Food Safety Policy

Purpose. This policy sets the food safety standards for the supermarket, the fulfilment centre and the delivery fleet so that every food product sold or delivered is safe, correctly labelled and within its shelf life.

1.Legal framework

The supermarket and fulfilment centre are registered food premises under the Food Act 1984 (Victoria) and operate under a documented food safety program with a nominated food safety supervisor on every site. The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code applies to handling, labelling, allergen declaration and temperature control.

2.Temperature control

Potentially hazardous food must be kept at 5 degrees Celsius or below, or 60 degrees Celsius or above, at every stage from receiving to sale or delivery. Temperatures of cold rooms, display cabinets, freezers, delivery vehicles and hot food units will be checked and recorded in the food safety monitoring register at the start of every shift and at the intervals the program sets. Any reading outside the limit will be reported to the supervisor and the food assessed before sale.

3.Receiving and storage

Deliveries of chilled and frozen food will be temperature checked and inspected before acceptance. Damaged, out-of-temperature or unlabelled food will be rejected and recorded. Stock will be rotated first expired, first out, and raw meat stored below ready-to-eat food.

4.Personal hygiene and health

Food handlers must wash hands before handling food, after breaks, after handling money and after touching their face or hair. Team members with vomiting, diarrhoea or infected wounds must not handle food and must report to their supervisor. Hair will be restrained and jewellery limited to a plain band in food preparation areas.

5.Allergens and labelling

Every deli, bakery and in-store prepared product will carry a label with the product name, ingredients, allergen declaration and use-by or best-before date. Team members will never guess whether a product contains an allergen and will refer the customer to the label or the recipe card.

• Peanuts and tree nuts
• Milk and egg
• Wheat and gluten
• Soy and sesame
• Fish, crustacea and molluscs
• Lupin and sulphites

6.Cleaning, pests and waste

Cleaning schedules for every area are held in the food safety program and signed off each shift. A licensed pest contractor inspects monthly and reports are filed in the register. Food waste will be recorded for shrink and disposed of in covered bins.

7.Recalls and complaints

Product recalls will be actioned within two hours of notification by removing stock from sale, quarantining it in the stock system and displaying the recall notice. Food complaints will be recorded in the customer feedback register, the product retained and the supplier and council notified where the program requires.