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Beyond the Label: Why Food Safety Starts Long Before the Shelf-Life Date

By Stewart Eddie • November 27, 2025

Food safety isn’t just about expiry dates. Learn how formulation, processing, packaging and real-world storage conditions protect your brand and your consumers.

Cleaning hands vs sanitising hands

Cleaning vs. Sanitising: Knowing the Difference and Why It Matters for Food Safety  

By Stewart Eddie • July 22, 2025

For any food business, ensuring the safety of your products is paramount. It’s not just about compliance; it’s about protecting your customers, safeguarding your brand, and building trust. And at the heart of this protection lies a critical distinction that often gets blurred: the difference between cleaning and sanitising. At ASKAFOODTECH, we frequently encounter confusion around these terms. Many believe they're interchangeable, but they serve distinct purposes in your food safety regimen. Understanding and correctly applying both is non-negotiable for a hygienic and compliant operation. What is Cleaning? Think of cleaning as the first, essential step. It’s about removing visible dirt, food residues, grease, and other debris from a surface. This process typically involves: Physical action: Scrubbing, wiping, brushing. Detergents: Soaps or chemical cleaners designed to break down fats and loosen soil. Water: To rinse away the loosened dirt and cleaning solution. Why is cleaning crucial? Because you can't effectively sanitise a dirty surface. Organic matter (like food scraps) can protect microorganisms from sanitiser, rendering the sanitising step ineffective. As Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) states, "Surfaces must be cleaned before they are sanitised" (Food Standards Australia New Zealand, n.d., p. 116).

Beyond the Recipe: How Food Science Elevates Your New Product's Shelf Life & Quality 

By Stewart Eddie • June 26, 2025

Discover how food science elevates new product shelf life & quality. Learn about preservation techniques, packaging science & ingredient interactions that protect your investment. Expert advice for Australian food businesses. You've poured your passion into a fantastic new food product. The recipe is perfected, the flavour is spot on, and the market is buzzing. But here's the crucial question: ‘’ How long will it stay fresh and delicious on the shelf? ‘’ In the exciting world of new product development, shelf life and ensuring consistent food quality is just as important as the recipe itself. This isn't magic; it's the meticulous application of food science benefits that truly protects your investment and ensures your product thrives in the competitive Australian market.

Assorted protein including eggs on the table to explain mandatory food allergens.

Australia's Mandatory Food Allergens: What Your Food Business Needs to Know Under PEAL

By Stewart Eddie • May 21, 2025

Learn about Australia's 13 mandatory food allergens under PEAL. Protect your customers and business with our guide to labelling, training, and effective allergen management.

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The start of February is always an exciting time for our business.

We are always truly grateful for our customers, suppliers, and supporters who have helped us grow so that we can in turn help more of you grow.

Established in 2021, we have been providing food producers with specialist advice in new product development, food safety and quality coaching, and food labelling.

Here’s to many more years of helping food businesses grow and manage risk.

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