Why digitalizing food safety is the only way forward

Food safety compliance is not just a nice to have, it’s the foundation of any successful kitchen. One missing log or misstep can lead to a whole host of fines and irreparable damage to your business’s reputation.

Australian food safety compliance laws are strict and well-enforced to protect public health and maintain industry standards. Under the Food Standards Code, businesses must adhere to stringent food handling, hygiene, storage, and record-keeping requirements. 

Getting it wrong and being non-compliant won’t just lead to a slap on the wrists; it can result in severe penalties, including fines, business closures, and legal action. Beyond financial consequences, a single lapse in compliance can lead to foodborne illness outbreaks, causing lasting damage to customer trust and a business’s reputation. With routine inspections and enforcement by local and state authorities, food operators must ensure that safety protocols are followed and ingrained in their daily operations.

What do food safety laws cover?

Food safety supervision – As of December 2022, every Australian business that serves food must always have at least one designated food safety supervisor on staff, and all food handlers must be trained to a specific standard.

Food safety management systems – Most states and territories require venues to have a food safety management system based on HACCP principles. A food safety checklist template is a handy tool for ensuring compliance.

Temperature control – Businesses must strictly follow temperature guidelines for food storage and preparation.

Food handling practices – Staff must exercise safe food handling and prevent cross-contamination.

Allergen management – Businesses must have accurate allergen labeling. This helps prevent potential illness from allergic reactions.

Venue sanitation – Businesses must be clean and incorporate hygiene measures, like handwashing facilities and pest control.

Enforcement and compliance – The laws dictate the frequency of inspections, penalties for infringement, and required staff education/training programs.

Real-world examples of non-compliance 

1. Stonnington Council, Melbourne

Stonnington Council in Melbourne has been known to have zero-tolerance inspectors and has taken businesses to court for failing to pay fines associated with breaching food safety standards. One popular restaurant with a 4 star rating on Google was fined $1,000 and ordered to pay $2,000 in legal fees in August 2024.

Key takeaway: Food safety has to be a priority no matter the size of your business. It’s not just large multinational franchises that face legal consequences, small companies are equally at risk of prosecution for non-compliance. Even minor violations, such as inadequate sanitation, improper food storage, or failure to keep records, can result in inspections, fines, and legal action. Maintaining strict hygiene, staff training, and compliance with food safety laws is essential to protecting customers and a business’s reputation.

2. Various Eateries, Brisbane

Several eateries in Brisbane have been fined for severe food safety breaches, including rodent infestations, improper food storage, and poor sanitation. In the past financial year, Brisbane City Council issued nearly $600,000 in fines to 56 businesses for violating the Food Safety Act, with penalties ranging from $700 to $35,000.

Key Takeaway—If you don’t take food safety seriously, you can and will get fined. Australian authorities take a zero-tolerance approach to food safety breaches, as seen in the strict enforcement and significant penalties. To avoid legal and financial consequences, businesses must prioritize cleanliness, pest control, and proper food handling.

3. Large supermarket chain, Sydney

A large, well-known metro store in Bondi incurred fines totaling $5,280 from the NSW Food Authority due to multiple food safety violations. Infractions included failure to prevent pest harborages, insufficient cleanliness, inadequate protection against contamination for single-use items, lack of warm running water at handwashing facilities, improper food storage, and unsealed walls and ceilings allowing dirt and pests entry.   

Key Takeaway—No matter what type of business you run, if there is food, you must be compliant. Supermarkets, cafés, and convenience stores face the same strict compliance standards and financial penalties. Businesses must implement robust food safety practices to avoid costly fines and reputational damage. Stay on top of your food safety and digitize it. 

Who does it right? 

Lucas Restaurants 

Australian hospitality industry leader LUCAS Restaurants is home to some of Australia’s most beloved and acclaimed restaurants, including Chin Chin, Kisumé, Baby Pizza, Yakimono, and Maison Bâtard. Their mission is simple: serve great food by happy people—and a key part of achieving this is maintaining exceptional food safety standards.

What they do well – Managing food safety across multi-location restaurant groups like LUCAS can be challenging, especially if each venue uses different systems or outdated paper-based methods. However, LUCAS Restaurants ensures consistency and compliance by implementing a centralized digital hub that provides complete oversight and control, always keeping them audit-ready.

How they do it – LUCAS Restaurants use a centralised, real-time task management system, meaning every restaurant team follows structured digital checklists for food safety procedures. Automated food labeling streamlines workflows and improves accuracy, so the staff has complete oversight of use-by dates. Automated temperature monitoring, powered by remote sensors, provides real-time monitoring and alerts for cold storage, ensuring full compliance and eliminating inefficiencies. By embracing technology-driven food safety solutions, LUCAS Restaurants eliminates inefficiencies, reduces human error, and maintains the highest standards of compliance across all locations.

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Ventia

Ventia is one of Australia’s largest providers of brownfield maintenance, shutdowns, drilling, dewatering, and accommodation services for the mining and minerals sector. The company specialises in camp and village management across diverse and remote environments, ensuring seamless operations even in the most challenging conditions.

What they do well – Managing food safety in remote mining villages presents unique challenges, like unreliable internet, limited communication signals, and difficulty gathering information between sites. Despite this, Ventia maintains fully HACCP-certified kitchens at every location, ensuring consistent food safety and compliance across all sites. Their system allows head office to easily monitor food safety data from all locations without manual intervention.

How they do it – The team transitioned from a fragmented, paper-based system spread across multiple locations to a centralised digital system. This streamlined solution simplified adherence to food compliance regulations. By using a fully digital food safety system, Ventia ensures that even in the most remote environments, food compliance remains efficient, reliable, and audit-ready.

Australian Venue Co

Australian Venue Co (AVC) is one of the biggest hospitality groups in the country, with over 200 venues. From iconic landmark institutions to beloved local establishments, AVC creates spaces that feel like home.

What they do well – Australian Venue Co (AVC) maintains compliance across a vast network of over 200 venues, each with unique operational requirements. Their ability to standardize compliance processes while allowing for venue-specific needs ensures seamless management. They balance centralised oversight with on-the-ground support, allowing venues to stay compliant without unneeded complexity. Additionally, it’s a proactive approach to compliance, minimizes risks, enhances efficiency, and ensures consistent quality and safety standards across all locations.

How they do it: AVC manages all of its compliance from head office but provides all its venues with the tools they need to ensure they will always be on track. Digital food sensors, printers, and checklist solutions streamline operations and allow frontline staff and head office to work more collaboratively and effectively.

In conclusion 

Food safety compliance is non-negotiable in the hospitality industry. The risk of fines, reputational damage, and even business closure is too high to ignore. The businesses that succeed in staying compliant, like LUCAS Restaurants, Ventia, and Australian Venue Co, understand that digitisation is the way forward to keep on top of compliance. 

By replacing outdated, paper-based systems with digital solutions like Operandio, a leading food-safety platform, businesses can streamline compliance, ensure real-time monitoring, and always stay audit-ready. Automated food labeling, digital checklists, and temperature monitoring remove human error and ensure compliance. Operandio provides the tools to simplify food safety compliance, streamline reporting, and optimize operations across multiple locations.

Staying compliant isn’t just about avoiding penalties; it’s about protecting customers, staff, and the long-term success of your business. The best way to do that is to digitalize everything with Operandio.