Protecting Food Safety During Severe Weather: Plan Ahead to Stay Compliant
Queensland is no stranger to natural disasters. Storms, cyclones, flooding, and bushfires can strike with little warning, disrupting operations and threatening food safety. These events don’t just impact infrastructure—they can compromise refrigeration, processing systems, water supplies, feed availability, and staffing, putting public health and your business reputation at risk.
Why Planning Matters
Food safety may not seem like the top priority during an emergency, but failure to act can lead to contamination, product loss, and regulatory breaches. To mitigate these risks every food production, processing, and retail business is encouraged to have a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) that outlines how to maintain food safety during and after severe weather events. This continuity plan should also include a risk assessment associated with flooding and its potential impact on product, plant and equipment, and production inputs such as packaging and ingredients used in food production? Business Queensland provides free BCP templates and training courses to help businesses get prepared — you can access these resources at: https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/risk/continuity-plan.
A well-prepared plan helps you:
- Protect consumers from unsafe food
- Minimize financial losses
- Maintain compliance with your approved food safety program
Recent severe storms and widespread power outages have shown how quickly refrigeration and temperature control systems can fail. Without preparation, these disruptions can lead to temperature abuse and spoilage, increasing the risk of foodborne illness.
Key Steps to Minimise Risk:
- Backup Power: Ensure generators or alternative power sources are available to keep refrigeration running during outages.
- Alternative Refrigeration: If backup power isn’t available, keep cold room doors closed or move stock to monitored refrigeration units.
- Monitor Temperatures: Use calibrated devices to record temperatures and maintain compliance.
- Isolate Suspect Products: Identify any products exposed to unsafe temperatures and assess their safety before processing or sale.
- Waste Disposal: Plan ahead for waste management disruptions. Contact your local council before an adverse weather event to confirm approved disposal sites and procedures for contaminated food products. This ensures you have a safe and compliant option if your usual waste systems become unavailable.
Additional Preparedness Measures
• Livestock Feed: Maintain sufficient backup feed supplies for livestock to last aminimum of 7 days.
• Employee Contact Plans: Keep updated contact details for employees who may be impacted by road closures or personal circumstances preventing them from attending work.
• Potable Water: Where possible, secure backup potable water supplies in case town water becomes contaminated and subject to Boiled Water Alerts.
Watch for Signs of Spoilage
- Damaged or swollen packaging
- Extended time inside the temperature danger zone (5°C–60°C)
Remember: Food safety starts with caution. When in doubt, throw it out.
For guidance on developing a Business Continuity Plan or managing food safety after a severe weather event, contact Safe Food:
📞 07 3253 9800 | ✉️ info@safefood.qld.gov.au