Leafy vegetables

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Overview

New laws for food businesses that grow and/or process leafy vegetables apply Australia-wide from 12 February 2025.

The laws are outlined in Chapter 4 - Primary Production and Processing Standards of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, which sets legal standards for food in Australia and New Zealand.

The new standard applies to businesses that:

  • grow and/or harvest leafy vegetables, where the leaf is eaten raw
  • wash, trim, sort, sanitise, store, combine, pack, and/or transport leafy vegetables where the leaf is eaten raw.

The standard does not apply to cooking, freezing, drying, preserving, blending, juicing or adding other foods to these products. It also does not apply to retailers, or to the retail sale of food, which are already regulated under Chapter 3 of the Code.

New form coming soon

We are developing an online form for leafy vegetable businesses to provide their details and self-assess their current practices against the new standards. Completing the form will help businesses meet the food safety management statement requirement outlined in ‘Food safety controls’ below.

If you would like us to let you know when the form is available, please subscribe for updates on the Berries, leafy vegetables and melons page. 

Definitions

Leafy vegetables definition

In the standard, leafy vegetables means vegetables of a leafy nature where the leaf is consumed raw. Examples covered by the new standard include:

  • lettuce (all)
  • spinach leaves  
  • leafy herbs, such as parsley, basil, coriander, dill, fennel leaves, mint, thyme, rosemary, oregano, marjoram, chives
  • cabbage (all types)
  • Asian leafy greens, such as bok choy
  • spring onions
  • silverbeet, Swiss chard
  • kale
  • microgreens
  • chicory
  • watercress.

Examples of vegetables not considered leafy vegetables: broccoli, broccolini, cauliflower, asparagus, artichoke, root and tuber vegetables, bulb vegetables, brussel sprouts, kohlrabi, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, rhubarb, seed sprouts, squash, celery and leek. 

Primary producer and processor definition

Primary producer means a business, enterprise or activity that involves the growing and/or harvesting of leafy vegetables.

Primary processor means a business, enterprise or activity that includes one or more of the following activities in relation to leafy vegetables that have been harvested:
 

(a) washing

(b) trimming

(c) sorting  

(d) sanitising

(e) storing

(f) combining harvested leafy vegetables

(g) packing

(h) transport between primary processing premises. 

Scheme-certified growers and processors

The Food Authority will recognise growers and processors that are certified to Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) food safety schemes, such as Freshcare, SQF, Global G.A.P and BRCGS, as meeting the requirements of the leafy vegetable Primary Production and Processing Standard.

Growers and processors certified to an existing GFSI certified food safety scheme should provide their name and email address at the bottom of the Berries, leafy vegetables and melons page to be updated when more information becomes available. 

Traceability

Traceability is the ability to track produce through all stages of its production, processing and distribution.

Traceability helps businesses show that their products are safe and responsibly grown. It also helps protect the business to quickly respond to a food safety issue or recall.

Growers and processors of leafy vegetables must keep records that can identify:

  • to whom their produce was supplied; and
  • from whom their produce was received.

This requirement only applies to wholesale transactions - it does not apply to retail sales directly to consumers.  

For more guidance on traceability, see:

Input management

Inputs are things you put into growing your produce. They include water, fertiliser, soil and soil amendments, such as composted manure, compost, and blood and bone.

Some materials and products added to soil could contain harmful substances and pathogens that can transfer to produce and make people sick.

Growers and processors of leafy vegetables must do what they can to ensure inputs do not make produce unacceptable to eat.

This means the soil, soil amendments, fertiliser, seedlings and water used do not contaminate produce with harmful microorganisms, chemicals or physical hazards.

The best way to reduce risk is to only apply commercially supplied fertiliser products.  

Raw manure should not be used to grow short-term crops such as leafy vegetables and herbs. See our Using raw manure factsheet (PDF, 164 KB) for more information on how it may be used safely. 

Water

For growing crops, water used for irrigation and for applying fertilisers, pesticides and other agricultural chemicals should not contain levels of microorganisms that would make the produce unsafe.

Regularly assess risks of your water sources, including:

  • the potential for cross-contamination from water sources in normal and high rainfall or flooding (for more information on flooding, refer to the Weather Events InfoBite (PDF, 163 KB))
  • to ensure microbial quality of water is safe for its intended use (see below).

Regularly test your water sources and:

  • apply appropriate treatments if required (for example, chlorine, UV, filtration) and monitor levels of chemicals used in the water
  • increase testing if animals, weather (dust storms, heavy rain, drought) or other events could have affected your water sources
  • keep appropriate testing records.

Prevent water contamination (for example, fence around dams to keep animals away). Record water sources used for irrigation and the site of irrigation.

Post-harvest water used to cool, wash or sanitise produce must be clean and safe (town water or similar quality) so it will not contaminate your produce.

Water used for cleaning food contact surfaces must also be safe – town water or similar.

For more guidance on best practice for inputs, see:

Growing sites

Growing sites include paddocks, buildings, greenhouses and shade houses. If the growing site is contaminated, the products grown there may also be contaminated.

Under the standards, growers must do what they reasonably can to make sure their growing site/s do not make produce unacceptable to eat.

Identify and assess food safety risks associated with animal and other operations in proximity to growing locations. For example, animal operations (dairy, beef, poultry, piggery) can be sources of microbial contamination which can be spread through weather events such as dust storms, flooding. Reasonable measures such as windbreaks, drainage and runoff curtailing should be undertaken to prevent contamination of production fields and produce.  

Where you identify any risks of contamination, you must take action to eliminate or manage the source, for example through crop choice, crop management and timing.

For more guidance on growing sites, see:

Food safety controls

Food safety management statement

If your business is already certified to a GFSI food safety scheme, you do not need to have a separate food safety management statement.  

All other leafy vegetable growers and processors must have and follow an approved food safety management statement, which is a document that:

  • summarises the business’s activities and identifies food safety risks and how they are managed
  • is approved (or recognised) by the NSW Food Authority  
  • is checked and updated by the business or its staff
  • may be checked by the Food Authority to confirm processes are followed and keeping food safe.

For more information, see Food safety management statement.  

The Food Authority is developing an online self-assessment tool to help growers and processors create their food safety management statement.  

Temperature control

Growers and primary processors of leafy vegetables must keep harvested produce at a temperature that ensures it is safe to eat.

This means once produce has been picked, its temperature should be managed carefully to ensure it doesn’t get too warm and reduce shelf life.  

For more information, see Temperature control. 

Weather events

Leafy vegetable growers and processors must take appropriate action to ensure that produce affected by a weather event is not unacceptable and is safe to eat.

This means you need to understand the food safety risks, and what to do with your produce after these events, to prevent unsafe produce entering the food supply.

Severe weather events, especially floods, dust storms and droughts, increase the risk of produce being contaminated with harmful pathogens. Produce that has been in contact with floodwater should not be sold for human consumption.

For more guidance, see:

Premises and equipment

Leafy vegetable growers and processors need to make sure the structures, equipment and vehicles used for growing, harvesting and processing produce do not make the food unsafe to eat.

Poorly made and maintained farm buildings, facilities and equipment can increase the chances of product contamination. They must be suitable for food production, and kept clean, sanitised and in good repair.

For more guidance on best practice for premises and equipment, see:

Animals and pests

Leafy vegetable growers and processors must do all they reasonably can to minimise the presence of animals, vermin and pests in growing sites and premises and equipment.

This means you need to consider how animals, vermin and pests could get in or on your produce, and then work out what you will do to minimise their presence or prevent their access. This includes providing appropriate separation between growing sites and paddocks used to run livestock if both activities are conducted on the same land parcel.

For more guidance, see:

Washing and sanitising produce

Growers and processors need to take all reasonable measures to ensure visible material on harvested leafy vegetables is removed; and any washing or sanitising does not make them unsafe to eat.  

Washing fresh produce removes any visible material such as dirt. Sanitising is an additional process that reduces microorganisms on the surface of produce to a safe level, usually with a chemical (such as food grade bleach). Sanitisation must only be done after washing.

  • Use only drinking-quality water (containing E.coli <1 cfu/100ml) for final washes or sanitising. Town water is generally suitable for these activities.
  • Where town water is not used, a water treatment program may be needed to ensure microbiological safety, for example with chlorine, UV, and/or filtration.
  • To ensure water quality, water testing must be conducted at least annually. Free water testing can be arranged through the NSW Food Authority, or growers can choose to send water samples to an appropriate laboratory.

For more guidance on best practice for washing and sanitising produce, see:

Skills and knowledge

Workers must understand food safety hazards, including sources of contamination, and that they are responsible for producing safe food.  

There are no formal qualifications required, and the level of training should be appropriate to the level of risk of the duties performed.  

For example, a person who trims and washes produce may have different skills and knowledge to a person who services equipment, but they both need to know and do their part to keep produce safe.

For more guidance, see Skills and knowledge - Food Standards Australia New Zealand.

Hygiene and handling

Workers and visitors can contaminate produce with harmful microorganisms, chemicals, or foreign matter from their hands, body, clothes or equipment. To reduce this risk, anyone who visits or works onsite must understand and follow good personal health and hygiene practices.

For workers, this includes:

  • wearing clean clothing at the start of each day
  • not handling food if they know, or suspect, they have an illness for example, vomiting or diarrhoea
  • covering open wounds with a waterproof bandage
  • washing their hands whenever it is likely their hands could contaminate food for example, after visiting the toilet, after meal breaks
  • not smoking, spitting, chewing gum, eating, sneezing or coughing near produce at any time.

For visitors:  

  • Provide site inductions or materials on health, hygiene and food safety to visitors before they visit.
  • Provide written instructions, signs and posters to remind people what they should do.
  • Ask visitors to complete declarations they are not sick with intestinal or respiratory illness.

For more guidance, see:

Inspections

Growers and processors not certified to a GFSI food safety scheme will be monitored through a Food Authority compliance program.  

Initial visits to farms and facilities by food safety officers will focus on providing advice on how to comply with the new laws and educate growers on the importance of maintaining food safety standards.  

Legislation and standards

Leafy vegetable businesses will also need to meet the requirements of the:

  1. Food Act 2003 (NSW) and statutory instruments made under the Food Act 2003
  2. Food Standards Code, including -

More information

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