Information for food businesses

Explore essential information for food businesses in the City of Port Adelaide Enfield, including mobile vendor permit guidelines, food safety FAQs, and special event guidelines.

Open a food business in the City of PAE

You’ll need to notify us first

All food premises operators, including people who operate temporary food premises for events (food trucks), must notify the City of Port Adelaide Enfield before opening a shop or operating a stall.

Updating your business’s details

When a food business transfers ownership, the new owner must notify the City of PAE with the new ownership details. You must also notify us if the name or address of your food business changes.

Food safety at events

When food is to be sold or provided to the public as part of an event, both the event organisers and individual stall proprietors are responsible for complying with legislative requirements.  The Food Act 2001 and Food Safety Standards contain requirements for all food businesses, including not-for-profit organisations and any organisations selling or providing food or drink.

Event organisers are responsible for notifying Council of any food being provided at an event. If you intend to sell or provide food at an event, you need to complete the Special Event Food Notification Form and supply your Food Business Notification. Apply at least two weeks before your event to make sure that we can approve your application in time. If your event has 10 or more food vendors then please contact Council to fill in a hard copy special event form.

Before you apply

These resources will assist you to understand your responsibilities and the requirements of running a temporary food stall or hosting a mobile food vendor at your event.

Ready to apply?

Notify us about your food event

If you have any questions regarding this form, please send us an email or call 8405 6940 and ask to speak to someone in the Environmental Health Team.

Permits for mobile food vendors

We welcome mobile food vendors in the City of PAE because we know how much they add to the vitality of our area. Before starting operations, you’ll need to get a permit from us and operate within our approved locations (see below). Fees are $116 (monthly) or $1,160 (yearly). We will invoice you before approving your permit application.

Locations for mobile food vendors

We have six areas for mobile food vendors to choose from, from North Haven to Semaphore. Click on a dot on the map to see further information about trading on that site.

If there is another site that you’d like to trade at, send us an email at service@cityofpae.sa.gov.au.  We’ll see if the site is suitable and let you know.

Food safety FAQs

Yes. Our Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) make sure that food is safe for the public in the City of PAE by:

  • Making unannounced inspections of food premises under our Food Safety Inspection and Fees Policy
  • Providing education and advice to food handlers on how to comply with the Food Safety Standards
  • Responding to food complaints and food poisoning cases
  • Helping SA Health investigate infectious or notifiable diseases

Request advice from an EHO officer

How much do food inspections cost?

  • Small business (less than 20 full time equivalent food handlers) - $144
  • Large business (more than 20 full time equivalent food handlers) - $361
  • Small business (less than 20 full time equivalent food handlers) follow up inspection - $72
  • Large business (more than 20 full time equivalent food handlers) follow up inspection - $180.50

Food business operating in the City of PAE must comply with:

New Standard 3.2.2A

In December 2022, the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) added the new Standard 3.2.2A – Food Safety Management Tools to the Food Standards Code. It introduces three food safety management tools for food service, caterers and some retail businesses. The new standard applies to two categories of business:

Category One businesses:
  • Must implement all three food safety management tools
  • Handle unpackaged high-risk food and then serve it to the customer (or provide to another business to serve) as ready-to-eat food
  • Make foods like salads, sandwiches, curries, pizza, sushi, meat dishes, pastas and soups
Category Two businesses:
  • Only need to implement Food Safety Management Tools One and Two
  • Are retail-type businesses who minimally handle food, but don’t make unpackaged high-risk ready-to-eat food and sell it to consumers
  • Include businesses such as delis, supermarkets, seafood retailers, some butchers, service stations and convenience stores

Find out if Standard 3.2.2A applies to your business

Here’s what you’ll need to record and how often.

Is your business taking all precautions to ensure its completely allergy free?

Our Environmental Health team have developed an allergen awareness starter kit to help you better understand and manage food allergies, this includes information sheets, posters, stickers and flags. If you would like a paper or digital copy, please email ceh.support@cityofpae.sa.gov.au

Download the Allergen awareness starter kit

During routine food safety inspections, our EHOs calculate a score based on how well your food business meets the Food Safety Standards. This score is converted into a star rating:

  • 3 stars – good
  • 4 stars – very good
  • 5 stars – excellent

Businesses that score 3, 4 or 5 stars receive a certificate to display, letting customers know that they have met the required food safety standards. If our EHO calculates a score of less than 3 stars, they will not award a certificate to the business, and will instead work with the business to improve compliance.

Translated food safety information is available to make it easier for business owners to make sure that the food they sell is safe and suitable, even if English is not their first language.

SA Health has food safety information available for food businesses in a range of different languages via the translation tool on the top of each page on their website for food safety training, labelling, allergens and health and hygiene requirements. Visit SA Health for more information or call the City of PAE on 8405 6600.

I'm Alert and Do Food Safely are free online food safety training programs that we recommend for food handlers and food business owners.

These training courses will help you and your staff to develop the skills and knowledge to ensure that your food is safe for your customers and to help you comply with the Food Safety Standards.

When you complete the program, you can print out a training acknowledgement form and include it in your food safety records.

What allergy training should I undertake?

Food handlers and supervisors can complete a free training course to help you manage allergens.

It’s crucial that food handlers practise food safety standards at temporary food stalls, even at events run by not-for-profits, charities and community groups. Temporary food stalls include structures set up for occasional events such as fetes, fairs or sausage sizzles.

If you want to run a temporary food stall, you need to complete the Special Event Food Notification Form and supply your Food Business Notification. Apply at the link below at least two weeks before your event to make sure that we can approve your application in time.

We have also put together a checklist, guidelines and an event kit to help you run your food stall and event successfully.

You need to comply with the same laws and standards as commercial food businesses, such as cafés and restaurants.

We must be satisfied that you will meet the requirements of the Food Act 2001 and Food Safety Standards before we can give you permission to run a home-based food business.

You should start by reading our Home-based Food Business fact sheet which will let you know what your responsibilities are and what approvals you’ll need to get.

It’s not a requirement of the Food Act 2001 or the Food Safety Standards to submit to us floor plans for alterations to your food business.

But our Environmental Health Service does offer advice to make sure that your premises comply with the legislation. We strongly recommend that you contact them before construction so as to avoid having to make costly alterations later.

In addition, you might need development approval for your new construction and we’d recommend that you contact SA Water about your trade waste.