Melons

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Overview

New laws for food businesses that grow and/or process melons 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 standards apply to businesses that:  

  • grow and/or harvest melons  
  • wash, trim, sort, sanitise, store, combine, pack, and/or transport melons.  

The standards do not apply to any of the following: cooking, freezing, drying, preserving, blending, juicing or adding other foods to these products. They also do 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 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.

What melons are included

The standard applies to fresh melons including, but not limited to:  

  • watermelon  
  • rockmelon  
  • honeydew melon  
  • speciality melons, such as (for example, piel de sapo).  

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 melon Primary Production and Processing Standard.  

Growers and processors certified to an existing GFSI 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.  

Melon growers and processors 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 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.  

Melon growers and processors must do what they can to ensure inputs do not make their produce unacceptable to eat.  

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

Water

Untreated water may be used during the growing of produce. However, crops should not be irrigated with untreated water 48 hours before harvest, unless the water source has been tested and contains E. coli <100 cfu/100ml.  

There are no restrictions on using drinking-quality water (containing E. coli <100 cfu/100ml).  

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 (e.g. chlorine, UV, filtration) and monitor levels of chemicals used in the water  
    • increase testing if animals, weather, such as 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 water use and water testing, see ‘washing and sanitising’ below.  

For more guidance on best practice for inputs, see:  

Growing sites

Growing sites include paddocks, orchards, 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.  

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  

Melon 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.  

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

Temperature control

Melon growers and primary processors must keep harvested produce at a temperature that ensures it is safe to eat.  

This means once produce has been harvested, its temperature should be managed carefully to ensure it doesn’t get too warm. For example, processed and packed fruit should be held in a cool room prior to shipment.  

For more information, see:  

Weather events

Melon 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

Melon 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

Melon 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

Melon growers and processors need to take all reasonable measures to ensure visible material on harvested melons 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 chlorine). 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.  
  • Agricultural water (E. coli <100 cfu/100ml), such as reclaimed water, may be used for pre-washing if it is immediately followed (that is, while the produce is still wet) with a final wash with water containing E.coli <1 cfu/100ml.  

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 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 part of a certified 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

Melon businesses will also need to meet the requirements of the:  

More information

 

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