Australian Food Safety Week Readiness 2025: Build a 3.2.2A Evidence Pack that Survives Inspection (Templates Included)
Search intent: informational → commercial investigation. This is a practical, regulator‑aligned guide for Australian cafés, restaurants, takeaways, pubs, caterers, hotels, school canteens, offices and community venues to prepare for Australian Food Safety Week 2025 and the busy Nov–Dec trading period. It explains FSANZ Standard 3.2.2A in plain English and gives you concrete, printable records that EHOs recognise, plus equipment category links that make temperature control achievable on the floor.
- What is 3.2.2A? A national standard requiring affected food‑service/retail businesses to implement Food Safety Management Tools: Food Safety Supervisor, food handler training, and substantiation (evidence) of critical controls. Which of the tools you must implement depends on your activities.
- What’s a “critical control” here? Temperature control of PHF (≤ 5 °C cold; ≥ 60 °C hot), time control (2‑hour/4‑hour rule), cooling (60→≤ 21 °C in 2 h; ≤ 5 °C in 4 h), reheating (to ≥ 60 °C quickly), probe thermometer accuracy (± 1 °C), and sanitising outcomes.
- What evidence do inspectors accept? Simple, dated records you actually use: delivery/receiving temps, hourly display checks, cooling/reheating records, 2‑hour/4‑hour labels, probe calibration checks, cleaning & sanitising logs, and training/FSS certificates.
- What gear helps you comply (and trade faster)? Correctly placed cold displays (≤ 5 °C), reliable hot‑holding (≥ 60 °C), and dish systems that truly sanitise — see the internal shortlist links in Section 7.
Who this is for — and why it works
- Owner‑operators & head chefs who need scholar‑level clarity that translates to daily checklists.
- Hotel/venue managers who must coordinate multiple outlets and produce consistent evidence.
- School canteens, offices, churches, community orgs who trade occasionally but want a clean inspection and safe food.
This page is written from a regulator’s risk‑logic: hazards → controls → evidence. Each control we recommend is backed by an official requirement and converted into a record you can print and use in service.
Australian Food Safety Week 2025 — why prepare now
Australian Food Safety Week 2025 runs 8–15 November 2025. The theme focuses on myth‑busting and good practice. Use that week to prove your system works: run the logs in this guide, brief your team, and correct anything that drifts before December parties start. Public campaigns raise expectations — customers and councils look more closely in November, and well‑kept evidence is your best protection.
Standard 3.2.2A in plain English — the three tools and who needs them
3.2.2A adds nationally consistent Food Safety Management Tools for food‑service and retail businesses that handle unpackaged, ready‑to‑eat, potentially hazardous food. The aim is to reduce outbreaks by making sure everyday controls are taught, supervised and demonstrated with simple records. Depending on your activities, you must implement two or three of the tools below.
Tool A — Food Safety Supervisor (FSS)
- Someone with recognised competency who oversees safe practices.
- Keep certificate on file and available on request.
Tool B — Food handler training
- Every handler trained (or able to demonstrate skills/knowledge).
- Retain evidence: certificates, attendance, modules completed.
Tool C — Substantiation (evidence)
- Keep simple records that show critical controls worked.
- Focus on temperatures, times, sanitising outcomes and corrective actions.
Who needs which tools? (quick matrix)
| Business category | Examples | Tools required (typical) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food service / catering | Restaurants, cafés, pubs, hotels, caterers, school canteens | All three: FSS + training + evidence | Most handle unpackaged RTE PHF and must show controls working |
| Retail with RTE unpackaged PHF | Delis, supermarkets, convenience counters | Two or three (based on activity) | Check your activity profile to confirm which tools apply |
| Mobile/temporary trading | Food trucks, pop‑ups, markets | Same as above, based on actual handling | Records can be simple — but must be present on stall |
When in doubt, assume you must implement all three and scale the effort to your risk. You can’t be marked down for having too much evidence — only for having none.
Critical controls you must prove — and the records that prove them
Food Standards guidance emphasises temperature control of PHF: keep cold food at ≤ 5 °C, hot food at ≥ 60 °C, and if you use time as a control, apply the 2‑hour/4‑hour rule and add up all time between 5–60 °C. When cooling, move from 60→≤ 21 °C within 2 hours, then to ≤ 5 °C within 4 hours. Reheat quickly to ≥ 60 °C before hot‑holding. A probe thermometer accurate to ± 1 °C is essential.
Evidence pillar 1 — Delivery & receiving
- Agree delivery temps/time windows in writing; verify on arrival.
- Reject or act if PHF arrives outside your agreed safe limits.
| Date | Supplier | Item | Temp at arrival | Action | Initials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/11 | FreshCo | Cooked meats | 4.2 °C | Accept to BOH cold | AB |
| 01/11 | DairyCo | Custard trays | 7.8 °C | Accept under time control; label 2‑hour window | CD |
Evidence pillar 2 — Display & holding
- Probe the warmest shelf item in cold displays and the coolest spot in hot wells; not just cabinet air.
- Hourly at peak is a common, defensible frequency.
| Location | Item | Target | Reading | Time | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glass‑door fridge (FOH) | Salads (top/front) | ≤ 5 °C | 5.6 °C | 12:15 | Re‑stock, close doors quickly, recheck 20 min |
| Bain marie (well #2) | Beef curry (centre) | ≥ 60 °C | 61.2 °C | 12:30 | Continue holding, lids on |
Evidence pillar 3 — Time as a control (2‑hour/4‑hour)
| Item | Leaves control | Back in/served | Total time | Rule | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carvery roast (tray) | 12:05 | 13:35 | 1:30 | 0–2 h | Return to hot‑hold |
| Sauce (pass) | 13:10 | 15:25 | 2:15 | 2–4 h | Use now; don’t re‑store |
| Quiche (display) | 11:00 | 15:30 | 4:30 | > 4 h | Discard |
Time is cumulative across prep, transport and display. Label clearly and add up every leg.
Evidence pillar 4 — Cooling & reheating
| Item | Batch | 60→≤ 21 °C (≤ 2 h) | ≤ 21→≤ 5 °C (≤ 4 h) | Reheat ≥ 60 °C | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lasagne tray | AM‑B2 | 1 h 45 m | 2 h 50 m | 10:30 | Shallow pans; blast assist |
Evidence pillar 5 — Probe thermometer & calibration
- Keep at least one probe thermometer accurate to ± 1 °C, batteries checked, and cleaned/sanitised between uses.
- Ice‑point check (0 °C): crushed ice + a little water; insert probe; wait until stable; adjust/calibrate per manual or note offset.
| Date | Method | Reading | Pass/Fail | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/11 | Ice‑point 0 °C | 0.3 °C | Pass (± 1 °C) | Use |
| 08/11 | Ice‑point 0 °C | 1.6 °C | Fail | Recalibrate / note +1.6 °C offset |
Evidence pillar 6 — Cleaning & sanitising outcomes
- Record dish/glasswasher program (high‑temp or chemical), alarms, and corrective actions. Keep chemical SDS and dosing specs.
- For manual sanitising, follow your validated hot‑water or chemical parameters; never towel‑dry glassware.
| Date | Program/chemicals | Issue | Corrective action | Initials |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31/10 | High‑temp rinse | Final rinse low | Service call; booster reset | LM |
| 01/11 | Chemical | Detergent empty | Replaced; documented batch | NP |
Design your system so records are easy (and honest)
1) Map risky spots
Mark the warmest shelf of each cold display and the coolest zone of each hot well. That’s where you always probe.
2) Put probes where people use them
Mount a probe and wipes at each service area; don’t hide it in the office. If it’s not within reach, it won’t be used.
3) Set times that match trade
Hourly at peak, every 2–3 hours off‑peak. If under time control, label start/finish times on the item, not the bench.
4) Write the fix on the sheet
A record without a corrective action is half‑done. If a reading is off, write exactly what you did and when you re‑checked.
5) Keep 3 months on file
Store the last quarter near the pass; archive the rest. You want to show it on request without a treasure hunt.
Make the controls achievable with the right equipment (category links)
Cold‑holding & display
- Glass‑door fridges — FOH drinks and salads; place out of direct sun; stock the warmest shelf with fast movers.
- Commercial upright fridges — BOH staging; probe the warmest shelf product during rush.
- Food‑prep fridges & benchtop salad bars — lids down between bursts; shallow pans speed recovery.
Hot‑holding
- Bain maries — holding (not reheating) at ≥ 60 °C; rotate pans; cover between waves.
- Hot display bars — FOH browsing with sneeze glass; protect cold intakes from radiant spill.
Dish & benches (sanitising outcomes)
- Glasswashers — rapid, gentle cycles for stems; plan inlet/outlet benches for flow.
- Passthrough dishwashers — consistent plates/cutlery sanitising at event scale.
- Dishwasher inlet/outlet benches — without these, you won’t hit rated cycles.
Case study — “From paperwork panic to inspection‑ready in 10 days”
A VIC hotel with three outlets failed a spring spot‑check on record‑keeping. Food was safe, but evidence was scattered. With Food Safety Week approaching, management needed a fast turnaround.
Before
- Thermometers present but no calibration records; one probe missing batteries.
- Cooling sheets incomplete; reheats not logged (“chef’s memory”).
- Cold display checks written on sticky notes; hot wells “checked by feel”.
- New casuals untrained; FSS certificate expired last quarter.
After (10‑day plan)
- Re‑issued a one‑page Evidence Pack by area: delivery, display (hourly sheet), time control labels, cooling/reheat log, probe calibration log, cleaning & sanitising log.
- Mounted a probe + wipes per service area; daily ice‑point check added to open/close list.
- Ran a 60‑minute toolbox talk: 2‑hour/4‑hour rule, where to probe, how to log corrective actions; scanned certificates.
- Booked FSS refresher; filed certificate copy at pass and office.
Results
- Follow‑up inspection: no corrective actions — officer noted clear logs and sensible corrective entries.
- Service speed improved because staff stopped guessing temperatures and reduced door‑open linger at displays.
- December event quotes highlighted compliance capacity — an underrated competitive edge.
FAQ — the difficult questions, answered clearly
1) We run a small café. Isn’t 3.2.2A just paperwork?
No. The standard targets real‑world failure points (temperatures, time control, cooling, training). Records are the proof you did the right thing, not the thing itself. Keep them simple and near the task; complexity is the enemy of compliance.
2) How long must we keep records?
Keep recent records within reach (e.g., past quarter near the pass) and archive older ones according to your local council expectations and business policy. Many EHOs will ask for the last one to three months during a visit.
3) Can we use IR thermometers for displays?
Use IR only for quick surface scans. You still need a probe to measure food core temperatures and to apply the 2‑hour/4‑hour rule with confidence.
4) Our hot display dries food at ≥ 60 °C. Can we hold at 55 °C to keep quality?
Not without a validated alternative. If quality suffers, use wet wells, lids, rotation, or switch to time as a control with strict labelling and cut‑off. Do not run a hot display below 60 °C and hope for the best.
5) How do we show our dishwasher is sanitising?
Follow the model’s sanitising program (high‑temp or chemical), verify indicators/temps per the manual, and log alarms/corrective actions. For manual sanitising, follow your validated hot‑water or chemical parameters and record them during deep cleans.
Free “3.2.2A Evidence Pack” (templates + 15‑minute phone review)
Email us your outlet type and service hours. We’ll reply with a one‑pager bundle (PDF/print): delivery/receiving log, hourly display checks, 2‑hour/4‑hour labels, cooling & reheating record, probe calibration sheet, and cleaning & sanitising log — plus a shortlist from glass‑door fridges, prep fridges, bain maries, hot bars and dishwashing.
Official sources (stable links you can cite internally)
- FSANZ — Standard 3.2.2A: Food Safety Management Tools (overview & PDF): https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/business/food-safety/overview-food-safety-management-tools
- FSANZ — Keeping food at the right temperature (≤ 5 °C / ≥ 60 °C): https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/business/food-safety/keeping-food-at-the-right-temperature
- FSANZ — 2‑hour/4‑hour rule (web & InfoBite PDF): https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/business/food-safety/2-hour-4-hour-rule
- FSANZ — Cooling and reheating food (web & PDF): https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/business/food-safety/cooling-and-reheating-food
- FSANZ — Food temperature & thermometers (± 1 °C, charities page with general guidance): https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/business/charities/temperature-control
- Food Safety Information Council — Australian Food Safety Week 2025 (8–15 Nov): https://www.foodsafety.asn.au/topic/australian-food-safety-week-2025/
- NSW Food Authority — Standard 3.2.2A (state explainer): https://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/retail/standard-322a-food-safety-management-tools
Last updated: . Always check your local council’s enforcement practices for site‑specific requirements.
