The Food Code is an independent Australian e-book publisher creating practical, plain-English guides for people starting small food businesses.

We focus on the types of food businesses many people can realistically start, including home-based food businesses, mobile food businesses, and market stalls. These are often the businesses where the founder is also the cook, cleaner, bookkeeper, social media manager, and the person packing orders late at night.

Our role is to make the starting point clearer.

Our authors bring combined experience spanning food regulation, food safety consulting, and running and marketing small food businesses in Australia, and it shows in every guide.

What we bring

Regulatory understanding
Our resources are designed to help you better understand Australian food safety requirements, including the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, which is the key reference for food regulation across Australia.

Marketing insight
Practical support to help you position your product, understand your customer, improve your offer, and sell through channels such as markets, mobile trade, local orders, and online platforms.

Small business experience
Clear guidance on pricing, cost control, cash flow, product planning, sales channels, and growth decisions for small food operators.

Together, this helps you move from idea to operation with more confidence, while building a food business that is safer, clearer, and more commercially realistic.

Why we exist

Most of the information new food business owners need is publicly available. The problem is that it is often spread across different websites, written in formal language, and focused more on rules than on the practical decisions a first-time operator needs to make.

The Food Code exists to bring key information together in one place, supported by practical commercial guidance and written in plain English.

We help you save time, understand the landscape, make clearer decisions, and move forward with more confidence.

Important to know

The Food Code is a private, independent publisher. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of Food Standards Australia New Zealand, any state or territory food authority, local council, the Australian Taxation Office, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, or any other government body.

The information we publish is general in nature. It is designed to help you understand the starting landscape and prepare more confidently.

For requirements specific to your business, location, premises, products, or approval pathway, you should always confirm details with your local council, relevant state or territory authority, accountant, lawyer, or other qualified professional