Meeting the Challenges of Food Delivery

A growing number of consumers are choosing the convenience of home delivery rather than cooking themselves, eating out or buying a traditional takeaway meal. This has seen the rapid growth of businesses like Uber Eats, Menulog and Deliveroo.

Regardless of where the meal is consumed or if it’s collected or a home delivery, the Food Standards Code still applies and this includes Standard 3.2.2A. If you happen to own one of the many thousands of food businesses that use 3rd party delivery services like those mentioned, you are not off the hook. 

Food businesses that offer home delivery of potentially hazardous/ready to eat food must take the appropriate measures and precautions to ensure they comply with the Food Standards Code.

When choosing a 3rd party to provide the delivery service, the food producer must conduct the necessary due diligence to ensure the conditions that guarantee food safety will be met.

Equally, the 3rd party company that provides the delivery service is by definition a food business and the personnel who deliver the meals are food handlers. Therefore, they must comply to the Food Standards Code as well.

In the event of a food safety incident both you and the delivery service will be subject to an investigation and risk heavy penalties.

So, if you're involved in the delivery of potentially hazardous/ready to eat food then it pays to take the necessary measures to ensure food safety and these must be documented and adopted in the form of strict policies and procedures. Here are some of the key considerations:

 

Contamination

In addition to measures taken while preparing food, additional steps are required to prevent contamination with delivery.

• Type of packaging and containers.
• Supply of utensils.
• Method of transport and the transport vehicle used.
• Personal hygiene of delivery personnel.

 

Food Temperature Control

Keeping food at the correct temperature will prevent the growth of harmful bacteria. Many cooked or refrigerated foods can become unsafe if they are left sitting at ambient temperatures for long periods. This may require:

• Measuring and recording food temperature before transport.
• Setting a minimum temperature at time of collection for food to be delivered (i.e. must be over 80°C when collected for delivery).
• Steps must also be taken to minimise the risks associated with temperature control during transport (e.g., heat packs or ice bricks).
• Check/record temperature of food when finished cooking.
• The time taken to plate/box cooked food.
• The type of packaging used.
• Recording the temperature @ the time food is collected for delivery.
• Adopting method of temperature control while transported.
• Consideration given to the time taken to deliver.

 

Delivery

The total delivery time begins from the time the meal is prepared to when the meal is delivered to the customer. Unless food is kept within food safety temperature control, the risk escalates dramatically from 2 hours on. Transportation time should be less than 30 minutes.

The longer the distance travelled/time taken to deliver the greater the risk. Using insulated bags or eskies to transport food will help maintain safe temperatures during delivery.
Food should be physically handed to the customer and not left on a doorstep or at someone’s door.

If food is delivered to the customer straight away, it’s less likely for harmful bacteria to grow to dangerous levels. But if you can’t guarantee quick delivery, measures must be taken to ensure the food is kept at a safe temperature until the customer receives it. 

• Keeping hot foods separate from cold foods.
• Hot food to be transported at or above 60°/ Cold food at or below 5°C /Frozen foods at or below -15°C so they remain frozen solid.
• The method of transport.
• Potential traffic conditions.
• The temperature when delivered.

Plan For Unexpected Delays
Ensure that there is a documented procedure to deal with situations where a delivery is unexpectedly delayed through vehicle breakdown, traffic congestion or traffic accidents.

Don’t Leave Food Unattended
Food must not be left unattended unless arrangements have been made with the customer. Under such circumstances the customer should be advised that the safety of food cannot be guaranteed if it has been left unattended.

Food Allergies

Food allergies are a serious issue and mistakes can cost lives. Menus should include relevant information about ingredients with specific mention of high-risk ingredients that may not be obvious. 

Staff responsible for managing telephone orders must be knowledgeable of food allergies and able to advise consumers and answer questions regarding ingredients.

When different meals are ordered for a number of people at the same location – each meal must be individually labelled to ensure each person gets the correct meal.
 

Cooling or Reheating

Food must be cooled and reheated according to the Food Standards Code. This is particularly important if you produce large volumes of food. It’s important to do it right and do it quickly. This keeps the food safe from harmful bacteria and toxins that can cause foodborne disease.

Some delivered food is not suitable for reheating or may be delivered in packaging that can release toxins in the air if heated in a microwave oven. In such cases, warning labels must be used.

Staff Training

The best way to protect your business and clients is by having staff who are well trained in food safety and ensuring they receive regular updates or remedial training.

This is particularly relevant for time & temperature control. Poor time/temperature control is the No.1 cause of food poisoning in Australia. To avoid mistakes, food handlers need to understand and follow a complex set of rules that apply to cooking, cooling, reheating and defrosting food.

To meet this challenge, the Food Safety eLearning Academy developed a short Course – Time & Temperature CONTROL Training. This Course is available for $10.95