What are the requirements for displaying food?

When displaying food, all practical measures must be taken to ensure food is protected from the likelihood of contamination [see Standard 3.2.2 cl 8(1), (4) of the Code].

If displayed food is protected from contamination by packaging, the food businesses must ensure the packaging remains intact to prevent contamination. Food that may be contaminated due to damaged packaging must be removed from display and dealt with in accordance with the requirements of Standard 3.2.2 cl 11 of the Code (guidance available here).

If food is unpackaged, it must be protected from contamination. Food on display must be enclosed, contained or wrapped in some way e.g. a cake cannot be displayed on a countertop without an appropriate covering. For specific requirements relating to self-service foods see Standard 3.2.2 cl 8(5) of the Code (guidance available here).

Page 2

When displaying unpackaged ready-to-eat self-service food, a food business must:

• ensure that the food is supervised;
• provide separate serving utensils for each food; and
• provide protective barriers

to prevent the likelihood of contamination (see Standard 3.2.2 cl 8(2) of the Code).

These requirements apply to all ready-to-eat foods on display (e.g. self-service salad bars, bread, buffets and smorgasbords). However, these requirements do not apply to self-service nuts in the shell and whole, raw fruits and vegetables that are intended to be hulled, peeled or washed before consumption.

The food must be supervised so that if a customer has, or is likely to have, contaminated the food, the business can remove it from display. Adequate supervision may be achieved by requiring staff to monitor the display or by the use of surveillance cameras that continuously are monitored. Note that supervision is only required when customers are accessing food from the display.

The food business must provide separate serving utensils for each food on display, or other dispensing methods that minimise the likelihood of the food being contaminated.

Physical barriers between customers and the food discourage direct hand contact and ensure that contamination is minimised (e.g. from customers’ coughs and sneezes). Ideally, a protective barrier should be provided by the use of permanent display units. Permanent display units should be provided where food is being displayed regularly.

For temporary displays other mechanisms will need to be used to protect the displayed food from contamination. For example, if food is being displayed for self-service as part of an outdoor event, a permanent display unit may not be available. Instead, dishes with removable covers may be provided. These covers must remain available so that they can be placed back on the food when the customers have finished serving themselves.

Page 3

A food business must display potentially hazardous food under appropriate temperature control (i.e. at or below 5⁰C or at or above 60⁰C). If the food is intended to be frozen it must remain frozen when on display (see Standard 3.2.2 cl 8(5) of the Code).

If a food business displays food between 5oC and 60oC, the businesses must be able to demonstrate that this will not adversely affect its microbiological safety.

Potentially hazardous food can be safely displayed at temperatures between 5⁰C and 60⁰C provided that the time that the food is at these temperatures is minimised. The use of time as a control measure for the growth of pathogens in potentially hazardous food is outlined in Appendix A.

With respect to frozen food, businesses should follow the manufacturer’s storage instructions to maintain product quality and shelf life.

Page 4

Means an activity conducted to prepare food for sale including chopping, cooking, drying, fermenting, heating, pasteurising, thawing and washing, or a combination of these activities.

Page 5

Means all equipment used in handling food or storing food as well as equipment used to clean food premises or equipment, for example refrigerators, cool rooms, bain-marie units, ovens, food processors, dishwashers, brooms, mops, buckets etc.

Page 6

When transporting food a food business must take all practical measures to ensure food is protected from the likelihood of contamination [see Standard 3.2.2 cl 10(a)].

While food would normally be packaged during transportation, it is important that steps are taken to ensure packaging is not damaged or contaminated in a way that may affect the safety or suitability of the food. For example, food should not be transported with poisonous chemicals unless chemicals are packaged separately from food items.

Unpackaged food is vulnerable to contamination during transportation. If different types of unpackaged foods are being transported at the same time, businesses must ensure that there is no cross contamination. For example, ready-to-eat foods must be protected from contamination from raw meats.

Note that cl 24(1)(a) of Standard 3.2.2 prohibits the transport of live animals, other than seafood, fish or shellfish, in the part of the vehicle that is also carrying food.

Page 7

To apply heat or chemicals, heat and chemicals, or other processes, to a surface so that the number of micro-organisms on the surface is reduced to a level that:

• does not compromise the safety of food with which it may come into contact; and
• does not permit the transmission of infectious disease.

Page 8

All potentially hazardous food must be kept under appropriate temperature control during transportation. Additionally, all potentially hazardous food that is intended to be transported frozen must remain frozen during transportation [see Standard 3.2.2 cl 10(b), (c)].

Potentially hazardous food must be maintained at 5°C or below or 60°C or above. If the food business is transporting the food at a temperature between 5oC and 60oC, they must be able to demonstrate that this will not adversely affect its microbiological safety.

As a general rule, food businesses should not transport potentially hazardous food without adequate temperature control; if transport times will exceed 2 hours (see Appendix A for more detail).

If a food business decides to use time as a control rather than temperature, the business must monitor and record the amount of time that the potentially hazardous food is between the temperatures of 5°C and 60°C during transport.

The food business transporting frozen potentially hazardous food must keep this food frozen unless otherwise requested by the food business that is to receive this food. This request should be in writing to avoid any disputes.

Storage instructions may be provided by the manufacturer. These storage conditions need to be followed during transportation to ensure that food keeps for its intended shelf life as stated by the ‘use by’ or ‘best before’ date.

Page 9

Means an activity conducted to prepare food for sale including chopping, cooking, drying, fermenting, heating, pasteurising, thawing and washing, or a combination of these activities.

Page 10

A food business engaged in the wholesale supply, manufacture or importation of food must:

• have in place a system to ensure the recall of unsafe food;
• set out this system in a written document and provide this document to an authorised officer upon request; and
• comply with this system when recalling unsafe food [see Standard 3.2.2 cl 12 of the Code].

This requirement applies to wholesale suppliers, manufacturers and importers. The requirement has been limited to these sectors of the food industry because recalls can only be effective if the product is stored by the customer (either a retailer or a consumer), i.e. it is not for immediate consumption. Food intended for immediate consumption is likely to have been consumed before it can be recalled.

A retail food business (restaurant, takeaway or supermarket) is not required to have a recall system unless it is also a food manufacturer, importer or wholesaler. For example, a café that makes its own jam for use on the premises is not required to have a recall system for the jam. However, if the café decides to sell this jam to the public, it will need a recall system.

The key features of a recall system are:

• a list of authorities that should be notified of the recall;
• records of where the product has been distributed;
• advice to be given to customers to ensure that food is returned;
• arrangements for retrieving food that is returned by customers to supermarkets or other outlets: and
• arrangements for assessing how much food has been returned and how much remains in the market place.

To safely prepare food, you should follow these tips:

• keep raw foods and ready-to-eat foods separate to avoid cross-contamination
• use separate, clean utensils and cutting boards for raw foods and ready-to-eat foods, or wash and sanitise utensils and cutting boards between uses
• thoroughly clean, sanitise and dry cutting boards, knives, pans, plates, containers and other utensils after using them
• thoroughly rinse all fruit and vegetables in clean water to remove soil, bacteria, insects and chemicals
• make sure food is thoroughly cooked and the centre of the cooked food has reached 75 °C
• avoid leaving recently cooked food out to cool for more than 1 hour; as soon as food has cooled, place it in the refrigerator
• know about and avoid the temperature danger zone - Bacteria grow quickly in high-risk foods that are kept at temperatures between 5 °C and 60 °C.
• thaw frozen food on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator to keep it out of the temperature danger zone
• take extra care when preparing foods that contain raw eggs – such as egg nog, homemade mayonnaise and aioli – because bacteria on the egg shells can contaminate the food
• be trained in safe food handling and preparation.

Safe food storage and display

To safely store and display food, you should follow these tips:

• keep raw foods and ready-to-eat foods separate, to avoid cross-contamination
• store food in clean, food-grade storage containers
• don’t store food in opened cans
• make sure food storage containers have not been used to store things other than food, and wash and sanitise them before use
• don’t reuse containers that are only meant to be used once
• if a reusable container is in poor condition, throw it out
• cover food with tight-fitting lids, foil or plastic film, to protect the food from dust, insects and cross-contamination
• wash and rinse any garnishes used on food
• store food in areas specially designed for food storage, such as refrigerators, coolrooms, pantries and food storerooms
• never store food on the floor or on pallets, or in areas containing chemicals, cleaning equipment, clothing or personal belongings
• remove and avoid using foods that are past their use-by dates, spoilt, or are in damaged containers or packaging
• know about and avoid the temperature danger zone - Bacteria grow quickly in high-risk foods that are kept at temperatures between 5 °C and 60 °C.  
• be trained in safe food handling and preparation.

Cross-contamination

Raw food must be kept separate from cooked and ready-to-eat food. Raw food may contain bacteria, which causes food poisoning.

Cross-contamination happens when cooked or ready-to-eat food contacts raw food. Raw food should always be stored below ready-to-eat or cooked food in refrigerators and display cabinets. This way, juices from the raw food cannot drip onto cooked food.

Cross-contamination can also happen if you use dirty knives, chopping boards or other equipment. If possible, don’t use the same equipment when preparing raw food, and cooked and ready-to-eat food. Thoroughly clean and sanitise equipment after each use.

Bacteria can be transferred to food from your hands. Thoroughly wash and dry your hands before handling food, and between handling raw food and cooked or ready-to-eat food. Also use clean, sanitised utensils (tongs, spoons, spatulas) to handle cooked or ready-to-eat food.

Gloves

Disposable gloves can help prevent cross-contamination. The same precautions should be taken when handling raw food, and cooked or ready-to-eat foods. Wash and dry your hands thoroughly before putting on gloves, and always use fresh gloves.

Change your gloves:

• at least once every hour
• if they become contaminated
• if they tear
• when switching between handling raw and ready-to-eat foods
• when changing tasks
• after taking the rubbish out
• after sweeping, mopping and cleaning.

Temperature danger zone

The temperature danger zone is between 5 °C and 60 °C. Bacteria grow quickly in high-risk foods that are kept in this temperature range.

Cold food storage

You need to keep cold foods at 5 °C or colder, and keep frozen foods frozen solid during storage at –15 °C or colder. Cool rooms, refrigerators and freezers must have proper thermometers, and temperatures should be checked regularly.

Hot food preparation and display

Hot food must be kept at 60 °C or hotter. Bains-marie and other hot food holders are designed to keep food at this temperature.

Do not use bains-marie and similar equipment to heat food. If this equipment is used for heating food, the food will spend too long in the temperature danger zone.

Before placing food in the bain-marie, make sure the food is thoroughly cooked. Ensure that the centre of the cooked food has reached 75 °C. Most bacteria are killed when food is cooked properly.

Some tips for safely using bains-marie include:

• preheat bains-marie before use and operate them on the highest temperature setting
• make sure the temperature of the food does not fall below 60 °C
• use a clean thermometer to check the temperature of the food
• do not overfill bain-marie trays, because the temperature of the food could fall below 60 °C.

Cooling food

Food that has been cooked should not be left out to cool for more than 1 hour. As soon as food has cooled, place it in the refrigerator or freezer.

Note that large portions of food cool faster if divided into smaller portions.

Thawing frozen food

Be sure to keep frozen food frozen solid while it is in the freezer.

Thaw food thoroughly before cooking. Bacteria can grow in frozen food while it is thawing, so keep frozen food out of the temperature danger zone. To do this, thaw frozen food on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator (so the juices do not drip onto other foods) and keep it in the fridge until it is ready to be cooked.

If using a microwave oven to thaw food, cook it immediately after defrosting.

If you have to cook food that is still frozen, make sure that the food is cooked right through, and that its core temperature reaches 75 °C.

Do not refreeze food that has been frozen and thawed already. Freezing does not kill bacteria, and live bacteria are still in food when it is thawed again.

Food serving and labelling

Store food in clean, food-grade storage containers that are strong enough for the food they contain. If containers are reusable, wash and sanitise them before using them. Do not reuse containers that are only meant to be used once.

Food labels or tags can carry bacteria. For cooked and ready-to-eat food, use tags or labels on the trays or containers, and not on the food itself. Be sure not to pierce cooked or ready-to-eat food with tags or labels.

When serving food, make sure that all cutlery and crockery is clean and undamaged.