environmental health

food safety

The Northern Territory food safety legislation takes a preventative approach to reducing food-borne illness, which will enhance the Northern Territory's reputation for clean and safe foods, and assist businesses to provide food that is safe and wholesome.

The legislation requires all food businesses to be registered. This registration allows the Department of Health and Community Services to identify the risks of the business, provide them with information about food safety including recalls, identify sources of food borne illness, target inspections and to respond to complaints more effectively.

There are no fees charged for registration. There will be some exceptions to registration, which will apply to those businesses that are of a community based, one-off nature.

The NT Food Act adopts the national Food Safety Standards, which set down the rules for how food must be handled and how premises and equipment must be appropriate for maintaining food safety. These standards are:

• Standard 3.1.1 Interpretation and Application
• Standard 3.2.2 Food Safety Practices and General Requirements
• Standard 3.2.3 Premises and Equipment.

The Standards can be found at www.foodstandards.gov.au
If you have any questions regarding the food safety legislation, please contact either your local Environmental Health Officer or e-mail the program at envirohealth@nt.gov.au.