Temporary food stalls

If you are planning to operate a temporary food stall at a market or other public event you will normally still be required to comply with local food safety laws and possibly require a temporary food stall licence or permit from your local authority. The requirements vary considerably so it is strongly recommended that you contact your local council health or food safety unit to find out the specific local requirements. If you are intending to operate the temporary food stall on a one off basis or on behalf of a not-for-profit organisation the requirements are often less stringent.

Temporary food stalls are considered to be high risk environments when considering food safety and operators should be aware of food safety standards requirements including:

• the requirements for temperature control of raw ingredients and prepared foods, including observance of the 2 hour / 4 hour rule;
• the need to avoid cross contamination by not preparing cooked and raw foods on the same surfaces or having people that are handling money handling food without washing their hands in between;
• the need to have dedicated hand washing facilities which are seperate from utensil washing facilities.

Many local authorities also require temporary food stall licencees to have a qualified food safety supervisor on duty at the stall or to be accessable at all times during the stalls operation. The Australian Online College delivers accreditated online food handler training and food safety supervisor training.

If your temporary food stall is operating at an organised event, the event organisers will often have specific occupational health and safety requirements which must be met by stall holders, Examples of event organiser requirements include:

• Test and Tagging of all electrical appliances and leads
• Public liability insurance
• Fire extinguishing equipment