New Food Safety Rules: A Helping Hand for Restaurants

Locally developed technology is now providing an innovative solution for restauranteurs and food handling businesses facing new national Food Safety regulations.

Enforceable from 8 December 2023, the new national Food Safety rules require restaurants to have trained food safety supervisors and to keep records related to food safety for three months on premises, ready for council inspections.

While the new rules may seem daunting, a smart temperature monitoring service with digital record keeping developed by Cairns business °Celsi is helping restaurant and food handling businesses comply.

“ The °Celsi app combines wireless sensors that provides real-time temperature monitoring and record keeping tools,” said Albert Jindra, Founder and Director of °Celsi.

“°Celsi was originally developed for a local butcher who was unhappy with his previous system, which made him wait 30 minutes for the next temperature data. °Celsi quickly became popular with other butchers in the area, and is now used by most butcheries from Cairns, to the Tablelands and Townsville.”

With real-time monitoring and reliable notifications, the °Celsi system has been able to ensure food is always stored at the correct temperature.

“Restaurants are slowly getting back on their feet after being affected by COVID-19, and with rising costs and the new food safety regulations, they are looking for solutions that can save them money and help them to comply,” said Mr Jindra.

Council Environmental Health Officers also appreciate the °Celsi record keeping system as it makes their inspections easier and more efficient.

The °Celsi service has recently added a new module called Food Safe Digital, which is a paperless record keeping solution. This module has been well-received by restaurants and cafes from Port Douglas to Townsville, who find it to be easy to use, reliable and affordable.

Future developments include a new system that uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to predict refrigeration cycles and spot indications of future problems. This unique system will be a valuable asset to restaurants, as it will help them to avoid costly food spoilage and ensure that their food is always safe to eat.

"Celsi gives us the peace of mind that our fridges are operational during hours of non operation, and allows for better administration of fridge monitoring and temperature logs. I would highly recommend Celsi to other restaurant owners and we will be installing in our new venue opening soon."