Although aimed at domestic consumers the information is sound and applicable to most food businesses. An excellent introduction to food safety.
 https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/about/publications/policiesandguidelines/Your%20Guide%20to%20Food%20Safety.
Download the file here for pre reading to our Food Safety Supervisor Course or Implement HACCP Food Safety Systems  training course.

Sous vide is a cooking method where food is cooked in sealed pouches or air tight plastic bags at exact - sometimes low - temperatures.The sous vide method is now used for many retail foods including ready meals for sale, some catered foods, and some items at restaurants.Businesses using sous vide must know how to manage the food safety risks that are associated with this method of cookery.
To keep food safe:

• prepare thinner portions of food so that heating and cooling are rapid
• keep water bath temperatures at 55°C or hotter
• limit the time food is cooked at cooler than 55°C to no more than 6 hours
• use quality equipment with adequate heating capacity and excellent temperature control
• check water and/or food temperatures with an accurate, tip-sensitive digital thermometer accurate to 0.1°C
• store prepared foods for no more than 5 days
• do not compound multiple risks, for example, if meat has been mechanically tenderised do not cook large portions for a long time at low temperatures.

This information about sous vide is available from NSW Food Authority.
Fact sheet from NSW Food Authority.

​This document is required reading for the CTS Audit a Cook Chill Process training program.

This guideline prepared by the NSW Food Authority explains the mandatory requirements detailed in current legislation and the Food Standards Code 3.3.1.
It covers Licencing requirements that apply; Specific issues for a food safety program for a 3.3.1 licenced facility; Menu design; Preparation and Storage of ready to eat foods( not cooked); Cook Serve foods; Cook Chill foods; Preparation of texture modified and pureed foods; preparation of infant formula; Allergen control.
It acts reference material for Cook Chill food preparation, HACCP and food safety programs, and auditing facilities that prepare and serve food to vulnerable populations.

​This document is recommended reading for the CTS Audit a Cook Chill Process training program.

Businesses that manufacture or wholesale food in NSW fall under the NSW Food Authority’s Manufacturer/Wholesaler Food Inspection Program and are required to have inspections.  These inspections will be unannounced visits. This  NSW Food Authority fact sheet outlines what wil be expected and inspected at a food processing, importing or wholesaling business.
( click here )

Under the Food Standards Code, a food handler must take all reasonable measures not to handle food or food surfaces in a way that is likely to compromise the safety and suitability of food and protect food from contamination. Food handlers also have specific responsibilities relating to health and hygiene. This NSW Food Authority fact sheet outline the Health and Hygiene responsibilities.
(click here)

The Food Regulation 2015 (NSW) requires certain food businesses in the NSW hospitality and retail food service sector to have at least one trained Food Safety Supervisor (FSS).
The NSW Food Authority manages the certification of Food Safety Supervisors.
All information regarding gaining a Food Safety Supervisor is available on the NSW Food Authority website (click here). 
Businesses in other states approved by NSW Food Authority as a Registered Training Organisation to deliver, assess this qualification.