Health and Environmental Services Information Sheet 25

Food Preparation in Residential Premises

The Health (Food Hygiene) Regulations 1993 permit the preparation of a limited range of foods, which do not represent a health risk from residential premises for personal gain or reward under certain conditions.

The Executive Director of Public Health (EDPH), has directed that the following foods intended for sale may be prepared in residential premises, those categories are:

cake decorating;
food prepared for farm stays and home stay accommodation;
food prepared for community and charitable purposes;
jams;
cakes, biscuits and flour products which do not contain potentially hazardous foods such as cream;
chutneys, relishes and sauces that are heat treated by boiling or cooking;
herb vinegars with a pH of less than 4.5;
repackaging of bulk packaged low risk confectionary products;
pickled onions; and
any other food handling or food preparation activity approved by the EDPH.

Remember if you want to make any of the above mentioned foods in the home for personal profit then you must apply to the Council on a Form 2 application under the Health (Food Hygiene) Regulations 1993 (Attached). Only those foods expressly approved by the EDPH can be produced. Potentially hazardous foods (meat, cream, dairy products, poultry etc) are not permitted food categories.

How to apply

If you believe you have a low risk food, which may be considered suitable for home preparation then complete an "Application for Preparation of Food in a Residential Premises", which can be obtained from Health and Environmental Services and send to:

Executive Director Public Health
Department of Health
PO Box 8172
Perth Business Centre
PERTH WA 6849

Protecting yourself

It is recommended you obtain public liability insurance to cover the legal fees and damage claims that may be associated if something goes wrong with your product. For example:

if a customer cuts his/her mouth on a piece of glass accidentally dropped into a jar of jam the legal fees involved with defending the case may be quite high and then there may be a pay-out for damages to consider.
if something major goes wrong you may be sued. This could mean that you could lose your assets eg. Your home - so think carefully about taking out insurance before you start your business.

Guidelines

The following guidelines have been produced to ensure that minimum standards necessary for the protection of public health are maintained.

The minimum conditions applicable in residential premises for the preparation of food for sale are:

Proprietors shall have planning approval to undertake a home occupation.
Written approval of an application to Council (to include a detailed floor plan of premises showing areas to be used for proposed food preparation, handling and storage).
Food preparation handling and storage shall only be carried out in the areas as shown on the approved plan.
Premises shall be kept, in good order and repair and shall be maintained in a clean and hygienic condition at all times.
An adequate supply of hot and cold water shall be provided.
Adequate sinks (preferably double bowled) shall be provided.
Easy access to a wash hand basin shall be maintained during the food handling activity. Paper towels and soap to be provided at the wash hand basin.
Adequate refrigeration to be provided and maintained in good order and repair.
Adequate dry storage shall be provided.
Fixtures, fittings and appliances shall be clean and hygienic.
The premises must be fully sealed to control, and be free of vermin (eg: rodents, cockroaches).
No domestic animals to have access into the house.
Preparation only to take place when children under 5 years and other persons not employed in the food business must be excluded from the food preparation area.
Adequate and hygienic rubbish disposal facilities shall be provided and maintained at all times.
All food handling shall be in accordance with the Health (Food Hygiene) Regulations 1993.
Adequate food storage facilities for prepared products shall be provided prevent contamination and spoilage of food.

1. Foods must be labelled to comply with the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

Name of the food and lot identification;
Name and street address of the manufacturer, packer or vendor;
Country of origin;
Date of marking expressed as: Use-by or Best Before;
Ingredients List, (the label must state the percentage (%) of the key or characterising ingredients or components in the food product);
Mandatory warning and advisory statements and declarations (letter size must be of not less than 3mm, except on small packages where the letter size is of not less than 1.5mm)* ;
Nutrition information panel;
Nutrition Claim;
Health Claims; and
Directions for use and storage, eg.: "keep refrigerated".

2. *If food for sale contains ingredients on the following list, the information must be displayed on the packaging:

Gluten (a substance found in wheat, rye, barley, oats and spelt{a variety of wheat}, and therefore present in foods made from these grains, such as flour);
Fish and fish products;
Egg and egg products;
Crustacean (shellfish) and products;
Milk and milk products;
Soya beans and products;
Peanuts and products;
Other nuts and products;
Sulphites (a preservative {this applies to added sulphites in concentrations of 10mg/kg or more});
Royal jelly (a secretion from the salivary glands of honey bees);
Bee pollen (pollen collected from the legs of bees);
Propolis (a substance collected by bees).

3. Transport of food shall only be undertaken in vehicles that fully comply with the Health (Food Hygiene) Regulations 1993.

4. All packaging and wrapping materials used shall be new and comply with the requirements of the Health (Food Hygiene) Regulations 1993.

5. A basic knowledge of safe food handling principles must be demonstrated.

6. Permission must be given for an Environmental Health Officer to inspect the premises used for food preparation at any reasonable time.

This information sheet is a guide only. Verification with original Local Laws, Acts, Regulations, Planning Schemes and other relevant statutory requirements/documents is recommended for detailed references. The Town of Bassendean accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions.

See more information sheets >>>