NSW Childcare Food Safety Updates

In our ongoing commitment to ensuring the health and wellbeing of children, the Food Standards Code has seen significant amendments tailored specifically for children's services in NSW. This is of paramount importance for services such as out-of-school hours care that include meals as an integral part of their operations.

Key Requirements:

Food Safety Supervisor Mandate:

• For children's services like long day care early childhood centres that prepare (i.e., cook) unpackaged, potentially hazardous foods and serve them ready-to-eat, a stringent requirement has been put in place.
• Such centres MUST have a qualified Food Safety Supervisor onsite.
• This supervisor should be reasonably available to oversee all food handlers.
• Importantly, this supervisor needs to have completed the NSW Food Authority Food Safety Supervisor training.

Training for All Educators:

• It's imperative that not only supervisors but all educators are comprehensively trained in food safety and hygiene.
• These educators must demonstrate an adequate level of skills and knowledge in food safety.
• Centres are obliged to keep a detailed record of this staff training for compliance checks.

Relevant Units of Competency:

For those seeking to become a Food Safety Supervisor in NSW, the current national units of competency, as approved by ASQA, are:

• SITXFSA005 – Use hygiene practices for food safety
• SITXFSA006 – Participate in safe food handling practices