Small establishments present challenge for Australian food safety code

The increasing incidence of food‐borne diseases emphasises the importance of improving and maintaining a high standard of food safety in food service establishments. Currently, a proposal to develop an Australian national food hygiene standard based on the HACCP principles, is being discussed by major stakeholders with a view to improving the standard of food safety. This article reports on the diverse standards of hygiene found in a cross‐section of food service establishments in south‐east Queensland, Australia. Hygiene standards were found to be satisfactory in only ten of the 19 sites surveyed. It is important for the success of the national food safety strategy that any legal framework, codes of conduct and auditing of standards, complement the existing workplace practices and culture of food service establishments.