Evidence for initiating food safety policy: An assessment of the quality and safety of donated food at an Australian food bank

Food banks play a vital role in addressing the needs of people experiencing food insecurity. Food banks rely on the food industry, particularly supermarkets, for food donations, and on voluntary labor to scrutinize and sort donations for quality and safety. Currently, national food safety laws and policies in Australia regulate food businesses, but do not specifically apply to donations. There are reports of expired, spoiled, and rotten food donations and clients express dissatisfaction with the quality and safety of food provided. This study describes a novel approach to visually identify and assess the safety and quality of food donations at an Australian food bank. Data from an audit of donations to a metropolitan food bank were analyzed. Food safety assessment criterion were developed based on food safety standards and applied to 1217 items (84,996 kg) of donated food. Each product was visually inspected and assessed as ‘safe’, ‘unsuitable’, ‘potentially unsafe’, or ‘unsafe for human consumption’ upon receival. Of the 84,996 kg of donated food, 96 % was categorized as satisfactory and 4 % (3761 kg) was categorized as either unsafe (2024 kg), potentially unsafe (1313 kg) or unsuitable (424 kg) for consumption. Supermarket donations comprised 90 % (by weight) of the unsafe and unsuitable food. The overall proportion of visually unsafe and unsuitable foods was low, but consumption of any unsafe, hazardous and/or damaged products poses a risk to the consumer. Given the vulnerability of clients receiving this food, the public health risk is high. The management of potential risk is problematic too as multiple decisions to determine appropriateness for distribution, places demands on food banks and hampers efficiency. The findings underscore the clear need for a specific food safety regulatory framework for donated food in Australia.