Your food business site must be designed so that you can prepare food safely.
Considerations for the design, construction and location of your food business site
The design, construction and location of your food business site needs to:
- be appropriate for the purpose
- provide enough space for food activities and fixtures, fittings and equipment
- allow effective cleaning, sanitising and maintenance
- keep out dust, dirt, fumes, smoke, pests and other contaminants.
Size and layout of a food business site
- Ensure your staff, visitors and kai (food) can move in a way that prevents or manages the risk of contaminating the kai.
- Provide adequate floor space for workers. This is essential for a successful operation operation and easier cleaning.
- Have enough bench space for food preparation, cooling and reheating.
- Separate areas to prevent cross contamination of food. This includes cooked and uncooked food and storage of dry goods. For the kitchen and preparation and storage areas, consider:
◦ food storage
◦ a wash up area
◦ a cooking and preparation area
◦ a dry preparation area
◦ refrigeration and freezers.
- Provide adequate toilet facilities, for staff and customers, that do not open directly into a food area.
- Store chemicals and cleaning equipment separately.
- Provide waste handling facilities and storage space for rubbish, cooking oil waste and recyclable materials.
- Install fly screens on doors and windows to control insects, birds and other food pests.
Floors design
Floors must be designed and constructed in a way that is appropriate for all activities at your food business. This also applies to walk-in cool rooms and freezers.
Floors at your food business site must:
- be easy to clean
- not absorb grease, food particles or water
- prevent water ponding
- prevent breeding areas for pests
- be coved A concave curved surface between the wall and ceiling, or wall and floor, of a room. at the walls to help prevent the build-up of dirt, grease and bacteria at the wall and floor junctions.
Floors that are subject to flooding and wet operations have to be graded and drained to an approved waste outlet.
Wall and ceiling design
The walls and ceilings of your food business site need to:
- be appropriate for a food handling business
- protect kai (food) from contamination
- be sealed to prevent the entry of dirt, dust and pests
- not absorb of grease, food particles or water
- be easy to clean
- prevent vermin nests and hiding areas.
Rubbish areas
Food preparation sites must have facilities to store rubbish and recyclable matter that can:
- adequately contain the volume and type of rubbish and recyclable matter on the site
- enclose the garbage or recyclable matter, if this is necessary to keep pests and animals away
- be easily and effectively cleaned.