Home based food business
If you want to start a home based business using your own domestic kitchen you should check with Councils Planning Department if you need an approval. SRRC factsheet on home based business
Food business that operate from home must comply with the provisions of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Food Standards Code). Council will assess your application on a case by case basis to check if food can be produced safely in your home. Domestic kitchens will only be approved if the business produces non-potentially hazardous foods.
Examples of non-potentially hazardous foods and activities that can be handled in a home domestic kitchen include:
- Manufacturing plain biscuits
- Manufacturing cakes, cupcakes and cake-pops without cream or ganache
- Decorating cakes without cream or ganache
- Manufacturing jam or marmalade
- Manufacturing chutney
- Manufacturing sauce
- Decanting honey into containers
- Roasting, salting or flavouring nuts
- Grinding spices and/or repackaging spices
- Roasting and packaging coffee beans
- Manufacturing and packaging fairy floss and/or popcorn
- Manufacturing fudges, chocolates and other confectionery
- Freezing ice into blocks to make snow cones at a stall.
Examples of potentially hazardous foods are foods that require certain time and temperature control to stop bacteria from growing and prevent food poisoning. Potentially hazardous food production and handling is generally not approved in a home domestic kitchen.
Examples of potentially hazardous foods include:
- Eggs
- Cooked rice and pasta
- Raw and cooked meat
- Fresh cream products
- Cheesecakes, etc.
Other factors unique to a food business from a homebased domestic kitchen you will need to consider:
- Food storage – food for your business needs to be separate from household food.
- Providing a sink that is only for handwashing.
- Sinks or dishwasher for dishwashing that can fit the largest pot/utensils. Dishwasher must have a sanitising cycle.
- Exhaust hood design and capacity.
- Children and pets – you need to exclude young children, pets and people who are sick from the food preparation area, when you are preparing food for the business.
The process of applying for a home based food business licence application is the same as any other fixed food premises application – please refer to the starting a new food business page for further information.