This document outlines important information on food legislation that affects the wine industry.
It covers legal requirements relating to the safety and labelling of food and requirements of those who handle food.
The Food Safety Standards were introduced in Queensland in 2001 as part of national reforms to improve the efficiency of food legislation. The reforms included standardising all State and Territory food acts and the implementation of a new Food Standards Code regulating labelling and composition of food.
The aim of the national reforms is to:
. Reduce the incidence of food borne illness
. Provide consistent food legislation throughout Australia
. Reduce regulatory burden on the food industry.
Wine production is regulated under the food legislation.
The Food Safety Standards form Chapter 3 of the Food Standards Code and cover requirements for the safe handling of food and structural requirements for food premises. The three standards are:
Standard 3.1.1 Interpretation and Application
This standard explains the main terms used in the Food Safety Standards.
Standard 3.2.2 Food Safety Practices and General Requirements
This standard sets out how food should be received, stored, processed, displayed, packaged, transported, disposed of and recalled. It also sets out the requirement for food handlers and their supervisors to have skills in and knowledge of food safety and hygiene commensurate with their work activities.
Standard 3.2.3 Food Premises and Equipment
This standard sets out how food premises and food transport vehicles should be designed, constructed and fitted out. It includes requirements that the layout of food premises minimise opportunities for food contamination. Food premises must also exclude pests, be able to be easily cleaned, be well lit and ventilated, and have an adequate supply of potable (drinkable) water, hand washing and toilet facilities.
The full text of each of these standards can be accessed at www.foodstandards.gov.au or by contacting you local government.
Queensland's food legislation, including the Food Safety Standards, apply to all food businesses in Queensland. The purpose of the legislation is to ensure that consumers continue to be supplied with safe and suitable food. Compliance with the legislation also benefits industry by improving consumer confidence in food products. Poor publicity reflects heavily on industry if there is just one poor performer or adverse incidence. In 1995, a major food poisoning outbreak from peanut butter associated with
just one manufacturer had a devastating impact on peanut butter sales of all brands. Such incidents can take months or even years for industry to recover from. In addition to lost consumer confidence, and therefore lost sales, litigation costs can also have severe detrimental effects on businesses.
Wine is unlikely to be the source of any cases of food borne illness due to its pH and low protein content. However, food handlers involved in all steps of wine production must understand their legislative obligations to ensure the final product is safe and suitable.
Poor handling and personal hygiene may result in physical contamination of the wine with foreign objects such as insects or hair. Poor practices will also result in poor quality wine.
Food Safety Standard 3.2.2 - Food Safety Practices and General Requirements sets out the responsibilities of food
handlers.
Personal hygiene and cleanliness minimise the risk of contamination. Food handlers are required to:
. prevent anything from their body or clothes coming into contact with the wine or wine contact surfaces, such as vats, bottles etc
. cover any cuts with waterproof bandages or dressings
. not handle food while ill with the flu or food-borne illness symptoms.
If a food handler is ill or suspects that they have contaminated the wine, they must immediately tell their supervisor so that appropriate action can be taken.
Food handlers must wash their hands:
. immediately after using the toilet
. before they start handling food or go back to handling food after other work
. immediately after smoking, coughing, sneezing, using a handkerchief or disposable tissue
. after eating, drinking or using tobacco or similar substances
. after touching their hair, scalp or face (eyes, nose, ears, mouth)
. after handling garbage
. after performing cleaning duties.
1 Use the hand washing facilities provided by the business.
2 Clean hands thoroughly using soap or other effective means.
3 Use warm running water.
4 Dry hands thoroughly on single-use towels or in another way that is not likely to transfer disease causing organisms onto the hands.
wet ... soap ... rub ... rinse ... dry
Wineries, like other food businesses, must maintain their premises at a high standard of cleanliness. This includes cleanliness of fixtures, fittings and equipment.
The standard of cleanliness must ensure that there is no accumulation of garbage, recycled matter, food waste, dirt or other visible matter.
There are six steps to ensuring that equipment and fixtures are properly cleaned.
1 Pre-clean: Scrape, wipe or sweep away food scraps and rinse with water.
2 Wash: Use hot water and detergent to take off any grease and dirt. Soak if needed.
3 Rinse: Rinse off any loose dirt.
4 Sanitise: Use a sanitiser to kill any remaining bacteria.
5 Final rinse: Wash off sanitiser, if required. (Read the sanitiser's instructions to see if you need to do this.)
6 Dry: Allow to drip-dry.
Consideration needs to be given to how cleaning within the wine production areas will be organised. A cleaning procedure and schedule will provide assistance in ensuring that all fixtures, fittings and surfaces are regularly cleaned.
A cleaning procedure is a set of written instructions that describe everything that needs to be done to keep your business clean. It sets out the tasks of cleaning and sanitising, how often each job needs to be done, how it should be done, and who should do it. A cleaning schedule is a record that the cleaning tasks have been completed.
The regulation of the design and fit out of food premises in Queensland is the responsibility of local government. Local government ensures compliance with Standard 3.2.3, which aims to provide food businesses with a premise that is easy to clean and is equipped to facilitate the safe handling and storage of food.
Queensland Health and local government recognise that the wine making process is unique and requires special assessment when determining the appropriate design and fit out for the premises. In order to comply with Standard 3.2.3, premises on which wine is made or bottled should meet the following standards.
Flooring: should be smooth, impervious, easy to clean and graded to allow the drainage of water and other liquid waste. Given the need for access by heavy machinery such as forklifts, concrete is a suitable material for flooring.
Walls and ceilings: Wine making is frequently undertaken in industrial sheds. Walls and ceilings must be made of materials which are easily cleaned. Galvanised steel or colourbond walls and ceilings, standard on industrial sheds, is an appropriate finish.
However, you must consider the height to the ceiling and any exposed beams or similar when constructing the shed as this may hinder effective cleaning.
Hand washing facilities: All premises handling unpackaged foods require a hand wash basin. This includes wine manufacturers. A hand wash basin must have hot and cold potable water supplied through a common spout. A supply of liquid soap and disposable paper towels is also required. The hand wash basin must be located in an area where staff can access it easily.
Storage facilities: Premises should be designed to include storage areas for bottles and equipment to protect these items from contamination by dust, dirt, vermin, birds or other animals.
All wine sold in Australia and New Zealand must be labelled with the information described in the section below. Therefore, the retail sale of individual clean skin bottles is not permitted. However, bottles of wine that are sold by retail in an outer package, eg a dozen bottles in a box, can provide all of the required labelling information on the outer carton. This will only be suitable if the
information is correct for all bottles in the carton (i.e. not mixed dozens).
The Food Standards Code prescribes requirements for the labelling of food for sale in Australia and New Zealand.
All wine for sale in Australia or New Zealand must be labelled with the information detailed in the following table.
| Requirement | Explanation |
| The name of the food | A name or description of the food that will not mislead consumers. e.g. Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon. |
| Name and business address | Physical location of the manufacturer, vendor, packer or importer of the food. This must be either an Australian or New Zealand address. PO Box or similar is not sufficient. |
| Lot identification | A system of identifying a batch of wine packaged in a 24 hour period. This is to assist with food recalls and may be just the name and vintage. eg Shiraz 2005. |
| Declarations and advisory statements of certain products |
Milk or egg products used for clarification must be identified. |
| Proportion of alcohol per volume | Words and expressions of the same or similar effect 'CONTAINS X% ALCOHOL BY VOLUME'. |
| Number of standard drinks per bottle | Where the bottle contains 10 or less standard drinks, accurate to the first decimal place. Where the bottle contains more than 10 standard drinks, accurate to the nearest whole number. |
Web sites
The following web sites provide useful information on legislation related to the safety, labelling and composition of food.
www.legislation.qld.gov.au Queensland Government site providing full text of the Food Act 1981 and Food Hygiene
Regulation 1989.
www.foodstandards.gov.au Food Standards Australia New Zealand site. This site includes food safety fact sheets; Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (labelling, composition and Food Safety Standards); a nutrition panel calculator; guidelines on the Food Safety Standards, temperature control, and skill and knowledge requirements; and general assistance for industry and consumers.
www.health.qld.gov.au Queensland Health site containing food safety information and facts sheets from Queensland
Health. It is best to search under the 'Healthy Living' section of the site.
www.lgp.qld.gov.au Department of Local Government and Planning site with links to the contact details for all Queensland local governments.
www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au Office of Fair Trading site with information on trade weights and measure and labelling requirements additonal to food safety labelling. Follow the links About Us: OFT Overview: trade measurement.
Last updated 15 December 2005.
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© The State of Queensland (Department of Tourism, Fair Trading and Wine Industry Development) 2005.