Food Safety & Hygiene in the School Canteen

Food Safety and Hygiene in the Canteen

All canteens have a responsibility to provide safe food. Safe food means that it is prepared, cooked, transported and served in such a way as to retain nutrients, and to minimise bacterial contamination and growth. Handling food poorly can cause food poisoning. It can also reduce the quality of the food being served. In this section you will find everything you need to know on food safety and hygiene in the school canteen.

Food Safety and Hygiene:

Food Safety Inspections - What you Need to Know?
Food Safety in the School Canteen (NSW Food Authority)
How to Prevent Food Poisoning in School Canteens
Personal Hygiene Requirements
Food Safety Standard 3.2.2 Division 4 (Health & Hygiene Requirements for Food Handlers)
Thermometers and using them with potentially hazardous food
Food Safety Fundamentals Pamphlet
Food Handler Training for Food Safety Supervisors
FAQ on Food Safety (Members Only*)
Food Safety in the Canteen (Members Only*)
Cleaning Schedule (Members Only*)
Cold Equipment Temperature Monitoring Log (Members Only*)
Hot Equipment Temperature Monitoring Log (Members Only*)
Food Receiving Record (Members Only*)
Rejected Deliveries Log (Members Only*)
Thermometer Calibration Log (Members Only*)
Complying with the FSS checklist (Members Only*)

Looking after our Kids DVD and Handbook

This is a very useful resource for school canteens explaining how to understand and comply with the Food Safety Standards. This resource was originally made available to all canteens in video form in 2002 to explain the National Food Standards. It is now available for free to school canteens from the Australian Government Department of Health and Aging 6289 5131 or foodsafety@health.gov.au

The DVD and handbook covers areas such as food receipt, food storage, food processing and display, health and hygiene and cleaning. Some canteens may choose to play the DVD at a welcome event for new volunteers or may lend it to volunteers to view at home. The handbook has useful charts which canteens can use to ensure they have implemented safe food handling practices.