Events involving food
In Victoria, there are laws that regulate the way that food is provided to the public. The main objective of the Food Act 1984 (Vic) is to ensure that food is safe and suitable for human consumption. No-one would want their community festival or local school fete to end in a major food poisoning episode.
If your community organisation is planning to hold an event or activity involving the service of food to the public, there are a number of legal issues that you should be aware of.
Does our organisation require a permit from the local council to provide food?
The Food Act 1984 (Vic) requires all organisations that supply food to the public be registered by their local council, regardless of whether they are a for-profit (business) or a non-for-profit organisation.
If your community organisation is planning to provide food at a temporary event, you will need to register details of that event with your local council including:
- details of your event (when and where the event will be held);
- the type of food to be served; and
- the equipment being used.
As part of the registration process, you may need to talk to your local council to determine whether or not your event will require a person to be a ‘Food Safety Supervisor’ or an ‘Event Coordinator’.
Business Victoria has developed an online step-by-step tool: Application Guide: Providing Food at Temporary Events. This tool can be used by people involved in not-for-profit organisations to assist with the process of completing an application to your local council (See the Related Resources section at the end of this page for a link to the tool).
What is a 'food safety program' and do we need one?
In addition to the registration described above, every event at which food is sold or served also requires a ‘Food Safety Program’ to be completed and submitted to your local council.
A Food Safety Program is a written plan which will demonstrate how your community organisation's event will safely manage the preparation, storage and sale of food. The Victorian government has produced a guide which may assist your organisation in developing a Food Safety Program called: Food Safety Program Template for Community Food Events. See the Related Resources section below for a link to the template.
What are the requirements for the preparation of food?
It is important that anyone involved in the preparation or serving of food is appropriately trained and understands the necessary hygiene, sanitation and anti-contamination procedures.
Different regulations apply to the preparation of food, depending on where the food is prepared and what type of food is being sold or served. ‘Where’ you prepare the food is an important factor in ensuring you meet the necessary hygiene standards. If food is not pre-packaged, it is likely that you will need to prepare the food in a registered food premises, for example a registered commercial kitchen.
There are regulations guiding the preparation of food on temporary premises for one-off events, for example sausage sizzles or cake stalls and for selling food from vehicles. Such regulations include the requirement that food be protected from sunlight, dust, insects and handling by customers.
Issues that your community organisation will need to consider in planning its event and preparing its Food Safety Program include whether:
- your organisation has a permanent residence for food preparation;
- your organisation receives food donations from other sources;
- the food will be cooked at the event or whether the food is pre-packaged; and
- the food requires temperature control.
What are the requirements for the labelling of food?
Food that is sold at events which raise money solely for charity or community causes do not need to be labelled. However, as your community organisation must be able to answer any questions concerning the food, it is recommended that labels are provided which include:
- a description of the food;
- the name and address of the person who made the food (this can be written in a record book, people don't have to hand their personal details out!);
- a list of ingredients including whether it contains nuts; and
- the 'best before' date.
This label should be printed or legibly handwritten using a waterproof pen.
Allergy warnings
If you choose not to label your food products, it is important that information about the product is available upon request. You must also provide a sign or brochure advising customers of the presence of ingredients or foods that can cause allergies, such as: sulphur dioxide, soy, nuts , fish products, egg, dairy products or gluten.
What are the requirements for food storage, display and serving?
Some of the main requirements for serving or supplying foods at events include:
- all foods on display or in storage must be labelled and protected from contamination in undamaged packaging such as glad wrap or sealed containers;
- all storage areas must be clean, sanitary, in good repair and pest-proofed;
- refrigeration of food should keep food at 5 degrees or cooler;
- raw and cooked foods should be displayed and stored separately; and
- food which is displayed for serving must be wrapped and served with clean and sanitized utensils appropriate for serving.
There are special regulations for the storage and display of hot and frozen foods, including requirements for temperature checking, procedures for re-heating and packaging requirements. Further details of these requirements are provided in the publication Food Safety Program Template for Community Food Events (see Related Resources below).
Gloves and food handling
Gloves may be worn when serving and handling food as a means of protecting food safety. If disposable gloves cannot be worn, hands should be washed regularly. Further, gloves and hands used to receive money should not then be used again to serve food.
If someone is injured as a result of eating our food, will insurance cover us?
Your community organisation may have public liability insurance, which will cover your organisation for some risks that may occur at an event (for example, if a person is injured after they trip over an exposed cord). However, it is unlikely that public liability insurance will cover your liability for damages caused as a result of defects to your food products or negligence in the preparation of food.
If your community organisation sells, supplies or delivers goods (including food), you are likely to need cover against claims that the goods caused injury or damage. Your community organisation may need to talk to its insurance provider about product liability insurance. Product liability insurance will cover damage and injury caused to other people by the failure of your product or the product your organisation is selling.
It is likely that your local council will have certain limits on what type and how much insurance you will be required to take out to register a temporary food event. For more information about different types of insurance and the law relating to insurance, see the Related Resources section below.
Related links
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This Victorian government site is for businesses but can help your organisation to work out council registration requirements for providing food at a temporary event. You will need to scroll down the list to find the relevant Guide.
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The Events Template is a useful guide for use by community group for events, one-off events, temporary stalls, festivals. It is available in a number of languages. It includes event checklists and other templates for food safety.
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The Food Safety is a Victorian government site which provides information and tools to help you keep food safe.
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FoodSmart is a Victorian government website designed to help retail and food service businesses develop their Food Safety Programs.