Due diligence — Food Safety Glossary

Taking all reasonable precautions and exercising due care to prevent a food safety breach.

Frequently asked questions

What is due diligence in food safety?

It is taking all reasonable precautions and exercising due care to prevent a food safety breach, and being able to show it.

Is due diligence a legal defence?

In some Australian state and territory food laws, demonstrating due diligence can form a defence, but only where the business genuinely took all reasonable precautions.

How do you demonstrate due diligence?

Through documented procedures, training, monitoring records, corrective actions, supplier checks and prompt, evidenced responses to problems.

Why do records matter for due diligence?

Records provide the contemporaneous evidence that reasonable precautions were actually taken, rather than merely claimed.

Does having a food safety program guarantee due diligence?

No. The program must be genuinely followed, with records and corrective actions showing it works in practice.

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