Sector
Food safety for cafes, restaurants and food trucks
Most cafes do not need an accredited food safety program, and plenty get sold one anyway. Here is what you actually need.
What applies to you
Cafes, restaurants, takeaways, food trucks and home-based food businesses generally need a council food business licence, a trained food safety supervisor, and documented food safety practices. That is real work, and it is work I do. It is not the same as an accredited food safety program, and it should not cost the same.
An accredited program is required for higher-risk categories — kitchens serving vulnerable people, off-site caterers, larger on-site caterers and licensed manufacturers. If you prepare food to order for the general public, you are usually not in that group.
Standard 3.2.2A
Food service, catering and retail businesses handling unpackaged, potentially hazardous, ready-to-eat food have obligations under Standard 3.2.2A — a food safety supervisor, food handler training, and a way of showing you manage key practices. Plenty of small operators were captured by this and still do not know it.
What I do for cafes, restaurants and food trucks
- A straight answer on whether you need an accredited program — usually no
- Council licence application documentation
- Food safety supervisor requirements explained, and what evidence to keep
- Documented food safety practices proportionate to what you actually do
- Skills and knowledge requirements for your food handlers
- A set of monitoring records suited to a busy service
- Cleaning schedule, supplier list and the registers councils ask for
- Support before a council inspection, and help closing out any findings
What it costs
A fixed fee, quoted before any work starts, with travel included in the number you are given. Never an hourly rate that grows.
The scoping call is free and takes fifteen minutes. If it turns out you need something smaller than you thought, I'll tell you.
What I see go wrong
The findings that come up most often in this sector.
Sold a program you did not need
It happens constantly. A cafe preparing food to order is handed an accredited program at accredited-program prices. Ask what the legal requirement actually is before you buy.
Records designed for a quiet kitchen
A monitoring schedule that assumes spare time will be abandoned by the second week of service. Records have to fit the pace of the room.
No evidence for skills and knowledge
Staff know what they are doing. Nobody has written down that they were shown. That is the gap an inspector finds.
Nothing written for the fit-out
Layout, surfaces, handwash placement and storage decided during fit-out are expensive to change afterwards. Cheapest time to ask is before the stainless goes in.
Questions
Do I need a food safety program for my cafe?
Usually not. Most cafes, takeaways and food trucks need a licence, a food safety supervisor and documented practices instead. I will tell you which applies to you on the scoping call rather than sell you the bigger version.
What is a food safety supervisor?
A person with recognised competencies who is reasonably available to the business and has authority to supervise food handling. The specific requirements depend on your business type and your state.
I am opening a new venue. When should I call?
Earlier than you think. Fit-out, layout and equipment decisions affect what your documentation has to say, and it is far cheaper to get that right before the kitchen is built.
Can you deal with the council for me?
I prepare the documentation the application needs and guide you through it. The application itself is lodged by the business, and councils generally prefer to deal with the operator directly.
Check it against your own situation
This page describes requirements in general terms for cafes, restaurants and food trucks in Queensland. Requirements vary by council, by what you actually do, and they change. Check anything that matters against the current Food Standards Code, your licence conditions and your local council — or ask me, which is free.