Food safety records for education and childcare
A childcare cook making lunch and two snacks for every room, or a school canteen with a volunteer roster and a lunch rush. People change often, and the records stay in one place.
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Which rules reach which kitchen
Childcare centre kitchen
- Usual category
- Category one
- Supervisor and trained handlers
- Yes
- Records, or another way
- Yes
- Written food safety program
- Yes, where it serves potentially hazardous food to six or more children at a time
School canteen that makes sandwiches or hot food
- Usual category
- Category one
- Supervisor and trained handlers
- Yes
- Records, or another way
- Yes
- Written food safety program
- No
Canteen selling packaged food and heating pies it bought
- Usual category
- Category two
- Supervisor and trained handlers
- Yes
- Records, or another way
- No
- Written food safety program
- No
Fund raising event
- Usual category
- Outside these tools
- Supervisor and trained handlers
- Not under Standard 3.2.2A
- Records, or another way
- No
- Written food safety program
- No
Your local government confirms the category and what it expects of a stall. The three standard lists can be cut back to match the row you are in.
A day in a childcare or school kitchen
- 01
Lunch for the rooms
The cooking log records each batch and the temperature it reached before food goes out to the rooms.The cooking log records each batch and the temperature it reached before food goes out to the rooms.
Recorded in Today's Tasks and checklists
- 02
Fridges in the kitchen and the rooms
Each fridge, wherever it is in the building, is a unit in the equipment register with its own check.Each fridge, wherever it is in the building, is a unit in the equipment register with its own check.
Recorded in Temperature checks from the equipment register
- 03
A child's allergy
Recipe cards carry allergens up from their base recipes, so the cook and the room staff read the same list for each dish.Recipe cards carry allergens up from their base recipes, so the cook and the room staff read the same list for each dish.
Recorded in Recipes and menus with allergens
- 04
The volunteer roster
Canteen volunteers are rostered in the schedule, and a shift can require someone who holds the food safety supervisor qualification.Canteen volunteers are rostered in the schedule, and a shift can require someone who holds the food safety supervisor qualification.
Recorded in The schedule and roster
- 05
A notice to every volunteer
A change to the menu or to a cleaning product goes to the whole team as a notice, and each person can be asked to confirm they have read it.A change to the menu or to a cleaning product goes to the whole team as a notice, and each person can be asked to confirm they have read it.
Recorded in Communications
- 06
Only the checks they do
A volunteer can be given Today's Tasks and nothing else, and a checklist can be set for only the people who do that job.A volunteer can be given Today's Tasks and nothing else, and a checklist can be set for only the people who do that job.
Recorded in Team access
When a supplier changes a product
A new brand of bread or a swapped stock powder is the usual way an allergen list goes out of date without anyone noticing.
- 1
Ask the supplier for its allergen information, which it must give when asked, and file it in Documents as a supplier specification.
- 2
Change the ingredient on its recipe card. The allergens carry up to every dish and menu built on it.
- 3
Send a notice to the cook and the room staff, and ask each to confirm they have read it.
- 4
Record the change on the monthly ingredient substitution check.
No law asks for this record. It keeps the answer to a parent the same in the kitchen and in the room.
A starter checklist set
For a childcare kitchen or canteen we would keep the standard lists and include the fridges in the rooms.
Start free trialOpening fridge temperatures, kitchen and rooms
Opening freezer check, food hard frozen
Handwash stations stocked
Staff fitness for work
Receiving deliveries log
Cooking and pathogen reduction log
Cooling log, on days you cool food
Daily cleaning and sanitising sign off
Weekly deep clean
Pest check
Stock rotation and use by audit
Allergen matrix review
Supplier allergen specifications
Ingredient substitution log
Food Safety Supervisor and training register
Probe thermometer calibration
Every new venue opens with the same standard daily, weekly and monthly lists. This is how we suggest shaping them, and every check and every list can be changed or deleted.
What applies to you
Each kind of kitchen in the table above is usually in the category shown there. The WA Department of Health guide names childcare centres among its category one examples.
- Food safety supervisorApplies
- Needed in both categories. A canteen run with volunteers still needs a supervisor who is reasonably available while food is prepared and served.
- Food handler trainingApplies
- Volunteers who handle food need a course, or skills and knowledge that match what they do, before they first carry out a prescribed activity. No certificate is required. In a childcare centre under Standard 3.3.1, training records must be kept.
- Records, or another way to show controlCategory one
- A category one kitchen keeps records of what it does, or shows an authorised officer another way. A category two canteen does not need the record keeping tool.
- A written food safety program
- Standard 3.3.1 lists child care centres. A centre serving potentially hazardous food to six or more children at any time needs a written food safety program, kept at the premises and audited by an approved auditor. Schools and school canteens are not on the list, however many students they serve. Whether a particular service counts as a child care centre in the Standard's sense is a question for your local government.
- Other regulators
Childcare services also answer to the National Quality Framework, overseen by the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority. School canteens may follow their school system's own healthy food policy. Neither is summarised here.
- Also worth knowing
The Food Standards Code asks for no allergen record. Allergen information is displayed with the food or given when asked. A service may keep more for children with known allergies as its own policy.
This is general information about the law, not advice about your business. Confirm your category and what applies to you with your local government.
Guardian for education and childcare
For a childcare kitchen or school canteen, the officer's review can take in whether the cooking and cooling records match the menu, whether the allergens on the recipe cards are current, and whether new staff and volunteers appear on the training register.
On the Guardian plan a Hospitality Compliance Support Officer (HCSO) reviews your records online, wherever you are, and on site in Western Australia where visits are available. The officer is not an authorised officer: they cannot certify your venue or speak for your local government.
Related kinds of venue
Asked about education and childcare
Does our childcare centre need a food safety program?
It does if it is a child care centre under Standard 3.3.1 that serves potentially hazardous food to six or more children at any time. The program is written, kept at the premises and audited by an approved auditor. If you are unsure whether your service counts, ask your local government.
Does a school canteen need a food safety program?
No. Schools and school canteens are not listed in Standard 3.3.1, however many students they serve. A canteen still has the Standard 3.2.2A tools that match its category.
Do our canteen volunteers need a certificate?
No certificate is required. Each volunteer needs training, or skills and knowledge that match what they do, before they first carry out a prescribed activity. A short induction you run and assess is allowed.
Do we need an allergen register for the children?
The Food Standards Code asks for no allergen record. It asks that allergen information be displayed or given when asked. A service may keep more for children with known allergies as its own policy, and recipe cards with allergens help keep that consistent.
Is our school fair stall covered?
Fund raising events are exempt from Standard 3.2.2A, the Standard that sets out the supervisor, training and record keeping tools. Ask your local government what it expects of a stall.