.The NSW Food Authority has published a module of learning aimed to inform Food Safety Supervisors and businesses of their legal responsibilities, under the NSW Food Act 2003.
Key messages:

• All food handlers are responsible for, and may be prosecuted for selling unsafe food, or preparing food in such a way as to render it unsafe.
• All food handlers are responsible for, and may be prosecuted for selling aunsuitable food, or preparing food in such a way as to render it unsuitable.
• All food handlers must not falsely describe food and must not falsely describe food where there is risk of physical harm to the customer.
• All food for sale must comply with the requirements set out in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

The module of information on Offences under the NSW 2003 Food Act is available here as a pdf document
This also contains information on potential penalties ( fines) should a business or food handler be  breach of the NSW Food Act 2003.
Businesses, Food Safety Supervisors, or Managers should be aware of the application of the Food Safety Standards, the laws and regulations in their state or territory and the potential for fines, criminal convictions or even prison time.
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Checking the temperature of food storage areas such as fridges and freezers is a critical daily food safety task for most businesses, to ensure the storage areas are maintaining the food at a safe temperature.
Many business's are using technology now, with thermocouples transmitting the temperature of fridges and freezers continuously, and have an alert or alarm system.
Victoria's Department of Health has released a guideline to manage the alternative system on monitoring temperature, to ensure your system is accurate and reliable in its readings, and alerts.
The guidance information can be accessed here.

The system you choose must:

• monitor and report twice daily temperature readings (at a minimum)
• trigger an alarm when a storage unit is not holding food within the set temperature limits
• document corrective actions that were taken when temperature control issues occur
• have a thermocouple accuracy of ±1 °C
• be validated so that it produces consistently accurate results
• be calibrated each year (thermocouples and alarms)
• have a maintenance program in place to ensure continuous operation of the system

A free online training program is available to train food service staff.
This has been launched by the National Allergy Strategy- a partnership between Australia's peak allergy bodies.
​The free online training "Allabout Allergens" is available at www.foodallergytraining.org.au covers:

• Common food allergens
• Issues for allergen maangement
• avoiding cross contamination
• managing allergen enquiries from customers
• When things go wrong

Victoria's Health Department have published some useful factsheets and guidance material in 2017.
Whilst targetting food businesses in Victoria, the information is suitable and informative for food businesses in other states.
Each state has its own system of licencing,regulatory inspections and classification/ notification of food businesses, so please check with your local council authority or state health authority.
Information in these guidelines provide sound principles of safe food handling.

• Clean-up guidance for Listeria monocytogenes detection
  in food
  Useful guide to ensure that food businesses effectively clean and sanitise both the premises and their equipment to reduce the risk of further contamination, after a positive Listeria monocytogenes result.

To check out the requirements for importing  specific products into Australia you can use the  BICON website- Australian Government's Biosecurity import conditions database.
https://bicon.agriculture.gov.au/BiconWeb4.0/
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This website steps you through a series of question regarding the product you are wanting to import and the source of the product and allows you to save the detailed requirements as a word document.
Importers are  advised to check the biosecurity requirments for all products they plan to import and gain any necessary import permits from the Department of Agriculture and Water Resource.
Import permits may require a manufacturers declaration  and a Official Government Certificate issued by the competent authority of the exporting country for the product.

Use the BICON website to ascertain the requirements to import your product.

NSW Food Authority has launched a interactive Hub for food labeling information.
This hub provides detailed information on the various aspects and requirements for compliant food labelling. 
Review information on Labels and the Law, Understanding Claims, How to read a Label, Ingrredients and Nutrition, Directions for Use, Country of Origin and more.
http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/foodsafetyandyou/food-labelling

The NSW Food Authority published an updated resource - Food Safety Guidelines for the preparation of raw egg products.
The NSW Food Authority has developed these guidelines to assist businesses to undertake practices that will ensure that they comply with requirements when making products known to cause salmonellosis.
The guidelines advise businesses to use safe alternatives to raw eggs in foods which are not cooked. Alternatives include commercially produced dressings and sauces, or pasteurised egg products. 
Should businesses choose to use raw eggs in products, the guidelines advise suitable control steps for foods and menu items containing raw egg, known to cause cases of salmonellosis, that:
-The  raw egg product is to be acidified to a pH of 4.2 (or less) or effectively heat treated (giving businesses instructions on how to achieve this)
-The treated raw egg product should be stored at or below 5˚C for no longer than 24 hours.
Download this guideline at NSW Food Authority 

This 3rd Edition, November 2016 updated reference provides guidance to the three food safety standards in Chapter 3 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code).
Businesses can use the guidance information to help them to comply with the standards.
It also provides new guidance for mobile, temporary and home-based vendors, as well as generic food safety record templates.
​Down load the new version of Safe Food Australia

The FSANZ website also launched a "Food Safety Hub", as a page that provides links to

• Recall advice
• Food safety incidents of note
• Resources to improve the food safety culture within a business
• Food safety standards and information

The NSW Food Authority has updated the resources to promote allergen awareness and management, targeted towards advising food service and retail businesses.
The new resources include a revised version of the booklet Be Prepared. Be Allergy Aware , a A2 poster of the 9 nine common allergens, and a new allergy aware checklist.
Food Service retailers are advised to manage allergens by 
1. Know ingredients in menu items
2.Avoid cross contamination
3.Listen and collect accurate allergen information from customers
4.Educate all staff members..
These new resources can be found at http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/rp/allergies-intolerances
or download the pdf files below

Photo from NSW Food Authority - The usual suspects poster

The Compendium of Microbiological Criteria for Food is new food industry resource, published by FSANZ. It is a microbiological guideline criteria used for ready-to-eat foods. It also provides microbiological criteria that can be used to verify hygiene measures or control of processing.

It supersedes the Guidelines for the microbiological examination of ready-to-eat foods and User guide to Standard 1.6.1 - Microbiological Limits for Food with additional guidelines criteria.

This compendium brings together information on:

• profiling pathogens and indicator organisms significant to food safety;
• information on Interpreting results for testing of pathogenic microorganisms in ready-to-eat food,
• microbiological guideline criteria for ready-to-eat foods, 
• process hygiene criteria that have been established for specific food commodities such as Powdered infant formula and chicken meat

The reference limits provided allow an assessment of  the safety of Ready to Eat Foods and includes likely causes and recommended actions.

By the publication of a hamburger food safety guideline in February 2016, the NSW Food Authority has stirred up a controversy on how the current crop of new burger bars should be managing the cooking of the meat pattie.
Burger bars are all on trend in Sydney at the moment, serving "america style" burgers, often not thoroughly cooked, with pink "juicy" centres.
However as Lisa Owens CFS consultant explains , the very act of mincing meat means that the minced meat burger is higher risk and must be cooked thoroughly all the way through. 
Correct Food Systems advises all retailers to follow the NSW Food Authority guideline that can be found here- thoroughly cook your minced meat burgers, and avoid a possible breach of food safety laws, or worse- a customer who becomes ill with food poisoning.

​ThatsY interview here....

​Businesses that manufacture or wholesale food in NSW fall under the NSW Food Authority’s
Manufacturer/Wholesaler Inspection Program (MWIP) and are required to have inspections.
All facilities are inspected against the Food Standards Code.
Table 1 in this document provides a indication of compliance requirements for various types of food stuffs.
Table 2 provides information for compliance -  indicative CAR gradings. 

The NSW Food Authority has outlined  procedures which have been determined as being suitable for ensuring the chain of custody for security burial/disposal of seized product.
Food and beverage products that have been seized as unsafe by a authorised officer, and ordered to be destroyed, is known as a seizure burial. Seized items are not to be destroyed or disposed of without authorisation, or without a witness present for the disposal.
View the procedures required by the NSW Food Authority here