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Food Act 2014

Preliminary provisions - Interpretation - Meaning of safety and suitability

12: Meaning of safety and suitability

You could also call this:

"What makes food safe and suitable for you to eat"

When you think about food, you think about it being safe and suitable to eat. In the Food Act 2014, safety means the food will not make you sick or hurt you when you eat it as it is meant to be eaten. Safety is about the food not causing illness or injury to people.

Suitability means the food is in a good condition for you to eat, considering what it is meant to be. This includes what the food is made of, how it is labelled, and its condition, but it does not include things that are just about how the food looks or tastes. It also does not include things that are directly related to the food's safety.

You might think food is unsuitable if it is offensive, damaged, or contains something that should not be there. Food can also be unsuitable if its packaging is damaged or contaminated. However, food is not unsuitable just because some people do not like it for personal reasons, or if eating too much of it might be bad for you. It is also not unsuitable just because some people have allergies or health conditions that mean they should not eat it.

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Part 1Preliminary provisions
Interpretation: Meaning of safety and suitability

12Meaning of safety and suitability

  1. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, safety and suitability, in relation to food, have the meanings set out in subsections (2) and (3) respectively.

  2. Safety means a condition in which food, in terms of its intended use, is unlikely to cause or lead to illness or injury to human life or public health.

  3. Suitability means a condition in which the matters specified in—

  4. subsection (4) are appropriate to food in terms of its intended use; and
    1. subsection (5) do not apply.

      1. The matters referred to in subsection (3)(a)—

      2. include the composition, labelling, identification, and condition of the food; but
        1. do not include—
          1. matters that are directly related to the food’s safety; or
            1. matters of quality or presentation of the food that relate to a purely commercial decision by the person trading in the food.

            2. Food is unsuitable if it—

            3. is in a condition that is offensive:
              1. is damaged, deteriorated, or perished to the extent of affecting its reasonable intended use:
                1. contains, or has attached to it or enclosed with it, any damaged, deteriorated, perished, or contaminated substance or thing to the extent of affecting its reasonable intended use:
                  1. contains a biological or chemical agent, or other substance or thing, that is foreign to the nature of the food and the presence of which would be unexpected and unreasonable in food prepared or packed for sale in accordance with good trade practice:
                    1. has packaging that is damaged, deteriorated, perished, or contaminated to the extent of affecting the food's reasonable intended use.

                      1. Food is not unsafe or unsuitable merely because—

                      2. any part of the community objects to it on moral, ethical, cultural, spiritual, or religious grounds; or
                        1. any person objects to it because of personal preference; or
                          1. its consumption in inappropriate quantities may damage a person's health; or
                            1. its presence or consumption is unhealthy for any person who has an allergy or other personal health condition.