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                    Food safety

                    Environmental health officer inspecting a food business
                    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.

                    All businesses that serve food are registered with a local council which requires them to comply with the Food Act 1984, to ensure the food they serve is safe.

                    COVID-19 Business support
                    Eligible food businesses can apply for a reduced annual registration fee under the City of Melbourne’s General Financial Hardship Policy.
                    Food poisoning

                    If you have symptoms of food poisoning or an allergic reaction, please seek medical help

                    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.

                    Incidents of suspected food poisoning should be reported to us as soon as possible.

                    Reporting a food safety issue

                    We can only investigate reports about businesses that are located within the City of Melbourne municipality – check our boundary map. If the business is located outside the City of Melbourne, please contact the responsible council

                    If you have confirmed the food premises is located within the City of Melbourne, please use the form below to report an issue regarding:

                    • cleanliness of food premises, food presentation or food handler hygiene practices
                    • contamination of food (purchased from food businesses or supermarkets) such as foreign objects in the food (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 storing it in the fridge).

                    All reported issues will be kept confidential under the Food Act.

                    Track the progress of an existing food safety report.
                    Enter report reference number:

                    You can also report illegal dumping of food and oil.

                    For business

                    See our food safety information for businesses and visit the Department of Health.

                    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.

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                    Contact us

                    Contact name
                    Health and Wellbeing
                    Telephone number
                    03 9658 883103 9658 8831

                    More information

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