Occasional Food Sale

Contact our office to discuss. Under Schedule 3 of the Food Act 2014 there is the capacity for exemption from registering under the Food Act if the following applies:

• Sale of Pre-packaged Food: Retailers or direct sales of shelf-stable, manufacturer pre-packaged food (this excludes chilled or frozen foods) - no limit on number of events
• Fundraising: If purpose of sale is to raise funds for a charitable, benevolent, philanthropic or cultural purpose - this can only be done a maximum of 20 events per calendar year
• Trading Once a Year: A person who does not ordinarily trade in food, and is wanting to sell food on no more than 1 occasion in any calendar year

Permits are no longer required for temporary food sales under the above exemptions, however we require notification of each operator’s food sales. This needs to come to Council five working days prior to the event so that staff have time to review the notification. Should sale be taking place on more occasions than outlined above - you will be required to register and operate under a Food Control Plan or National Programme as required by the Food Act 2014. For more information about this, please contact the Environmental Health team.

As part of the above exemptions, the following things must be ensured:

• Safe and suitable food must be provided
• No home-kill meat is to be prepared for sale (must be purchased from a registered supplier)
• No recreational seafood is to be prepared for sale (must be purchased from a registered supplier)

Additionally, you must always ensure you have the appropriate approval prior to trading at your proposed site; accordingly Approval for proposed trading locations may also be required – please contact the Environmental Health department to discuss.

Note: It is the operator's responsibility to ensure all of the above is adhered to. Although Council are no longer vetting/monitoring applications, Council's Environmental Health Officers will investigate any concerns and/or complaints that are received. Please ensure you notify Council of your food sale and abide by the above requirements to ensure you are operating according to legislative requirements.

Resources:
Food Safety Guidance
Tips for a Safe & Successful Sausage Sizzle
Food Safety for selling food at Occasional Events

Information for Event-Holders:

Contact our office to discuss. Each individual operator is responsible for ensuring legislative requirements are met. If you are holding an event where there will be multiple operators of food stalls, you must ensure the smooth-running of the event as outlined below:

As the event holder you are required to ensure that each food operator is appropriately registered or exempt as below, you will also need to send a list of all traders to Council for our information:

• Food businesses or premises (including mobile stalls) must be registered to sell food and must display a current copy of their registration certificate. As the event holder you must ensure a copy of each registration certificate and the food items for sale is given to Council prior to the event to confirm they are permitted to trade.
• Exempt operators (fundraisers and trading once per calendar year) must ensure safe and suitable food is provided. As the event holder you should ensure this is being done in accordance with legislative requirements e.g. Number of food trading per calendar year, permitted foodstuffs. You must also submit the operators contact details, food items and letters from the organisation/groups confirming the fundraising purpose to Council prior to the event.

All food operators need to have access to appropriate facilities in order for them to provide safe and suitable food - it is your responsibility as the event holder to ensure they have access to this. Please see below resources for further information.

Note: Although it is the operator's responsibility to ensure they adhere to legislative requirements; and although applications are no longer vetted/monitored, Council's Environmental Health Officers will still make enquiries or investigate any concerns they may have and/or complaints that are received. Council representatives may also carry out random visits to ensure legislative requirements are being followed.

Resources:
Food Safety Guidance
Food Safety tips for Event Organisers