The Food Standards Code standard that provides for food safety programs and lets states require them for higher-risk food handling.
No. The standard enables states and territories to require programs for higher-risk handling, particularly service to vulnerable people, rather than mandating one for every business nationally.
A program under Standard 3.2.1 is usually built on HACCP principles, identifying hazards and controlling them at critical points, but it is framed within the Australian Food Standards Code rather than being a certification.
Where an audit is required, it is generally carried out by a food safety auditor approved by the relevant state or territory authority.
Typically monitoring records for critical controls such as cooking and cold storage, along with corrective-action records showing what was done when a control fell outside its limits.
Standard 3.2.1 provides for food safety programs, while Standard 3.2.2 sets the baseline food handling practices every food business must follow regardless of whether it holds a program.