Seafood Cold Store
If you are storing seafood under active refrigeration to extend its shelf-life, but are not involved in any form of processing (including repackaging or relabelling product), then you require an accreditation with Safe Food Production Queensland (Safe Food).
This activity is classified as temperature controlled storage under the Seafood Scheme of the Food Production (Safety) Regulation 2014.
Other accreditations you may need
If you are processing seafood of any kind at a land-based site for supply to other businesses, including skinning, shucking, peeling, brining, treating, cooking, washing or packing seafood, then you will require an accreditation with Safe Food as a Processor. Note: If you are storing seafood at this same site, this activity will be covered under a Processor accreditation (i.e. you will not require a separate cold storage accreditation).
If you are catching/harvesting live or whole, green seafood onboard a commercial fishing boat then you will require an accreditation with Safe Food as a Wild Animal Harvester.
If you are catching and processing seafood on board a commercial fishing boat (e.g. gilling, gutting, filleting and/or cooking) then you will require an accreditation with Safe Food as a Producer.
If you supply all of your product by retail sale to the general public and don’t conduct any other activities (e.g. wholesaling, packing, labelling or processing), then you don’t require an accreditation with Safe Food. However, you will require a license issued under the Food Act 2006 from your local council.
What should I submit with my application?
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Application form
Complete the Application form and select Temperature controlled storage (seafood scheme) as your activity on page 2.
Note: If you want to complete this form on your mobile or desktop, please download or save it first.
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Payment of fees
Fees and payment details can be viewed within the application form.
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Management Statement
You must submit a Management Statement with your application.
A management statement is a concise way of documenting how your business intends to operate and what activities you intend to undertake. It should be written by you (the applicant) in your own words. A template is available if desired.
Note: If you want to complete this template on your mobile or desktop, please download or save it first.
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Approval from local council
You must provide written confirmation from your local council that you are permitted to undertake your proposed activities at the site from which you intend to operate.
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Photos
Please include photos with your application that show:
- floors and walls
- doors & seals
- storage areas (e.g. racking)
- active refrigeration unit(s)
- temperature gauges
- hand washing facilities (including chemicals)
Note: If you wish to accredit multiple cold store sites, you will need to submit separate photos for each.
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Site plan
Please submit a site plan of your facility that shows the location of:
- refrigeration unit(s)
- temperature gauges
- entry points/doors
- water points
- hand wash facilities
- location of lighting
- rodent bait locations
Submit your completed application to [email protected] or PO Box 221, Greenslopes, Brisbane, QLD 4120.
When to apply
Under the Food Production (Safety) Act 2000, it is unlawful to engage in certain activities relating to primary production or processing of food until you have been granted an accreditation by Safe Food. As such, you should allow adequate time for your application to be reviewed by Safe Food before you begin operating.
Your application will aim to be assessed within 14 days, although applications submitted in their entirety (with all the items outlined above) are likely to be processed faster.
Upon submission of your application, a member of our Central Assessment Team will contact you for payment (if paying by credit card). Once payment has been received, your application will be assessed, and we will contact you if we require any further information.
You will be notified in writing about the outcome of your application (approved or refused).
Fees
Fees are based on the activities you are carrying out and are outlined in the Application form.
Please note that new applications will incur a one-time application fee that is non-refundable.
Our accreditation period runs from 1st January – 31st December*. You will therefore need to renew your accreditation on an annual basis.
For more information, please refer to our fees & charges.
*Our fees are not pro-rata.