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1. Module 1. Food safety and the law in Australia

   Everyone who handles food at work must know how to keep it safe. Under the Food Standards Code, food service businesses must make sure their food handlers are trained in food safety and hygiene before they handle unpackaged, high-risk food that is or will become ready to eat. This course gives you that training.

   What you will learn

   • Explain why food safety matters to customers and to the business.
   • Name the main food safety standards in Australia and who enforces them.
   • Describe the three tools of Standard 3.2.2A and which businesses they apply to.
   • Describe your duties as a food handler and your employer's duties.

   Key points

   • The Food Standards Code applies in every state and territory, and each has a Food Act that enforces it.
   • Councils and state food authorities inspect and enforce the rules.
   • Standard 3.2.2A requires food handler training, a food safety supervisor and, for category one businesses, records.
   • Food handler training must cover safe handling, contamination, cleaning and sanitising, and personal hygiene.

   Based on: Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code; Standard 3.2.2 Food Safety Practices and General Requirements; Standard 3.2.2A Food Safety Management Tools; State and territory Food Acts; Food Standards Australia New Zealand guidance.

2. Module 2. Food safety hazards and contamination

   A hazard is anything in food that could harm the person who eats it. There are four types, and your job is to stop each one getting into food.

   What you will learn

   • Name the four types of food hazard and give examples of each.
   • Explain the three ways cross-contamination happens.
   • Use separation, colour coding and cleaning to prevent it.
   • Prevent physical and chemical contamination.

   Key points

   • The four hazards are biological, physical, chemical and allergenic.
   • Keep raw and ready-to-eat food apart at every stage.
   • Use separate or colour-coded boards, knives and cloths, and clean and sanitise between tasks.
   • Store chemicals away from food, in their labelled containers, and never mix them.

   Based on: Standard 3.2.2 Food Safety Practices and General Requirements; Food Standards Australia New Zealand guidance.

3. Module 3. Bacteria, food poisoning and temperature control

   Most food poisoning is caused by harmful bacteria growing in food kept at the wrong temperature. In Australia, the key numbers are 5°C and 60°C.

   What you will learn

   • Explain what bacteria need to grow and what potentially hazardous food is.
   • Keep food out of the temperature danger zone of 5°C to 60°C.
   • Cool, reheat and hot hold food correctly.
   • Use the 2-hour/4-hour rule and a probe thermometer.

   Key points

   • The temperature danger zone is 5°C to 60°C.
   • Keep potentially hazardous food at 5°C or below, or 60°C or above.
   • Cool from 60°C to 21°C within 2 hours, and to 5°C within a further 4 hours.
   • Use the 2-hour/4-hour rule only when you can show how long food has been out.

   Based on: Standard 3.2.2 Food Safety Practices and General Requirements; Standard 3.2.2A Food Safety Management Tools; Food Standards Australia New Zealand guidance.

4. Module 4. Personal hygiene and health

   People are one of the main sources of harmful bacteria and viruses in food. Clean hands and telling your supervisor when you are ill protect customers more than anything else you do.

   What you will learn

   • Wash your hands correctly and know when to do it.
   • Know which symptoms you must report and when you must not handle food.
   • Follow the rules on clothing, hair, jewellery, cuts and gloves.
   • Avoid habits that contaminate food.

   Key points

   • Wash your hands with soap and warm running water for at least 15 seconds, and dry them with a single-use towel or a hand dryer.
   • Tell your supervisor if you have diarrhoea, vomiting, fever, sore throat with fever or jaundice.
   • Stay away from handling food until you are well, usually 48 hours after symptoms stop.
   • Gloves do not replace hand washing.

   Based on: Standard 3.2.2 Food Safety Practices and General Requirements; Standard 3.2.3 Food Premises and Equipment; Food Standards Australia New Zealand guidance.

5. Module 5. Cleaning, sanitising, pests and premises

   Cleaning removes dirt and grease; sanitising kills the germs you cannot see. Food handler training must cover both, and a clean, pest-free kitchen is a legal requirement.

   What you will learn

   • Explain the difference between cleaning and sanitising.
   • Clean and sanitise food contact surfaces and utensils correctly.
   • Handle rubbish and prevent pests.
   • Recognise the main requirements for food premises and equipment.

   Key points

   • Clean first, then sanitise. Sanitiser does not work on a dirty surface.
   • Follow the label for dilution and contact time, and never mix chemicals.
   • Report signs of pests straight away and throw out contaminated food.
   • Keep premises and equipment clean and in good repair, and report damage.

   Based on: Standard 3.2.2 Food Safety Practices and General Requirements; Standard 3.2.3 Food Premises and Equipment; Food Standards Australia New Zealand guidance.

6. Module 6. Food allergens

   For people with a food allergy, a tiny amount of the wrong food can kill. In Australia, certain allergens must always be declared, including on food you serve that is not packaged.

   What you will learn

   • Explain the difference between a food allergy, an intolerance and coeliac disease.
   • Name the allergens that must be declared in Australia.
   • Give accurate allergen information to customers.
   • Prevent allergen cross-contact and respond to anaphylaxis.

   Key points

   • Australia's declared allergens are peanut, tree nuts, egg, milk, fish, crustacea, mollusc, soy, sesame, wheat, gluten, lupin and added sulphites.
   • Allergen information for food that is not packaged must be displayed or given on request.
   • Never guess. Check the recipe and labels, or ask.
   • For anaphylaxis, call 000 and help the person use their adrenaline injector.

   Based on: Standard 1.2.3 Information requirements, warning statements, ingredient lists, and declarations; Food Standards Australia New Zealand guidance on allergen labelling.

7. Module 7. From delivery to service, and keeping records

   Food has to be kept safe at every step, from the moment it arrives to the moment it is served. Category one businesses must also keep records that show they did.

   What you will learn

   • Check deliveries and reject unsafe food.
   • Store, label and rotate food correctly.
   • Display, serve and transport food safely.
   • Explain what records category one businesses must keep, and why.

   Key points

   • Check deliveries: chilled food at 5°C or below, frozen food frozen hard, packaging intact.
   • Store food covered, labelled, off the floor and raw below ready-to-eat, and use FIFO.
   • Never use food after its use-by date.
   • Category one businesses must keep records of key activities for 3 months.

   Based on: Standard 3.2.2 Food Safety Practices and General Requirements; Standard 3.2.2A Food Safety Management Tools; Standard 3.3.1 Food Safety Programs for Food Service to Vulnerable Persons; Food Standards Australia New Zealand guidance.

HygieneReady certificates confirm completion of training. This course is not nationally recognised training. Definitions of the key terms are in the glossary.