Standard 3.2.2A: turn evidence requirements into everyday control.
Standard 3.2.2A adds food-safety management tools for specified Australian food-service, catering and retail businesses. For Category 1 businesses, that includes substantiating prescribed food-safety controls — through records or another satisfactory demonstration to an authorised officer.
Substantiate the prescribed activities that carry the risk.
FSANZ identifies receiving, storage, processing, display, transport, and cleaning and sanitising as the prescribed activities covered by the evidence tool.
Receiving & storage
Show how potentially hazardous food is received and stored under safe conditions.
Processing & display
Demonstrate the controls used during processing, preparation, display and temperature management.
Transport, cleaning & sanitising
Retain evidence that transport and hygiene controls are being managed as required.
Do not confuse “evidence” with one prescribed paper form.
FSANZ requires a Category 1 business to make a record when undertaking a prescribed activity, unless the business can demonstrate to an authorised officer in another way that the food-safety risks were adequately managed.
- There is no single universal daily form. Evidence should match the activity, risk and operating process.
- Records must remain usable. Where records are used, FSANZ states they must be retained for at least three months.
- Jurisdiction still matters. State, territory and local regulator requirements can affect implementation and enforcement.
Official reference: FSANZ — Evidence tool ↗
Make the evidence part of the work, not a report built afterwards.
Prompt the control
Put the limit, frequency and required fields in front of the person completing the task.
Capture the failure
Keep an out-of-range result visible and require corrective action where the workflow calls for it.
Retrieve the proof
Filter the history and export the relevant evidence for an authorised officer, auditor or internal review.
Standard 3.2.2A evidence requirements
Who needs the evidence tool?
The evidence tool applies to Category 1 businesses covered by Standard 3.2.2A. Category 2 businesses have Food Safety Supervisor and food-handler training requirements but not the evidence tool.
How long do records need to be kept?
Where records are used to meet the evidence requirement, FSANZ states they must be retained for at least three months.
Does every control need a paper record?
No. FSANZ allows the business, in some circumstances, to demonstrate to an authorised officer by another suitable means that the requirement is being met. The business still needs to be able to substantiate the control.
Does CSA make us compliant?
No. CSA is software for managing controls and evidence. Compliance depends on the business activities, procedures, implementation and regulator requirements.
Digitise the evidence layer.
See how records, corrective actions and evidence retrieval can be configured around your Australian hospitality operation.