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Home-based food businesses

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If you're a home-based food business, you need to meet the same food safety requirements as other food businesses - regardless of the size of your business or how often you sell food. 

Am I a home-based food business?

Home-based food businesses use their home (or someone else's) to handle food for sale. This includes preparing food for local markets or school canteens, catering for events, B&Bs, farm-stay or childcare businesses and online food sales from home.

What are the requirements?

Home-based businesses must comply with relevant parts of the Food Standards Code, including:

Food safety officers can inspect home businesses to make sure these requirements are being met.

If you are a food business handling unpackaged, ready-to-eat, potentially hazardous food, Standard 3.2.2A - Food Safety Management Tools may also apply.

Getting started

  • before you start your business, you must notify your local food regulator - usually your local council
  • if you change your business's name, location or food activities you need to tell your local council before these changes are made

Food safety skills & knowledge

  • everyone in your business who handles food must know how to keep it safe to eat
  • you or someone in your business may need formal training e.g. a certified food safety supervisor - check with your local council

Premises design

Your premises should be designed and fitted out to handle food safely and avoid contamination.

Make sure you have:

  • a layout and enough space for people to work without contaminating food (e.g. to keep raw and cooked foods separate and to keep waste away from food)
  • convenient hand wash basin/s with warm running water, soap and single-use towels - if you use this sink for other things (e.g. washing dishes or a laundry sink) you will need written approval from your local council
  • fridges that are big enough and powerful enough to keep food at 5°C or colder (and frozen food frozen hard)
  • enough storage to protect food and packaging
  • floors, walls and benches that can be easily cleaned
  • a supply of drinking-quality water and good light and ventilation
  • a system to safely store and dispose of waste.

Check with your local council for advice and to make sure you are set up correctly.

Top food safety tips for home-based businesses:

Prevent contamination

  • protect food at all times during storage, processing, transport and display
  • thoroughly wash and dry hands before handling food: use warm running water and soap - scrub wrists, palms, backs of hands, between fingers and under nails, and then dry hands using single-use towels
  • do not handle food if you are ill
  • keep raw foods separate from ready-to-eat foods - e.g. use different cutting boards, store raw food below ready-to-eat food
  • protect food from pets, children and visitors, sick people, waste, chemicals, pests and dirt

Cleaning and sanitising

  • keep the premises clear of rubbish, food waste, dirt and grease
  • keep food contact surfaces like benches, utensils and containers clean and sanitary
  • clean before you sanitise
  • sanitise using bleach, a commercial food-safe sanitiser or a dishwasher on longest hottest cycle

Food traceability

  • keep records of your ingredients and suppliers, and businesses you've sold to
  • if you are a food manufacturer, wholesale supplier or importer, have a written recall plan and follow it if a recall is needed

Safe food temperatures and processing

  • potentially hazardous foods (like those containing meat, egg and dairy) need to be kept cold (at 5°C or colder) or kept hot (at 60°C or hotter) during receipt, storage, display (or hot holding) and transport
  • prepare food quickly to minimise time out of the fridge (e.g. when making sandwiches)
  • cook food to safe temperatures (e.g. 75°C for poultry and minced meat)
  • cool cooked food quickly to store in the fridge (e.g. by dividing into smaller portions in the fridge) - within required timeframes
  • check temperatures with a food thermometer
  • know the critical limits for safety (e.g. acidity, water activity) for processes you use.

More information

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Page last updated: 22 May 2025