Food poisoning and safe food handling
All businesses that serve food have to comply with the Food Act 1984, to ensure the food they serve is safe. Food businesses are regularly inspected by environmental health officers. These officers provide advice to food businesses and handle complaints about food handling and food poisoning.
The symptoms of food poisoning include vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach cramps, fever and generally feeling unwell. Some incidents of food poisoning can be fatal, particularly in children, the elderly and the very ill.
Reporting a food safety issue
Please contact the Health Services branch if you wish to report an issue regarding:
- Food premises cleanliness or food handler hygiene practices.
- Contamination of food, such as foreign objects.
Note: Retain the remaining food without removing the contaminant.
- Suspected food poisoning.
Note: Report the incident as soon as possible and retain any remaining food by wrapping it in clean plastic and it storing in the fridge.
- You can also request a food safety investigation online. (Requests logged outside business hours will not be actioned until the next business day.)
Food recalls
Sometimes food may be recalled from sale if it poses an unacceptable safety risk to consumers or for reasons of product quality. For more information about food recalls visit Product Recalls Australia.
For business
If you run a food business, please see our information for the hospitality industry at Food safety programs.