Information for Registration of Food Premises
All food businesses and organisations that provide food to the public have a responsibility to ensure that the food they sell is safe. The
Food Act 1984 (Victoria) regulates the sale of food for human consumption.
Council’s Coordinator Public Health and Emergency Management ensures that businesses and organisations within Buloke Shire comply with the relevant requirements to ensure the safety of food.
This is achieved by undertaking inspections of food businesses, collecting samples of food for analysis, investigating complaints and incidents of illness associated with food and providing education and advice.
All businesses that sell food (including water and other drinks) to the public must register with or notify (depending on the nature of the activities) Council’s Environmental Health team before commencing trade.
New and existing premises are classified into one of four classes. The following classes of businesses must register with council:
- Class 1 – hospitals, childcare centres and aged care services which serve high-risk food;
- Class 2 – other premises that handle high-risk unpacked food;
- Class 3 – premises that handle unpackaged low-risk food or high-risk pre-packaged food, warehouses, distributors and community groups that handle potentially hazardous food, cooked with the intention that the food is sold for immediate consumption.
The following types of businesses (falling into Class 4) must notify Council. Class 4 businesses are those that only undertake the following food handling activities:
- the sale of shelf stable pre-packaged low-risk food such as confectionery, crisps, frozen ice cream, milk, bottled drinks (businesses undertaking these activities include newsagents, pharmacies, video stores, some milk bars, and some sporting clubs);
- the sale of packaged alcohol (such as in bottle shops);
- the sale of uncut fruit and vegetables (such as at farmers markets, green grocers and wholesalers);
- wine tasting (which can include serving low-risk food or cheese);
- the sale of packaged cakes (excluding cream cakes);
- the supply of low-risk food, including cut fruit, at sessional kindergarten or child care;
- simple sausage sizzles at stalls, where the sausages are cooked and served immediately. This means sausages, sauce, onions and bread (and does not include hamburgers or other high risk foods that fall into Class 3).
Attention all temporary food operators: Are you on Streatrader?
If you operate a temporary or mobile food premises in Victoria where you sell food to the public, you are required to register with your local council and/or notify the municipality where you are trading through a state-wide registration/notification system known as Streatrader.
If you are attending any local markets to sell food, you must be registered with at least one Victorian council and have submitted a Statement of Trade through Streatrader.
To find out more information about Streatrader, please visit https://streatrader.health.vic.gov.au/
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