ECEC services that provide food as part of their operation have 3 months left to implement new food safety requirements under the Food Standards Code.
According to the NSW Food Authority, a Food Handling Supervisor’s Certificate is required for any business selling food. Therefore, in the context of Family Day Care, if an educator prepares and serves food to the children and charges families for it, they are considered to be selling food and thus require a Food Safety Supervisor Certificate.
However, if families supply the children’s food, no certificate is required.
We recommend that all educators who do not supply food to complete a Healthy Eating and Safe Food Handling professional development webinar to ensure best practices.
Please note that providing educational experiences involving food does not constitute selling food and can still be offered as part of an educational program without the need for a Food Safety Supervisor Certificate.
To help services prepare, the NSW Food Authority has developed a guideline: Food safety requirements for children’s services in NSW which you can access HERE
You can also learn more on the NSW Food Authority website.
The NSW Food Authority Helpline is also available to assist services directly should you have any questions: phone 1300 552 406, email food.contact@dpi.nsw.gov.au.
