Food safety register of convictions

Prosecutions for food safety breaches may be initiated where there has been serious noncompliance or a repeated failure to comply with food laws. This is an important measure taken by government to ensure that food sold in our community is safe for human consumption.

As of 1 July 2010, details of offences under the Food Act 1984 or the regulations involving the conviction of a person by a court after that date are publicly available on this website.

This is in accordance with s. 53D of the Food Act, which requires the Safe Food Victoria to keep a register of convictions for offences under the Act or the regulations, and s. 53E, which requires that register to be published online.

The Act requires that each conviction is to be included in the register for 12 consecutive months.

Ordinarily, a conviction under the Act is dealt with in open court – typically in the Magistrates Court. The purpose of the register is to increase the opportunities for a court’s decision to become more widely known. This will make information about noncompliance with the Act more readily available to the public.