Food safety
Following the recent endorsement by Council of the 2024/25 Business Plan and Budget – Review of Fees and Charges, effective 1st July 2024, all food inspections conducted by our Environmental Health Officers will incur a fee. For each non-compliant follow-up inspection (required until the business is inspected and is compliant), a fee will also be charged.
All inspection fees are based on the City of Adelaide’s fees and charges schedule.
Your obligations for safe food handling, storage and processing
The abundance and availability of amazing food and produce are one of the great things about living in Adelaide. Did you know there are over 1,000 food businesses located within Adelaide city and North Adelaide?
As an owner of a food business, you are required to notify council when you begin trading.
Food safety standards and compliance
Food Standards Australia and New Zealand is a government agency which controls the Food Standards Code that all food handling businesses must comply with. The Code contains a lot of information, so if you need help or guidance regarding food safety please contact us.
The City of Adelaide’s Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) are involved in conducting routine inspections of food handling businesses to ensure compliance with the Food Act 2001 and regulations as well as to provide advice and guidance on food safety to business owners.
Some areas they look out for are:
- deliveries
- storage
- processing (preparing, cooking, serving)
- displays (bain-maries, cabinets, etc.)
- packaging
- transportation and distribution
- recalls/food disposal
- health, hygiene and knowledge of the food handlers
- general condition and hygiene of the food premises.
Food inspection fees – frequently asked questions
City of Adelaide’s fees and charges are reviewed each year in conjunction with the development of the Business Plan and Budget. The decision was made to ensure continued reliable and efficient food inspection services, safeguarding the health and safety of consumers. The fee covers costs of the service.
Inspection frequency is based on risk assessments, which consider factors such as the type of food handled, the history of compliance, and the size of the business. On average, businesses will be inspected once every 6-12 months.
Non-compliant businesses will receive guidance on necessary corrective actions and may be subject to follow-up inspections. An inspection fee will apply for any follow-up inspections.
You can review the Food Act 2001, Food Regulations 2017, Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, and South Australian Public Health Regulations. Additionally, attending food safety training and conducting regular self-audits can help maintain compliance.
You can contact our team directly by phone on 8203 7405 or by email at [email protected] for further assistance.
Food safety at events
Planning to prepare or sell food at an event? There are some things you need to do to keep everyone safe:
- have hand-wash facilities within your stall/van
- sanitise your utensils and food contact surfaces
- control your food temperature - have a digital probe thermometer ready to use
- protect your food from contamination (i.e. during transportation, storage and display)
- if you're using barbeques or hotplates, make sure you have a protective barrier to prevent public access
- dispose of sullage and wastewater from hand-wash facilities, cooking, utensil wash facilities into sullage tanks, sewage drains or back at home. Do not dispose of wastewater onto Park Lands, storm water drains, the Torrens Lake or any other water courses or public land.
Refer to the Temporary Food Premises guidelines for more information and your responsibilities under the Food Act 2001 and Food Safety Standards.
Food safety rating schemes – good for business
You’ve probably seen the gold stars in the window of your favourite food outlet. These are the result of the Food Safety Rating Scheme, designed to inform the public about the food safety practices of food businesses.
The rating is calculated using the results of our routine food safety inspections. Businesses are awarded 0, 3, 4 or 5 stars. Currently, businesses can voluntarily choose to display their certificate at the site of inspection.
We believe that there are significant public health benefits to be achieved from this Scheme. More information regarding this Scheme, supporting documentation and contact details can be found on the SA Health Food Safety Rating Scheme website. If you can’t see a star rating in your favourite restaurant, ask them about it!
A note on doggy bags
Many customers request a “doggy bag” to take leftovers home with them if they are unable to finish their meal. The Food Act does not prevent food businesses from providing doggy bags to customers, so it is up to each business if they wish to do this.
Consumers should expect leftover food to be placed in a new, food grade container and the date should be marked on it. Make sure you either eat or refrigerate your leftovers as soon as possible. If you are reheating them later, make sure they are piping hot before you enjoy them.
Food safety programs
Food businesses such as hospitals, age care centres, child care centres and mobile food service delivery organisations are required to :
- implement a suitable Food safety program; or
- review an existing Food safety program to ensure it complies with the Food safety standards; and
- coordinate an audit of the Food Safety Program by a Department of Health approved Food Safety Auditor.
For further information on Food Safety Programs and a list of approved food safety auditors within South Australia, please visit SA Health.
The City of Adelaide also provides a free online food safety training program.
DoFoodSafely is a free, non-accredited, online learning program provided by the Department of Health and Human Services Victoria and proudly supported by Queensland Health and South Australia Health.
DoFoodSafely is designed to enable you to understand how to safely work with, and handle, food in commercial settings.
By reading through the information in the seven topics below, you will be ready to undertake the assessment quiz and gain your DoFoodSafely Certificate of Completion – a certificate that is well-respected by the food industry across Australia.
This training can easily be translated into Vietnamese, Arabic & Simplified Chinese by using the drop down menu at the top of the page.
The DoFoodSafely FAQs page can answer any questions you may have around the program.
Are you thinking about using your home to prepare food for sale?
This includes preparing food for local markets or school canteens, catering for events, B&Bs, farm-stay, childcare businesses and online food sales from home.
Food safety standards and other regulations still apply, so we've put together a brochure about operating home based food businesses to help you. Good luck!
Need more information?
The SA Health’s pages on food industry sector Information and food safety has a wealth of additional information about food safety. If you have any questions relating to the City of Adelaide’s EHOs and their processes, please contact the City of Adelaide's Customer Centre: