Trends in food safety management in Victoria, Australia

Traces the development of Australia's national food regulatory system in recent years and focuses in particular on the efforts in the state of Victoria to ensure management of food safety; reports a recent audit of food safety management in the state to discover whether the current regulatory framework is effective in minimizing food-borne illness. From the literature draws out some key issues in food safety, and details the method for the current project, involving eliciting the views both of the councils responsible for registration, compliance and education and of food businesses themselves; summarizes findings on state-wide co-ordination, registration and compliance, performance measurement, and education and food safety awareness, particularly among business with special needs due to cultural or language diversity. Concludes that many stakeholders have had difficulties in keeping up with the major legislative changes of recent years and offers a number of recommendations to help ease the process