Food Safety
Council's Environmental Health Officers ensure that food businesses within the Alexandrina Council operate in accordance with the Food Safety Standards. Council's Environmental Health Team achieves this through a range of services and programs including:
- routine inspections
- audits of Food Safety Plans
- investigating food complaints and food poisoning incidents
- educational presentations
- distributing SA Food Handler Updates
All food operators must comply with the relevant legislative requirements below:
- Food Act 2001
- Food Regulations 2002
- National Food Safety Standards
Additional information can be obtained from:
SA Department of Health Food Safety Section
Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ).
If food is imported or exported, it must comply with requirements from the:
Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS).
Food Safety Training
The Alexandrina Council takes food hygiene within our community very seriously. All food businesses have obligations and the Alexandrina Council is assisting food businesses to meet these obligations by providing free access to this training tool. There is a high demand for training within the food sector. This training will assist food handlers in developing the required skills and knowledge to ensure food is handled in a safe and hygienic manner. The program is easy to follow, includes an entertaining presentation as well as interactive quizzes. A training acknowledgement form can be printed upon completion and be kept as a part of your staff records.
Visit I'm ALERT to conduct the training now. Alternatively contact the Environmental Health Team to organise a training session for your business or community group.
Starting a Food Business in Alexandrina Council
All food businesses are required by Food Act 2011 to officially notify Council before commencing operation of a food business or when ownership changes by means of completing and submitting a Food Business Notification Form. Council also strongly recommends that you seek advice from an Environmental Health Officer on the fit out of any food business before undertaking any upgrades of premises to ensure that your works comply with requirements of the Food Safety Standards.
All temporary events involving food for sale require a Temporary Events Notification 
(113 kb). If you are Co-ordinating or organising a temporary event with multiple food stalls, please complete the Temporary Events Notification - Large Event(59 kb). This is required for all sporadic operations where a regular Food Business Notification is not suitable. For operation of a food business at markets, it is essential that a regular Food Business Notification Form is completed (not just a temporary events notification), so that a notification number can be provided to your market coordinator as evidence of your compliance with this aspect of the Food Act 2001.
Food Safety at Home
Although we tend to blame the last place we ate out, a large proportion of food poisoning occurs due to poor food handling or storage in the home. The majority of food poisoning takes 24 -72 hours so it is not necessarily the last meal you ate. Some food poisoning symptoms do not develop for as many as thirteen days.
The Food Safety Information Council aims to reduce the number of Australian's becoming sick from food poisoning by providing simple, easy to follow information on the handling, storage and preparation of food. We encourage you visiting their site for more information on safe food handling at home.
More information on food safety is also available from SA Health.