In Victoria, the Food Act 1984 (the Act) provides the regulatory framework for the food industry, ensuring that food sold in Victoria is safe, suitable and correctly labelled.
The department shares responsibility for developing and administering food regulation with the Commonwealth Government, Victorian Local Councils, PrimeSafe and Dairy Food Safety Victoria, collaborating to promote consistent regulatory requirements in a widely dispersed and varied food industry.
Latest FSANZ food recalls and media releases
View the latest food recalls and media releases from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).
Learn more about the Food Standards Code at the FSANZ website

Starting a food business
In Victoria, all organisations selling food or drink must be registered or notified with their local council and ensure that the food they sell is safe and suitable to eat.
Multimedia
- Transcript
It is important to clean and sanitise food utensils and surfaces. Equipment and surfaces may look clean – but unless they are cleaned and sanitised, dirty equipment and surfaces can transfer bacteria or other organisms onto food; causing illness in the customer, and may result in legal action against the business owner.
Everything must be cleaned and sanitised between use, especially between preparing raw food and ready-to-eat-food. Cleaning and sanitising are different things – cleaning refers to the removing of dirt, grease and food waste. Cleaning removes microorganisms but does not destroy them. Sanitising reduces microorganisms to a safe level. Sanitisers will not work if the surface is not clean. You must clean first.
For cleaning dishes, utensils, pots and pans by hand: pre-clean by scraping and rinsing, wash in hot water and detergent, rinse, sanitise, then air dry if possible. If things cannot be left to air dry, ensure they are dried with a clean cloth.
If using a dishwasher, pre-clean by scraping and rinsing, stack so all surfaces are exposed, cutlery placed handles down, then run the dishwasher on its longest, hottest cycle.
Wash and dry your hands before unpacking. Re-wash the dishes if they are still dirty or greasy, and make sure the dishes are dry before storing. The dishwasher should also be cleaned and serviced regularly.
Food surfaces and equipment must be cleaned and sanitised often during use – clean as you go, and always use a clean cloth. Special attention needs to be given to equipment with surfaces that are harder to get to, such as meat slicers, stick blender, blenders and can openers.
Scrape and rinse parts and then wash in hot water and detergent, sanitise, then ensure everything is dry before putting away or reusing.
Remember, sanitising only works if the surface has been cleaned first. There are different ways to sanitise. Using hot water, chemicals, or using a dishwasher on the longest, hottest cycle, or a chemical solution like bleach or a food grade sanitiser.
Always use the correct amount, and make sure you follow the instructions on how to prepare the solution as this may vary between products, as well as using the hot or cold water. All mixed solutions should be discarded after 24 hours. Label and store away from food.
Vinegar and lemon juice aren’t effective sanitisers, while methylated spirits leave chemical residues, and floor and surface cleaners are not suitable for food utensils and surfaces.
Cleaning and using the right sanitisers is a critical part of keeping your food safe.
For more information on these processes, refer to your food safety program, head to the website or DoFoodSafely.
Now available in Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, Nepali, Punjabi, Sinhalese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese.
Reviewed 26 June 2023
Health.vic
-
- Hospitals & health services
- Health Service Partnerships
- Public hospitals in Victoria
-
- Quality, safety and service improvement
- Planned surgery recovery and reform program
- My Health Record
- Public hospital accreditation in Victoria
- Credentialing for senior medical staff in Victoria
- Clinical risk management
- Preventing infections in health services
- Healthy choices
- Victorian Perinatal Data Collection
-
- Rural health
- Improving Access to Primary Care in Rural and Remote Areas Initiative
- Rural x-ray services
- Rural health regions and locations
- Rural and regional medical director role
- Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme
- Rural and isolated practice registered nurses
- Urgent care in regional and rural Victoria
-
- Private health service establishments
- Private hospitals
- Day procedure centres
- Mobile health services
- Fees for private health service establishments in Victoria
- Design resources for private health service establishments
- Professional standards in private health service establishments
- Legislation updates for private health service establishments
- Complaints about private health service establishments
- Cosmetic procedures
- Guideline for providers of liposuction
- Private hospital funding agreement
-
- Primary & community health
- Local Public Health Units
- Integrated care
-
- Maternal and Child Health Service
- Dads' Group Grant Program
- Nursery Equipment Program
- Maternal and Child Health Service Framework
- Maternal and Child Health Service resources
- Child Development Information System
- Early parenting centres
- Maternal Child and Health Reporting, Funding and Data
- Baby bundle
- Sleep and settling
- Maternal and Child Health Workforce professional development
- Aboriginal Maternal and Child Health
- Public Dental and Community Health Program funding model review
-
- Public health
-
- Cemeteries and crematoria
- Cemetery trust member appointments
- Cemetery search
- Cemeteries and crematoria complaints
- Cremations
- Exhumations
- Governance and finance
- Cemetery grants
- Interments and memorials
- Land and development
- Legislation governing Victorian cemeteries and crematoria
- Cemeteries and crematoria publications
- Repatriations
- Rights of interment
-
- Medicines and Poisons Regulation
- Patient Schedule 8 treatment permits
- Schedule 8 MDMA and Schedule 8 psilocybine
- Schedule 9 permits for clinical trials
- Documents and forms to print or download
- Legislation and Approvals
- Frequently Asked Questions - Medicines and Poisons Regulation
- Health practitioners
- Licences and permits to possess (& possibly supply) scheduled substances
- Medicinal cannabis
- Pharmacotherapy (opioid replacement therapy)
- Recent updates
- SafeScript
-
- Environmental health
- Improving childhood asthma management in Melbourne's inner west
- Climate and weather, and public health
- Environmental health in the community
- Environmental health in the home
- Environmental health professionals
- Face masks for environmental hazards
- Human health risk assessments
- Lead and human health
- Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
- Pesticide use and pest control
-
- Immunisation
- Vaccination program for adults
- Automated temperature monitoring and back-to-base alarm systems
- Immunisation provider information
- Immunisation resources order form
- Seasonal influenza vaccine
- Vaccine error management
- Adverse events following immunisation reporting
- Cold chain management
- Immunisation schedule and vaccine eligibility criteria
- Immunisers in Victoria
- Immunity for community
- Immunisation for special-risk groups
- Vaccination for adolescents
- Vaccination of infants and children
- Ordering vaccine
- Victorian coverage rates for Victoria
- Yellow fever vaccination centres
-
- Infectious diseases
- Disease information and advice
- Infection control guidelines
- Infectious diseases surveillance in Victoria
- Notification procedures for infectious diseases
- Notifiable infectious diseases, conditions and micro-organisms
- Protecting patient privacy in Victoria
- Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008
-
- Mental health
-
- About Victoria's mental health services
- Area-based services
- Statewide and specialist mental health services
- Mental Health Community Support Services
- Support and intervention services
- Language services - when to use them
- Access to mental health services across areas
- Transport for people in mental health services
-
- Alcohol & drugs
-
- Alcohol and other drug treatment services
- Overview of Victoria's alcohol and drug treatment system
- Pathways into alcohol and other drugs treatment
- Prevention and harm reduction
- Medically supervised injecting room
- Community-based AOD treatment services in Victoria
- Drug rehabilitation plan
- Hospital-based services
- Forensic services
- Pharmacotherapy treatment
- Services for Aboriginal people
- Services for young people
- Statewide and specialist services
- Compulsory treatment
- Family and peer support
-
- Alcohol and other drug service standards and guidelines
- Alcohol and other drug client charter and resources
- Alcohol and other drug treatment principles
- Service quality and accreditation
- Alcohol and other drug program guidelines
- Maintenance pharmacotherapy
- Drink and Drug Driving Behaviour Change Program
- Alcohol and Other Drug Residential Rehabilitation Facility Design Guidelines
- Specialist Family Violence Advisor capacity building program in mental health and alcohol and other drug services - Victoria
-
- Ageing & aged care
- My Aged Care assessment services
-
- Dementia-friendly environments
- Designing for people with dementia
- Maintaining personal identity
- Personal enjoyment
- Interior design
- Dining areas, kitchens and eating
- Bedrooms and privacy
- Bathrooms
- Gardens and outdoor spaces
- Assistive technology
- Staff education and support
- Strategies, checklists and tools
- References
-
- About us
- Our Strategic Plan 2023-27
- Our ministers
-
- Health workforce
- Medical workforce in Victoria
- Working in health
- Information sharing and MARAM
- Allied health workforce
- Education and training
- Enterprise agreements
- Worker health and wellbeing
- Our campaigns
In this topic
- Changes to food business classifications and regulations
- Convictions register
- Food safety during power outages
- Food handler and food safety supervisor training and skills
- FoodSmart FoodSmart is a department-approved template that allows different types of food retail and food service businesses to develop their own food safety program.
- Make a complaint about a food product or food business Information on making a complaint about a food business.
- Keeping food safe
- How to start a food business
- Kilojoule labelling scheme