Labelling Food Sold at Markets and Temporary Stalls

Food sold at markets and temporary stalls must still meet the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. Pre-packaged items generally need a full label — food name, ingredients, allergen declarations, business details, date marking and batch identification. Food sold unpackaged or made to order does not need a full label, but allergen information must be given to customers, either displayed or on request. Registration is handled by your local council and rules vary, so always confirm before trading. Key takeaways: Pre-packaged food sold at a stall generally needs a full label; food sold unpackaged or made to order does not, but its allergen information must still be available.. Under Plain English Allergen Labelling (PEAL, Standard 1.2.3) the declared allergens must be shown in the required words — either on the label, displayed at the stall, or given to the customer on request.. A full label must carry the food name, an ingredients list, allergen declarations, date marking, lot/batch identification for recall, and the business name and address.. Registration and notification for temporary food stalls are administered by state and territory regulators and local councils and vary by location — confirm the rules where you trade.. Temperature control still applies at a stall: keep cold food at 5°C or below, hot food at 60°C or above, and use the 2-hour/4-hour rule for food out of control.. Do market and stall foods need a label? It depends on whether the food is packaged. The Food Standards Code draws a clear line between food that is pre-packaged for retail sale and food that is sold unpackaged or made to order in front of the customer. Both types are common at markets, and many stalls sell both, so it helps to sort your products before the event. Pre-packaged food (jams, sauces, baked goods, sweets sealed in bags or jars before sale) generally needs a full label.. Unpackaged food (loose produce, food dished up to order, coffee, hot food cooked and served on the spot) does not need a full label.. Food packaged in front of the customer at their request (for example, weighed and bagged there and then) is treated like unpackaged food.. What a full label must include for packaged food If you pre-package food for sale, the label carries the information a customer would otherwise ask a shopkeeper for. It must be legible, in English, and stay attached to the package. Getting these elements right before you print labels saves reworking your whole stock the night before a market. The name or description of the food, so it is not misleading.. An ingredients list in descending order of weight, including compound ingredients and additives.. Allergen declarations for any declared allergens, in the required words (see PEAL below).. Date marking — a 'use by' date for food that becomes unsafe, or a 'best before' date for most other packaged food.. Lot or batch identification, so a specific run of product can be traced and recalled if needed.. The name and Australian street address of the supplier (a PO box is not enough).. A nutrition information panel and country-of-origin information, unless a specific exemption applies.. Directions for use or storage where the food needs them to stay safe (for example, 'keep refrigerated').. Allergen information for unpackaged and made-to-order food Food sold unpackaged or made to order does not escape allergen rules. Under Plain English Allergen Labelling (PEAL) in Standard 1.2.3, the presence of a declared allergen must be either displayed in connection with the food or provided to the purchaser on request. Whichever you choose, the information must be accurate, legible and written — a verbal 'I think it's fine' is not enough. The declared allergens are: added sulphites (10 mg/kg or more), cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt and their hybrids), crustacea, egg, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, peanut, sesame, soy, and tree nuts.. PEAL requires specific, consistent wording — for example 'wheat' rather than only 'gluten', and the specific tree nut where relevant.. If you display the information, a clear ingredient card or allergen sign beside each product works well.. If you provide it on request, keep a written ingredient sheet or allergen matrix at the stall that any staff member can show.. Small-scale, charity and fundraising food Some food sold at fundraising events, or food that is made and sold to the same customer on the same day, may be exempt from carrying a full label. These exemptions are narrow and specific, so do not assume they apply to your stall — a home baker selling sealed jars to take away is in a different position from a school fete cake stall. Even where a full label is not required, allergen information must still be available to customers.. Exemptions do not remove your general duty to sell safe, correctly described food.. Whether your event counts as fundraising, and what that allows, is a question for your local council or state regulator — confirm it rather than guessing.. Setting up allergen and origin information at your stall A market stall is a busy, noisy environment, so make allergen information easy to find without a conversation. Clear signage and a written reference sheet protect both your customers and your business, and they speed up service when someone asks 'does this contain nuts?' Prepare an allergen matrix listing each product and the declared allergens it contains, and keep a copy at the stall.. Brief every person serving so they can answer allergen questions consistently and know where the written information is.. At a shared stall or communal cooking area, control allergen cross-contact — separate utensils, boards and frying oil where needed.. Keep supplier ingredient information for anything you did not make yourself, so your labels and answers are accurate.. Registration, notification and temperature control at events Selling food at a market or temporary event usually means notifying or registering as a temporary food premises. These requirements are administered by state and territory regulators and local councils and vary by location, so check what applies where you trade rather than relying on what worked at another market. Standards 3.2.2, 3.2.2A and 3.2.3 also set food safety, skills and premises requirements that follow you to a temporary stall. Confirm registration or notification requirements with your local council or state regulator before the event — do not assume they are the same everywhere.. Many food businesses must have a trained food safety supervisor and food handlers with the required skills and knowledge under Standard 3.2.2A.. Keep cold food at 5°C or below and hot food at 60°C or above; 5°C to 60°C is the temperature danger zone.. Use the 2-hour/4-hour rule for ready-to-eat potentially hazardous food that is out of temperature control.. Checklist: Products sorted into packaged (full label) and unpackaged (allergen info) groups. Full labels drafted with name, ingredients, allergens, date marking, batch code and business address. Declared allergens checked against every ingredient and written in PEAL wording. Allergen information displayed or a written sheet ready to show on request. Nutrition information panel and country-of-origin details added where required. Temporary food stall registered/notified with the council or state regulator. Cold food at 5°C or below, hot food at 60°C or above, with the 2-hour/4-hour rule ready to apply. Common mistakes: Assuming unpackaged, made-to-order food has no allergen obligations — the declared allergens must still be displayed or given on request.. Writing 'gluten' or 'nuts' instead of the specific PEAL wording such as 'wheat' or the named tree nut.. Leaving off the lot/batch identifier, so a problem batch cannot be traced or recalled.. Using a PO box or no address instead of the required business name and Australian street address.. Assuming a 'charity' or 'fundraiser' label removes all labelling and safety duties.. Turning up without confirming the council's registration and temperature requirements for that specific event..