Display and serve food
When you choose to display food at your business, you need to make sure that the food stays safe at all times. This includes food displayed for self-service, on a counter, or inside a refrigerator.
How you protect food will depend on the way you display it, and the type of food on display.
Make sure food is protected from contamination
Regularly check that all packaged food is safe to sell, for example food is within its use-by or best-before dates and the packaging has not been damaged.
Display raw food separated from ready-to-eat food.
Heat food before you add it to a bain-marie or pie warmer.
Keep hot food is kept above 60˚C.
Keep cold food is kept at 5˚C or colder.
Do not top up dishes as they get low, this can transfer contaminants to the new food and may cause food poisoning.
Supervise unpackaged self-serve food and make sure each food has separate utensils.
NEVER re-serve food that has been served to another person.
Records
The following records can be used when you display and serve food:
More information
Contact your local council for more information about processing food safely in your food business.
Read more about:
- How to package and label food safely
- Cleaning and sanitising
- Temperature control
- Waste management
- Personal hygiene and health of food handlers
- Staff training
- Displaying food from Food Safety Standards Australia New Zealand
- 2 hour / 4 hour guide from Food Safety Standards Australia New Zealand.