Compliance programs for meat, poultry and seafood

We ensure that dairy, meat and seafood are safe to eat and that animals are treated appropriately.

We do this by:

setting licence requirements for food businesses
monitoring compliance through inspections and audits
taking action when businesses do not meet their licence requirements
increasing oversight of businesses that do not comply
stopping businesses from operating if they produce food that may harm public health

How we respond to non‑compliance

We use a three-level compliance system to manage threats to food safety.

Level 1: Intensified audit frequency

If you do not comply with your food safety or quality assurance program, we may increase your audit frequency. In some cases, this may include weekly audits.

Your third‑party auditor conducts these audits, and you must pay their fees.

We may also interview you to confirm that you understand your food safety or quality assurance program.

Once you demonstrate compliance and we are confident in your commitment, we will return you to your usual audit schedule.

Level 2: Prohibition notice

A prohibition notice stops you from processing food or operating your business.

We may issue a prohibition notice if we identify a serious and immediate risk to public health.

To have a prohibition notice lifted, you must submit a written proposal explaining how you will ensure your food is safe.

We will review your proposal and may:

interview you to confirm your understanding of your food safety or quality assurance program
inspect your facility, vehicle or premises

If we remove the prohibition notice, we will require more frequent audits for a period of time. Your third‑party auditor conducts these audits, and you must pay their fees.

Level 3: Prosecution

We may take legal action if a person or business:

processes meat or seafood without a licence, or
operates in a way that does not comply with the law

We investigate all complaints about illegal processing because these activities pose a serious risk to public health.

Targeted compliance programs - sulphur dioxide testing and repeat corrective action

We randomly test fresh meat products for the illegal use of sulphur dioxide.
The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code allows sulphur dioxide to be used only in sausage meat.
Fresh meat products that contain sulphur dioxide outside this allowance are unsafe to eat.
We apply a zero‑tolerance approach to the illegal use of sulphur dioxide.
If we detect illegal sulphur dioxide
If you use sulphur dioxide illegally, we may:
- dispose of all affected products
- issue a prohibition notice to stop your facility from operating
Removing a prohibition notice
To have a prohibition notice removed, you must:
- submit a written proposal that confirms your commitment to your food safety program
- update your food safety program, and ensure we accept the changes
- ensure all staff complete at least one full day of training on the relevant standard and your food safety program
- participate in an interview with Safe Food Victoria
After you reopen
Once we allow your facility to reopen:
- your third‑party auditor conducts weekly audits for at least 4 weeks
- you must pay the auditor’s fees
Repeat offences
If we detect illegal sulphur dioxide a second time, we apply stricter requirements.
You must:
- ensure all staff complete at least 5 days of training
- undergo weekly audits for at least 8 weeks after reopening
Your third‑party auditor conducts these audits, and you must pay their fees.
If you receive one or more major or critical corrective action requests from your auditor within a 12‑month period, we will investigate your facility to identify the causes of the issues. We will also discuss what actions you are taking to fix the issues and prevent them from happening again.
We will write to you and invite you to attend a meeting with us. At the meeting, we will discuss:
- the reasons the issues occurred
- your plan to prevent the issues from recurring
- corrective and preventative actions you can take
- what may happen if you do not address the issues
You must then undergo audits every four months for at least the next 12 months. We may require additional audits depending on the severity of the issues and how long they continue.

Animal handing and welfare monitoring

Safe Food Victoria monitors animal handling and welfare through its Unannounced Surveillance Verification Program (USVP) and its third-party audit system. The USVP monitors compliance with animal handling and welfare requirements and associated procedures relevant to food safety at licensed slaughtering establishments. The program involves unannounced inspections of domestic licensed abattoirs, poultry processing facilities and pet meat processing facilities that handle live animals to ensure compliance with relevant Australian Standards and may include reviewing CCTV vision and video monitoring programs.

Safe Food Victoria is committed to ensuring that animal welfare objectives at all licensed facilities handling live animals are maintained, because mishandling can impact on food safety and on public expectations as to wholesomeness.

Safe Food Victoria acknowledges the role of proprietary animal welfare programs implemented by licensed facilities and considers these audit outcomes as part of a facility’s overall performance in respect to animal handling and welfare.

Animal welfare standards

We assess your facility against the applicable animal welfare standard. You are responsible for understanding and complying with the standard that applies to your operations:

Safety & emergencies

Updated 28 July 2026