Who is really responsible for food safety?

Food safety is a legal requirement for food businesses but there is more to food safety that just what business do.

There are four  contributors to food safety;

• International law and science
• Government
• Business
• Consumers

No country operates alone and in food safety, this is even more important. There are scientists, Microbiologists and Technologists around the world involved in developing new processes, test methods, equipment and techniques. This helps set the regulations and processes used and applied in this country. Food Standards Australia New Zealand has close working relations with all other food safety organisations around the world. All our proposals and applications to change the Food Standards Code are reviewed against what is happening internationally. So we are all operating to the same best practice.

According to the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution, health is the responsibility of the state governemnts, which is why each has a Food Act. This is where the definitions and penalties are to be found. It was agreed around 20 years ago that each state and territory would have the same food safety requirements  to ensure national consistency – this is the Food Safety Standards in the Food Standards Code.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand is the national body responsible for the development of these Standards and does so in conjunction with each of the states and territories.

The local Councils across the country have the role of enforcing these Standards. So the government at all levels has a major part to play in food safety in this country.

However it is the food businesses which have to comply with these Standards. For some a food safety program is required and for others the requirements are less onerous. For all controlling temperatures, cleaning, stock rotation, allergen control, hygiene, GMP are just the basics all businesses need to have in place.If all happens as required, the likelihood of food poisoning is dramatically reduced.

At the end of the day, it does not matter how good the laws are or how a food business manages and controls it, food safety is a consumer responsibility. If we do not keep our food hot when it needs to be or cold when required, our hands washed, everything clean, and our use by dates / best before under control then we run the very real risk of making our friends and families sick.

So who ultimately is responsible for food safety in this country.? The answer is very simple – we all are and if we all do as we need to, then we will stop the 4.1 million cases of food poisoning each year in Australia.