Food fundraisers class 4 – sausage sizzles

This information applies to your group if:

• you sell food solely for the purposes of raising funds for charity or are a not-for-profit body
• people handling the food are mostly volunteers.

You are not required to have a food safety program or a food safety supervisor.

Any council in whose district you operate may inspect your stall at any time – for a spot check to make sure that food is safe, or if any complaints are received.

Notifying council

As a community group raising funds for charity or a not-for-profit body, you must notify the council about your fundraiser sausage sizzle. It will advise you about your responsibilities.

The notification is a once-off requirement. It does not need to be resubmitted annually, or each time you operate.

Notify your local council if you run sausage sizzles at a permanent building (such as a kiosk or club rooms that you use regularly, or own or lease).

If the sausage sizzle is held at a temporary venue, you can notify your principal council through Streatrader.

When you notify your principal council, you can operate the stall in any council district under the Food Act 1984, provided that you lodge a Statement of Trade advising that council about where and when you will be operating.

Use Streatrader if you are operating from a temporary or mobile stall to obtain and/or submit the Statement of Trade form.

Principal council

The principal council is usually the council in whose district your organisation routinely prepares or stores the food.

If you do not have such a place – for example, if the food is stored at home by volunteers or if it is purchased beforehand – contact the council in whose district the organisation usually stores its equipment or garages its van.

If this does not apply to you, contact the council where your contact address is located.

Sausage sizzle regulations

Sausage sizzles where only sausages (with or without onions, sauce and bread) are cooked and served immediately are class 4 – the lowest level of regulation.

As a class 4, you may also carry out any other class 4 food activities, such as selling bottled water or soft drinks.

Your group is also free to run food activities that fall into other food premises classes, as long as you meet the food safety requirements that apply to that class and have the required approval under the Food Act.

Selling hamburgers

If you plan to sell hamburgers, then you become a class 3. You must contact your council, as different food safety rules apply to class 3 premises.

Do Food Safely food handler training program

Community volunteers are encouraged to complete the free online learning program, Do Food Safely, to improve their knowledge of safe food handling techniques.

The program is informative and fun. It takes about an hour to complete and includes six topics on food safety and a final quiz. Participants who score more than 90 per cent on the quiz are awarded a certificate.

Food handling tips

Follow these food handling tips when operating a sausage sizzle:

• Clean all your equipment and food preparation areas before and after you use them.
• Make sure there’s somewhere for food handlers to wash their hands, otherwise have suitable hand sanitisers available.
• Remove waste and clean the barbeque.
• Use an insulated cooler with plenty of ice or cool packs around the sausage when transporting.
• Store sausages in an insulated cooler with ice or cool packs at the event.
• Only remove sausages from the cooler when you’re ready to cook them.
• Never leave sausages sitting around at room temperature.
• Protect bread and onions from insects and dust by keeping them wrapped or in sealed containers.
• Do not refreeze sausages that have been thawed.
• Throw out any sausages left over at the end of the fundraiser.
• Always cook sausages thoroughly.
• Always use clean utensils.
• Never use the same plate or tongs for raw and cooked foods.

Allergies and intolerances

Make sure foods containing ingredients that can cause reactions (such as eggs, gluten, sesame, nuts, milk and soybeans) are identifiable. You should be able to provide accurate information about ingredients in foods to customers.