Regulations for food businesses

All local businesses that serve food to the public are regulated by the City of Parramatta and the NSW Food Authority.

We provide advice and approve new businesses, monitor food hygiene practices, do checks for contamination, follow up on complaints, and make sure business owners and their staff comply with laws and standards.

Food premises, mobile food vendors, child care centres, school canteens, cafes, restaurants, takeaways, hotels and home food retail businesses need to register with the City of Parramatta and notify the City if they:

• open a new business
• close down/stop trading
• move to new premises
• sell to a new proprietor
• change their trading name.

To notify us, please use the Regulated Food Business Registration form.

Submit the form to us using the details below. A City staff member may contact you if we require more information about your notification.

Stallholders and event organisers have obligations around temporary food stalls, which have to be approved and registered before food can be sold at fairs, festivals and other public events.

If you want to sell or provide food and drink at public events, you need approval from the City. To find out more about the registration and requirements click on Temporary Food Outlet Registration link below.

If you would like to apply as a mobile food/drink vendor, you will need to complete the standard registration form.

Submit the form to us using the details below. A City staff member may contact you if we require more information about your notification.

The City's environmental health officers regularly inspect and advise food businesses about hygiene practices. The inspections ensure compliance with Food Safety Standards set by the NSW Food authority and assess:

• food safety practices and general requirements
• food handling controls
• health and hygiene procedures
• cleanliness and sanitation of the premise, food contact surfaces and utensils
• food temperature control
• animals and pest management
• adequate design, construction and maintenance of the premise and facilities
• food labelling compliance

Inspections are conducted annually and incur a fee. Please contact the Regulatory Services Unit on 9806 5684 for details on health inspection fees.

City of Parramatta uses the standard Food Premises Assessment Report (FPAR) checklist developed in partnership with the NSW Food Authority. We also recommend all businesses review the following factsheets developed by the NSW Food Authority:

• Cleaning and sanitising
• Hand washing
• Pest control
• Protecting food from contamination
• Health and hygiene of food handlers
• Temperature control.

Food laws in NSW require certain food businesses to have at least one trained Food Safety Supervisor (FSS). The aim of an FSS is to prevent individuals from becoming ill from food poisoning as a result of incorrect handling and preparation of food. This applies to food businesses who sell food that is:

• ready-to-eat,
• potentially hazardous (requires temperature control), and
• not sold and served in the supplier’s original packaging.

An FSS certificate must be kept on the premises and produced for inspection on request by City of Parramatta's environmental health officer.

Some food businesses are exempt from this requirement and these can be found on the NSW Food Authority site.

We want to ensure that food sold to consumers is safe and correctly labelled. If you have a concern, we welcome your complaint to help us protect the well-being of all consumers.

Common types of food complaints include reports of:

• suspected food poisoning
• unhygienic or incorrect food handling, storage, transport or preparation
• foreign matter in food
• allergens not listed in ingredients
• misleading or incomplete labelling
• spoilage
• unsuitable or unsafe ingredients
• unlicensed sale or serving of food.

The City of Parramatta cannot deal with complaints where:

• they are revengeful not made in good faith
• insufficient information provided
• they are not about food for sale.

Complaints investigated by other organisations

Complaints about food businesses can be lodged with the City of Parramatta in the following forms:

Email: council@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au 

Telephone: (02) 9806 5050

Fax: (02) 9806 5917

Post: PO Box 32
Parramatta NSW 2124