-
Meat Products
-
Egg Products
-
Seafood
-
Horticulture
-
Dairy Products
Do I need an accreditation?
If you produce, process or transport meat, eggs, dairy, seafood or horticulture produce in Queensland, then you may require an accreditation with Safe Food. An accreditation is required in order to legally sell or supply your product(s) in Queensland.
With new national food safety standards for berries, melons and leafy vegetables coming into effect in early 2025, many horticulture businesses involved in the supply of these commodities may require Safe Food accreditation once the new standards take effect. Stay informed by subscribing to our newsletter.
-
Meat Products
An accreditation is required for the following activities:
- Handling of an animal at a place where the animal is killed for meat
- Processing meat or smallgoods intended for human consumption
- Handling, packaging or storing meat or a meat product
- Transporting meat obtained from an animal, at any stage from a place where the animal is killed to a retailer of the meat
- Transporting meat obtained from an animal, at any stage from a place where the animal is killed to premises where meat from the animal is processed to produce smallgoods, a pet meat product or rendered product
- Retail sales of pre-packaged meat or a pre-packaged meat product if the package is sold opened
- Retail sales of meat and a meat product from the following:
- meat retail premises
- a meat retail vehicle
An accreditation is not required for the following activities:
- Rearing an animal to be killed for meat
- Growing, mixing, sorting or transporting stock food for consumption by an animal to be killed for meat
- Handling or transporting an animal, at any stage before the animal arrives at an abattoir where the animal is killed
- Handling or transporting smallgoods or a rendered product after the smallgoods or product leave the premises where the smallgood or product is processed
- Retail sales of prepackaged meat or a prepackaged meat product if the package is sold unopened
-
Egg Products
An accreditation is required for the following activities:
- Producing eggs for supply
- Handling other people’s eggs
- Washing, grading (including assessing for cracks) another person’s eggs
- Washing and handling eggs at a wholesale premises (Safe Food policy states that, although the Egg Scheme relates to wholesale premises, they are not required to be accredited if they do not physically handle individual eggs)
- Processing eggs to produce egg product
- Pasteurising egg pulp (as long as this activity is included in their food safety program)
- Operating under a preferred supplier arrangement (PSA) for eggs. A PSA allows approved egg producers to supply eggs exclusively to an egg processor. A producer who is operating under a PSA cannot sell eggs directly to the public, or to anyone else other than the egg processor identified in their accreditation application.
An accreditation is not required for the following activities:
- Keeping birds as pets and not selling the eggs
- Using eggs for personal consumption
- Operating a hatchery and not selling eggs
- Growing or producing stock feed
- Being a retailer who sells eggs (except if you sell eggs straight from your farm gate).*
*Queensland Health and your local government look after the retail sale of eggs under the Food Act 2006
-
Seafood
An accreditation is required for the following activities:
- Commercial fishing
- Aquaculture activities
- Land based seafood processing
- Oyster growing
- Oyster picking
- Storing seafood (cold storage and live fish)
An accreditation is not required for the following activities:
- Recreational fishing
- Producing seafood for an end purpose other than for food (e.g. bait, fingerlings, spat)
- Transporting seafood
- Engaging in the retail sale of seafood and not supplying or distributing seafood in any other way
-
Horticulture
An accreditation is required for the production of seed sprouts, including, for example, the following:
- decontamination of seed or seed sprouts;
- soaking of seed;
- germination or growth of seed;
- harvest of seed sprouts;
- washing, drying or packing of seed sprouts
An accreditation is not required for the following activities:
- retail sales of horticulture produce
The following activities are captured by the new Primary Production and Processing (PPP) standards for berries, melons and leafy vegetables:
- growing
- harvesting
- washing
- trimming
- sorting
- sanitising
- storing
- combining harvested produce
- packing
- transporting
These new PPP standards are set to take effect in February 2025. Different horticultural operations will have varying regulatory requirements based on their specific business activities and the risks associated with those activities. If you’re not sure if you will require accreditation under the new legislation, please contact our dedicated Safe Food Horticulture Officers on 1 800 300 815 and press option 4.
-
Dairy Products
An accreditation is required for the following activities:
- Milking an animal at a dairy
- Processing milk at a dairy
- Storing milk at a dairy
- Rearing an animal at a dairy for milking at the dairy
- Growing stock food at a dairy for consumption by an animal to be milked at the dairy
- Transporting dairy produce:
- from a dairy to a factory
- from a factory to another factory for further processing
- to or from a depot
- within a factory
- Handling or storing milk at a depot before transporting the milk to a factory for processing
- Processing dairy produce (e.g. pasteurisation, homogenisation, manufacture of cheese)
- Processing, supplying or selling pet food
- Treating an animal to be milked at a dairy with drugs and/or pesticides
- Producing goat milk for human consumption
An accreditation is not required for the following activities:
- Growing stock food at a place other than a dairy for consumption by an animal to be milked at a dairy
- Supplying stock food to a dairy for consumption by an animal to be milked at the dairy
- Transporting stock food to a dairy for consumption by an animal to be milked at a dairy
- Rearing an animal to be supplied to a dairy for milking
- Transporting an animal to a dairy for milking
- Transporting dairy produce from a factory to a wholesaler or retailer
- Retail sales of dairy produce, other than pet food
- Manufacturing ice-cream if retail sales of ice-cream are made from the retail premises where ice-cream is produced.
Free Online Training
Several online training courses are available to dairy manufacturers within Australia to help improve their skills and knowledge in food safety. These are available free of charge.
Food Safety Schemes
A food safety scheme is a regulation that sets out minimum requirements that a primary production and/or processing business must legally meet to make sure its food is safe. It is a legal document developed in consultation with government and industry to reduce food safety risks through-chain, offering a preventative approach to protect public health and safety. Each food category that we regulate has a corresponding Food Safety Scheme.
-
Meat Products
-
Egg Products
-
Seafood
-
Horticulture
-
Dairy Products
-
Meat Products
The State’s Meat Food Safety Scheme was introduced in 2002 and is one of the first schemes for Queensland.
Queensland’s meat industry encompasses a diverse range of production and processing activities, including slaughtering, meat processing and wild game harvesting. It also covers the manufacture of ready-to-eat products, such as smallgoods and the production and processing of poultry meat.
-
Egg Products
The Queensland Egg Food Safety Scheme has been in place since 2005.
The National Egg Standard developed by Foods Standards Australia New Zealand and introduced in late 2012 is modelled on the Queensland Egg Scheme.
Queensland’s egg industry is comprised of both a number of large processing and distribution businesses, as well as approximately 86 egg production farms.
-
Seafood
The seafood scheme was introduced in 2009 and was the first Food Safety Scheme to adopt, in its entirety, a Primary Production and Processing Standard from chapter 4 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.
Queensland seafood has long had a world-class reputation and the industry is a major contributor to export income. Safe Food engages with around 200 seafood processors, cold stores, fishing vessels and aquaculture farms (eg. oyster farmers).
-
Horticulture
The National Primary Production & Processing (PPP) Standard for Seed Sprouts came into effect on 12 July 2013.
Based on an evaluation of risk conducted by Safe Food, a scheme was introduced for horticulture covering only seed sprouts in order for Queensland to meet its obligations in relation to the adoption of the National Standard.
There are three new National PPP Standards for berries, melons and leafy vegetables set to take effect in February 2025.
-
Dairy Products
The Food Safety Scheme for Dairy Produce started on 1 January 2003 with the introduction of the first iteration of the Food Production (Safety) Regulation 2014.
The Scheme outlines the food safety requirements for the production and processing of dairy products in Queensland. It also gives effect to the National Standards for Primary Production and Processing of Dairy Products and Specific Cheeses (Standards 4.2.4 and 4.2.4A of the Australia New Zealand Food Standard Code).
Service Level Agreements
-
What is a Service Level Agreement?
A service level agreement (SLA) is a contract between Safe Food and a client or accreditation holder that documents any services Safe Food will provide, at the request of the client.
Safe Food offers SLAs to clients who require assistance in meeting legislative requirements. The assistance offered under an SLA generally falls outside of the scope of services that Safe Food would normally perform under our core regulatory activities.
For instance, Safe Food has conducted SLAs for businesses who requested assistance with
- Site inspections of existing facilities prior to signing a lease or purchasing to ensure the premise complies with relevant legislation
- Reviewing site plans for new builds or facility upgrades to ensure the premise will comply with relevant legislation once built
- Addressing production issues in operating facilities
- Overseeing a validation trial for a new product or process
All SLAs include a formal written report prepared by Safe Food to confirm any findings of a review or inspection and provide advice on additional requirements or alternations that may be required.
-
Service Level Agreement – fees and charges
The 2024 fee for service rate for SLAs is $340.63 per hour (plus GST). The overall cost of an SLA is dependent on the scope and associated timeframe to complete of the services you request.
Please note in some instances the travel time for Safe Food officers is also chargeable at the fee for service rate. This can include charges for flights, accommodation and travel (car hire).
-
How to request a Service Level Agreement
If you wish to request a SLA with Safe Food, please contact us on (07) 3253 9800 to discuss your situation. Alternatively, please email us at info@safefood.qld.gov.au detailing the activities you are intending on undertaking (e.g. meat processing), the location of your facility and the services you require.
Safe Food will contact you to discuss your request further and provide you with further information if you decide to proceed.