JJDLmoving Posted July 15, 2018 Report Share Posted July 15, 2018 Hi Everyone I am looking at starting to bake some desserts from home and selling them to restaurants / coffee shops in Melbourne. Does anyone have any idea of the laws & regulations around this? From both a commerce and health and safety viewpoint? Any pointers would be much appreciated. BTW: NOT IN MELBOURNE JUST YET - WILL BE THERE VERY SOON! Many thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadEnoughofJuju Posted July 15, 2018 Report Share Posted July 15, 2018 (edited) It's not that simply. Aus has very strick rules when it comes to the food and beverage industry. a) You have to have a licence - every state has their own regulatory agency so you will need to find out who that is for the local council you will be living in. In QLD, those licences are controlled by the councils themselves. b) You are going to need to have access to a commercial kitchen. You can not cook food you sell in the same kitchen you cook you daily meals in. c) Once you've done that you will need to find restaurants that would be willing to buy cakes and goodies not made in their own kitchens. Restaurants here are very fussy about what they sell, how it's prepared and where the ingredients come from. If you can get over those three hurdles and still want to continue you will then entre the minefield of product labelling. All food products have to have detailed labelling with accurate contents lists with quantities. Aussie's in general are hypersensitive to not offending anyone, including everyone and avoiding causing anyone discomfort in any way so they want to know exactly what is in the food so that they don't accidentally kill someone with some arb allergy. This is possible and I did not write this to discourage you but you are going to need to do a lot more research and homework before you tackle something like this. You could end up paying massive fines if you don't follow the rules. Edited July 15, 2018 by HadEnoughofJuju Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJDLmoving Posted July 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2018 Thanks so much for the response! I am seriously having second thoughts now 😨 LOL - Its not like in SA = You can do what you want here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duggen Posted July 24, 2018 Report Share Posted July 24, 2018 On 7/15/2018 at 4:41 PM, JJDLmoving said: Hi Everyone I am looking at starting to bake some desserts from home and selling them to restaurants / coffee shops in Melbourne. Does anyone have any idea of the laws & regulations around this? From both a commerce and health and safety viewpoint? Any pointers would be much appreciated. BTW: NOT IN MELBOURNE JUST YET - WILL BE THERE VERY SOON! Many thanks in advance! A friend of mine was looking do to this in Melbourne and it seemed to be fairly straight forward. If it would have been financially viable was a different story though. There is a site/app that is specifically made for home cooks to facilitate this. Unfortunately I don't know the name off hand, I will check and get back to you. Anyway the point is it is definitely possible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duggen Posted July 24, 2018 Report Share Posted July 24, 2018 Seems there is more than one platform after a quick google: https://foodst.com.au/ http://www.shareplate.net/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duggen Posted July 24, 2018 Report Share Posted July 24, 2018 (edited) 55 minutes ago, JJDLmoving said: Thanks so much for the response! I am seriously having second thoughts now 😨 LOL - Its not like in SA = You can do what you want here! Just one final thing, while licenses etc may be required (depending on your venture), because things here are pretty efficient its pretty easy to get everything that's required. The country is full of small business that manage various requirements, no reason why you shouldn't be able to. Edited July 24, 2018 by Duggen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJDLmoving Posted July 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2018 Thanks @Duggen for all the feedback. Would you by any chance be able to put me in touch directly with your friend in Melbourne that wanted to start a similar venture? Some first hand information would be crucial to understanding the feasibility. Many thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RYLC Posted July 24, 2018 Report Share Posted July 24, 2018 The starting point would be your local council to find out their rules and regulations. Here is a link to the requirements and application fees for Brisbane City Council for example. https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/laws-permits/laws-permits-businesses/food-business-licences/starting-new-food-business/home-based-food-business Here is an excerpt: Quote Home-based food business Starting a food business from home can be a convenient way to launch a small business. To take advantage of this opportunity, you need to understand the fit-out requirements for home-based food businesses. For example, as a general guide, your business will need: separation of food business activities from the household food preparation, which usually means having a separate kitchen commercial-grade surfaces and appliances a way to be secured from children and pets. Brisbane City Council will only consider applications for home-based food businesses if the nature of the food being prepared and handled is low-risk. This includes baked goods such as cakes and cupcakes and other prescribed foods that are not potentially hazardous. Applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the individual risks of the proposal. Further requirements for a licensed kitchen are detailed in the design and fit-out guide for food businesses located on the application process and assessment page of the Local Government Toolbox website. There are a lot of rules and regulations here and the African way of just doing your own thing will not be good enough unfortunately. It is still possible to have a food business from home but you'll need to cross all the t's and dot all the i's because Australia takes their food safety ultra seriously. Think possibly batch tracking of your products, sell by dates, ingredient/nutritional panel labelling, prior approval of what you plan to make etc. as examples of what some councils require. Not all councils have all of these though but just to give you an idea of what it's like here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RYLC Posted July 24, 2018 Report Share Posted July 24, 2018 I've found the food business guidelines for City of Monash in Melbourne, Vic as another example of the requirements. They cover aspects such as food labelling, recalls if ingredients are contaminated etc. There have been recent cases of salmonella found in imported frozen berries from supermarkets for instance so it does happen. https://www.monash.vic.gov.au/files/assets/public/business/health-amp-safety/food-premises/setting-up-a-home-based-food-business.pdf Looks like a bit of reading ahead and then council staff can talk you through the rest. All the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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