Tier 3 home-based food business – lower risk
A tier 3 home-based food business presents a lower food safety risk, producing small volumes of non-potentially hazardous foods. The requirement for only minor changes to a household kitchen reflect the lower food safety risk of the food handling activities undertaken.
What are the restrictions on tier 3 food handling activities?
A tier 3 home-based food businesses must only produce a single line of non-potentially hazardous food for retail sale produced in a domestic style household kitchen or limited wholesale may potentially be provided for selected foods.
What is a single line of food?
A single line of food is a single food product or multiple food products that share the same processing method and contain very similar ingredients.
Examples of food that can fall within a single line of non-potentially hazardous food include (non-exhaustive list):
- Mixing flour and water – bread, tortillas, flat bread, bagels, scones
- Batter with egg – cakes, cake pops, cake balls
- Creating a dough / shortening fat with flour – biscuits, cookies, crackers
- Adding sugar to boiling fruit - jams, marmalades, preserves.
Please note: if you propose to produce two (2) or more single lines of food, you must apply for a Tier 1 home-based food business licence. Tier 3 business may only produce one (1) single line of food.
For example, if you propose a business that produces food products by mixing flour and water, as well as mixing batter with eggs, you must apply for a Tier 1 home-based food business licence.
What is limited wholesale?
Wholesale is not selling products directly to the customer but selling food products to a retailer(s) so they can on sell to their customers.
Limited wholesale is a limitation or restriction on the types of foods that may be sold wholesale from a tier 3 home-based food business.
Food types permitted for limited wholesale:
- honey
- dry spices
- tea
- coffee beans (not roasting)
- salt
- seeds or
- dry herbs.
What are some examples of tier 3 home-based food businesses?
Example 1
A home-based food business that manufactures non-potentially hazardous cakes for sale at a market stall.
Example 2
A home-based food business re-packages dry spices for limited wholesale at a local supermarket.
Example 3
A home based food business bakes both loaves of bread and flat bread which are sold from a market stall.
Tier 3 home-based food businesses present a lower food safety risk and can be operated from a standard domestic kitchen, given the minimum alterations set in the Home-Based Food Business – Fit Out Guide are satisfied. To access the guide, refer to How do I fit out a home-based food business?