Assessing Application for Food Premise: Design, Process, and Suitability

This article discusses the process of assessing an application for a food premise, including appropriate design, inspection, and approval. It covers the requirements for a food safety program and the suitability of the proposed application. The article also includes a draft approvable letter and references to the Food Act 2006 and Food Safety Standard 3.2.3.

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Purpose of Assessing Application
The primary objective of the assessment of the application for food premise is to ensure that the
food that will be produced at the premise if fit for consumption by human beings. In addition, the
assessment aids in ensuring that all food safety risks are averted from the premises or may in
future during the course of the business. The assessments also ensure that the food premises are
not located in an area that is likely to affect the food with hazardous chemicals. In addition, it
also ensures that the premise has a safe fire zones which will not cause other near building por
structures to catch fire.
Appropriate Design of Food Premise
Pursuant to the Food Act 2006 it is a mandatory requirement that the design and the equipment
applied in all food premises must comply with the Food Safety Standard 3.2.3 Food Premises
and Equipment (Standards 3.2.3) of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the
Code).
In light of section 2 of the Food Safety Standard 3.2.3 the design of a food premise must be
constructed in a manner that ;
a) Is appropriate for the activities that will be carried out in the food premise
b) It creates adequate spacing for each and every activity that is likely to be carried out
within the premises. In addition, adequate storage space must be created for any food
staff that may require storage within the facility.
c) It allows ease in conducting cleaning activities of the equipments and the premise itself
d) It does not allow the entry of pest, dust or any other form of contamination that is likely
to affect the quality of the food in the premises.
e) It should not allow the creation of sites within the premises that may be breeding grounds
for harmful pests
Process of Assessing Food Premises Application
At the onset, an inspection is usually conducted on the food premises plan to ensure that it has
complied with all the legal regulations. In addition, one has to check if the minimum standards
required for setting up the food premises have been met. This includes that ensuring that the food

premises plan has met all the best practices that required according to the food safety risk and
construction regulation. Ideally The Environmental Health Officer has to determine the
suitability of the premises for conducting the business of selling food.
During the assessment of the application the Environmental Health Officer goes through a
checklist to ensure that certain approvals have been satisfied before the construction of the
premises commences. These approvals include;
a) Checking if the foods are being proposed to be prepared at the premises can be prepared
within that premises or site
b) Ensuring that the building plan is ready for approval by the local government or any
building and construction authority
c) Ensuring that the plumbing plan on the food premises has met all the requirement and is
set for approval by the relevant local government or any plumbing authority
d) Ensuring that there is adequate waste disposal and drainage system
e) In case the food premises plan contains any advertising signs that are to be erected on or
near the construction have satisfied all the requirements so that they can be approved by
the relevant government authority
It is instructive to note that in examining the suitability of the premises one has to ensure that the
applicant has complied with the Food Standards Code, Standard 3.2.3 –Food Premises and
Equipment. The design construction and fit-out of the premises must meet the legal compliance
according to the Australian Standard for the Design, construction and fit-out of food premises.
The Environmental Health Officer has to determine the suitability of the person seeking the
approval of the food premise application to hold a license for the business. This includes
examining;
a) Whether the applicant has the relevant expertise, skill and knowledge requisite for
ensuring that the food that is provided at the premises is safe for human consumption
b) Whether the applicant other personnel or is willing to employ some with the expertise,
skill and knowledge requisite for ensuring that the food that is provided at the premises is
safe for human consumption.

c) Whether the applicant has been previously convicted of an offense which is related to
food premises and food safety
d) Whether the applicant previously held a food premises license that was cancelled or
suspended pursuant to the Food Act 2006
e) Any other relevant issue that may hinder the applicant’s ability to offer food services that
are safe for human consumption.
The Environmental officer has to ensure that the there is a food safety program plan since the the
food premise is likely to deal with on-site food catering and of site food catering. The food safety
program must entail
a) A list of the food safety hazards/ risks that are likely to occur during the operation at the
food safety premise
b) Identify how each of the food safety risks or hazards will be mitigated or averted during
the operations at the food premise.
c) Clearly provide how the operations at the food premises will be monitored
d) A list of the corrective actions and solutions that may be adopted during the incase one of
the food safety risks or hazards occurs
e) Provides information on how the records of the food business and its operations will be
kept
During the process of assessment of the food premise application the environmental officer will
make a decision on the application. This includes deciding whether to approve the application or
decline to grant approval for the application. It is worth noting that the officer may request for
more time to consider the application if the application is complex. However, in this case the
application is not complex.
Assessment of the Food Premise Plan
Ideally, the design and layout of a food premise has embodied certain elements to ensure that the
activities and operations in the premises run effectively. It is worth noting that the design of the
premises has included separate and particular sections for;
a) Foods that are raw and those that are cooked

b) Facilities for hand washing
c) Facilities used for storage
d) Facilities that used for waste disposal
The structural surfaces of the premises has included walls, floors, windows and ceilings where
the food is prepared or stored must be made by materials that can be sanitized and disinfected
with ease. More particularly the storage facility in the premises has been made of material that is
not likely to decompose when it comes into contact with food materials. The design of the
premises has entailed adequate space that is designated for;
a) Keeping dry goods- This includes having shelves, pantry areas and food containers that
are used to store incoming food stock.
b) Cleaning equipments using hazardous chemicals
c) Storing utensils that have contacts with food
d) Crockery and Cutlery
e) Business Offices and equipment
Pursuant to section 9 and 10 of the Food Safety Standard 3.2.3 the floor structure of the food
premises has been made in such a way that cleaning activities can be conducted regularly and
with ease, it is able to resist any absorbing of water, grease, food particles or any liquid
substance, it is not able to create a breeding ground for pests and it is suitable for any activity
that is intended to be carried out within the food premise.
The floor of the premise also contains plinths that will be used to hold heavy material that may
not easily pushed or dragged during any cleaning activity. The plinths are solid, have no voids
and are coved. In addition the finishing on the plinth must be similar to that on the floor.
According to section 9 and 12 of the Food Safety Standard 3.2.3 the walls and ceilings of the
food premises must be designed appropriately to ensure that the pests do not have access to it
and they can undergo hygiene process easily. Ideally, the wall has been constructed using solid
structures or frame.
According to Section 9 and 12 of the Food Safety Standard 3.2.3 all the fittings and fixtures
should be designed correctly and fitted in the manner in which they were intended to be used. In

addition they should be fitted properly to ensure that the food prepared is safe for human
consumption.
It is instructive to note that the design of the premises has included proper drainage facility. This
promotes the hygiene standards of the premises. Drainage facilities such as toilets, dishwashers
and sinks have been connected in a manner that does not allow leakage and all the water waste is
properly drained to the foul drainage system. The flow of the waste water is safe to prevent
contamination of any equipment that is used to handle food or contamination of the food itself.
The equipment that is used for cleaning and utensils has been connected to a supply of both cold
and hot water. The sinks that are used in cleaning have the double and triple bowl design. The
chemical sanitizers will be disposed off through a proper drainage system that does not leak
leading to contamination of food that is prepared or stored.
By dint of section16 of the Food Safety Standard 3.2.3 the design of the food premise entails
adequate toilets that may be used by the people who are handling the food within the premises.
Suffice to say, the premise must have a proper washing system that allows the staff working in
the premises to wash after using the lavatories. The toilet system should also have a proper
drainage and human waste storage facility.
According to section 7 of the Food Safety Standard 3.2.3 the design of the premises has also
included an adequate ventilation system ejects outs fumes, steams and vapors from certain areas
of the food premises. Precisely, mechanical ventilation should be connected to any cooking
equipment that emits fires and smoke such as gas cookers.
Suitability of the Proposed Food Premise Application
All the allergenic, biological and chemical hazards that could potential contaminate the food and
harm human beings were taken into account by plan. This has been elaborated by the detailed
food premise plan. The drainage and waste water systems have been designed to work
effectively. In addition, the plan also entails a good ventilation system that is to be fitted in the
system. As per the food premises plan given in this case it clear that there could be certain risks
that may occur including spillage of waste water. However, it is apparent that there is an
elaborate plan to ensure that any of such risks does not cause harm to human beings who may be
consuming the food. In addition, it was also discovered in case of a fire break out in the premises

the owner of the premises and business have an effective plan which includes installation of fire
extinguishing equipments within areas where customers sit or purchase the food products and at
the kitchen department where most of the operation involve the use of electric and fire-producing
equipment. However, it is important to note that a fire is not likely to break out in the system
since all equipments will be well fit according to the demonstration in the plan.
The impact of any risk that is likely to occur within the premises is minimal because the design
of the food premises has adequately created efficient mechanism to ensure that any risk is
averted. Over and above it can be argued that the risks that may be involved are too remote. In
this sense, it is a plausible conclusion that the food premises application is suitable and any
construction intended may proceed. This also stems from the fact that the food premises plan and
application has satisfied the entire legal requirement that for the pre requisites for its construction
including the Food Act 2006 and other food safety regulations.
Requirement of Additional Information
It is submitted that the additional requirement in this case is a detailed and adequate guide of the
food safety program. The applicant should indicate how he intends to regularly review the food
safety program to ensure that any emerging risk are mitigated or utterly averted. the applicant
should also submit detailed information on the measures that he will adopt to deal with any new
and emerging risk or hazards within the food premises.
Reasons for Approval of Food Premise Application
It is submitted that the food premise application in this case has been approved. However, it is
vital to note that the current application has clearly shown that it that the premise will and has
already abided to the set of guidelines embodied in the Monitoring and Enforcement of the Food
Act 2006. This is evidenced by the fact that the propose food premise is suitable for the operation
of the food business within the stated locality and the applicant has also qualified. The following
are reasons why the application has been approved.
Recommendation

Although the food premise application has been approved in this case it is recommended that the
applicant should take into account the town planning and integrated requirements for
construction of food premise.
References
Food Act 2006
Food Safety Standard 3.2.3
Appendix
1.0 DRAFT APPROVABLE LETTER
Your Ref:
Our Ref:
File No:
Contact Officer:
Dear Sir/ Madam
APPLICATION FOR A FOOD PREMISES LICENCE
FOOD ACT 2006
s 60 (2) Decision application
Reference is made in respect to the Food Premises Application that that is located on land that
has is described as……and is located at……..Kindly note that pursuant to the Food Act 2006 the
Council’s Health & Environment Unit has approved your application of the Food Premises but
subject to the following conditions;
CONDITIONS
1. Strict compliance with the regulations that have been set out in the Food Act 2006 and
Food Standards Code – Food Safety Standards.
2. Strict compliance with the regulations set out in the Preliminary Approval document that
was issued by the council.

3. The applicant shall apply for a renewal of the license issued herein 60 days before its
expiration pursuant to section 72 (2) of the Food Act 2006
4. The person that is holding this license or any person that is in charge of running the
operations of the business training must have qualified through undergoing specialized
training pursuant to Chapter 3, part 7, division 2 of the Food Act 2006
5. The owner of the license shall not allow unauthorized persons to access section of the
premises where actives operations of preparing meals is going on.
The activities that are carried out at the premises must conform to the standards that have been
set out in the Food Act 2006 and the Food Safety Standards.
For any other queries please contact (07) 8998768930 From Monday to Friday between 8.30am
and 4.30pm.
DATED
Yours sincerely
Officer
Environmental Health Officer
Environmental Health Team
2.0 CHECKLIST FOR FIXED FOOD PREMISES
This checklist contains an overview of the details that will be assessed by the Environmental
Health Officer during the inspection. This form will therefore be used to reveal if all the essential
elements of the food premises plan has been completed.

Layout of Premises
Has the play out plan of the food premises complied with the
requirements about the design that have been set by the council and by
law?
Yes No
Floors, Walls and Ceilings
Have the floors, walls and ceilings of the premises made with materials
in accordance with the rules that have been approved by the council?
Are all the gaps and joins that may be present in the walls, ceilings and
floors of the premise sealed?
Are all the openings that are connected to the walls, floor and ceiling
sealed?
Yes No
Yes No
Yes No
Storage and Staff Facilities
Are storage facilities located in a separate area from where the food is
prepared?
Are the hazards substances stored in a separate facility from the food
that is meant for the direct human consumption?
Do the storage facilities have adequate storage space and shelves?
Yes No
Yes No
Yes No
Fixtures, Fittings and Equipment
Are the hand wash available at the premises and have placed 7 meters
away from the area where utensils are washed, toilets , and where food
is prepared or handled?
Do the sinks have both warm and cold water?
Are sinks made of double bowl?
Are all the pipes passing ruining water to and from the sink perfectly
sealed to prevent leakage?
Yes No
Yes No
Yes No
Yes No
Mechanical Exhaust Ventilation
Do you have the certificates for mechanical exhaust ventilation systems
and have complied with the installation requirements under form 15 and
16?
Yes No
Yes No

Does the exhaust hood fully cover the equipments and fitted 150mm
above the equipment?
Cleaning
Has all the waste that emerged during the construction of the building
been cleaned away from the premises?
Has the premised been cleaned in a manner that it is ready for
conducting its intended operations?
Yes No
Yes No
Other Items
Are other equipments such as freezers, food warmers and fridges fixed
at the right temperature to ensure that the food is stored properly?
Has then premises been constructed in a manner that it will not entry of
pests?
Is there thermometer that is in good working condition to determine the
food grade?
Yes No
Yes No
Yes No
3.0 APPLICATION FORM
SECTION A
Business Facility Contacts
Name:
Email:
Site Address:
Phone No:
Cell Phone No:
City:
Postal Code:
Type of Ownership:

Owner Contacts
Name:
Email:
Address:
Phone No:
Cell Phone No:
City:
Postal Code:
SECTION B
Type of Business:
Intended Date of Opening:
Months of Operation:
Other Services