Food Safety
Everyone working within the Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) sector has a responsibility to keep food safe, and correct food safety practices are crucial to this. Although there are many things to consider, three main food safety points to keep in mind include:
- Skills and knowledge
- Anyone involved in food handling must have the skills and knowledge to do so safely
- An Accredited Food Safety Supervisor must be appointed
- OSHC staff, such as educators involved in serving food to children require more basic food safety training and knowledge.
- Appropriate facilities
- All food storage areas must be clean, pest free and well-maintained.
- Cooking and reheating to safe temperatures
- Cook to 75°C – Potentially hazardous foods such as meat, eggs, cooked rice and pasta must be cooked to an internal temperature above 75°C to ensure any pathogenic microorganisms are killed off
- Reheat to 60°C – Once cooked above 75°C and then cooled, foods can then be reheated once to above 60°C.
