What is a food safety supervisor?
All licensed food businesses must have an approved food safety supervisor. A food safety supervisor is responsible for monitoring food safety in a food business.
All licensable food businesses in Queensland must have a food safety supervisor to help ensure safe food is produced. Your food safety supervisor needs to be ‘reasonably available’. This means they need to be onsite or able to be contacted by Council or your employees while they are handling food.
Who can be a food safety supervisor?
A food safety supervisor must:
- know how to recognise, stop and reduce food safety hazards of the business
- be trained with the skills and knowledge of food safety matters that are relevant to the business
- have the authority to supervise and give directions about food safety matters to other staff
- be reasonably available to be contacted while the food business is operating by:
- any food handler at the food business
- the local Council that licensed the food business.
A licensee of the food business may be the food safety supervisor and a business may have more than one food safety supervisor.
Does a food safety supervisor need training?
We recommend that your food safety supervisor completes a training course conducted by a registered training organisation (RTO), (e.g. TAFE, college or private provider).
You can find an RTO at training.gov.au or enter the keywords ‘food safety supervisor training’ in an internet search engine.
To find out more about food safety supervisor training and competency standards, visit Queensland Health's food safety supervisors.
New food safety laws
From 8 December 2023, food businesses that serve ready to eat food to their customers must have a qualified food safety supervisor.
Upon request, the food business must be able to produce a food safety supervisor certificate of attainment received from a registered training organisation.
The certificate must be for the type of food handling undertaken. For example:
- a restaurant requires a food safety supervisor that has completed the training for the retail and hospitality sector
- an aged care centre requires a food safety supervisor that has completed training for the health and community services sector.
How do I nominate my food safety supervisor?
Once your food business licence has been granted, you have 30 days to provide your food safety supervisor’s name and contact details. If your food safety supervisor or their contact details change, you also need to notify us.
You can nominate a food safety supervisor: