Food safety guidelines for home kitchens

Every food business in Australia must notify its local food regulator before trading, and for a home kitchen that is almost always your local council's Environmental Health Officer.

Requirements differ between states and councils. Some issue a food business licence, some only need a notification, and many inspect the kitchen before you start. Ask early, before you buy equipment or print menus.

• Contact your council and tell them you plan to cook at home for sale.
• Ask whether your kitchen needs an inspection, a licence or a food safety programme.
• Confirm any limits on the types of food you may prepare at home.

Home-based food businesses must comply with the Food Standards Code. The parts that come up most often are Standard 3.2.2 (food safety practices and general requirements), Standard 3.2.3 (food premises and equipment), Part 1.2 (labelling and other information) and, for some businesses, Standard 3.2.2A (food safety management tools).

Authorised officers can inspect a home business at any reasonable time, so keep your kitchen, records and paperwork ready.

Potentially hazardous food — anything containing meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, seafood, cooked rice or cut produce — must be kept cold or kept hot. Prepare it quickly, minimise time out of the fridge, and check with a probe thermometer rather than guessing.

Cool cooked food quickly, ideally in shallow containers in the fridge, and reheat only to steaming hot. If food has been in the danger zone, follow the 2-hour / 4-hour guide rather than gambling on it.

You do not need a commercial fit-out, but your kitchen must be clean, in good repair and able to keep raw and ready-to-eat food separate.

Wash hands before handling food and after touching raw meat, bins, pets or your phone. Sanitise benches and equipment between tasks, and use separate boards and utensils for raw food.

• No cooking while you are unwell, especially with vomiting, diarrhoea, fever or infected wounds.
• Keep pets out of the kitchen while you cook.
• Cover food, store it above the floor and protect it from pests.
• Maintain a simple cleaning schedule and keep it up to date.

Allergen information is a legal requirement and a trust issue. Australia and New Zealand recognise ten declarable allergens: peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, sesame, fish, shellfish, soy, wheat and other gluten sources, and lupin — plus added sulphites above the required level.

HomeCatering shows your allergen details on every dish, so keep them accurate and update them whenever a recipe changes. If you cannot guarantee a dish is free from a particular allergen, say so clearly.

Use food-grade packaging and containers, and label anything that will be stored or delivered with the dish name, allergen information, date prepared and your business details.

Keep hot food hot and cold food cold on the way to a pickup point or a customer, use insulated bags, and keep delivery bags clean between orders.

Records protect you if a customer raises a complaint. Keep your supplier details, batch or preparation dates, temperature checks and order history — many councils expect records to be kept for around 12 months.

Register an ABN, check that your home and contents insurance covers business activity, and arrange public and product liability cover appropriate to the food you sell. Many councils ask for evidence of insurance as part of approval.

During onboarding we ask for your ABN, food business registration details, food safety certification where required, and insurance information. These are reviewed before your store is approved, and you can update them any time from your dashboard.

We also ask you to keep allergen information accurate, honour the pickup and delivery windows you publish, and tell customers promptly if something goes wrong with an order.