Food safety
Sensible food safety, the way a neighbour would explain it.
SwapHarvest is people sharing what their garden, chooks, and pantry made too much of. Most of it is gloriously simple. A small handful of foods are better left off the swap, and a few habits make the rest safer for everyone.
Why this page exists
Hi, I'm Daniel. I run SwapHarvest from a small block in Ourimbah, with the same chooks and citrus tree as half my neighbours. I built this page because food safety is not a topic to wing. The rules are not about being paranoid; they're about knowing the small list of things that genuinely go wrong, and leaving them off the swap. Everything else, fruit, vegies, eggs, honey, baked goods, jams and chutneys, is fine to share if you handle it like you do at home.
Foods we don't allow
These four categories are off-limits for swaps on SwapHarvest. Each is on the list because the risk is genuine, not theoretical.
Raw milk
It carries pathogens that can hurt children, older neighbours, and anyone with a wobbly immune system. Cheese counts too, unless it's been made and aged commercially.
Raw or undercooked meat
Home butchery and chilled storage at swap pickup can't be safely managed between two households. Keep meat to licensed butchers.
Raw seafood
Spoils fast and is high-risk for foodborne illness. Smoked or cured at home counts here too.
Home-canned low-acid foods
Beans, mushrooms, garden vegetables and meats canned at home are the highest botulism risk. If it isn't a pickle, jam, or properly acidified preserve, leave it off the swap.
NSW Food Authority guidance
For the longer, official version of home food safety, the NSW Food Authority publishes a clear and free guide. It covers fridge temperatures, cross-contamination, preserving safely, and what to do with leftovers. It's a good half-hour read and worth a bookmark.
Practical tips
None of this is exotic. It's the same handful of habits a decent home cook already has, written down so neither of us forgets.
Label your allergens
If your preserve contains nuts, dairy, eggs, gluten, or any of the big eight, say so in the listing. A two-second note saves a neighbour a tough afternoon.
Write a useful label
Stick a small label on the jar or bag with what's in it, when you made it, and how long it lasts. Future-you will be grateful too.
Mind fridge time
Cooked food, dairy, and cut produce should not spend long out of the fridge before pickup. If a pickup is delayed by more than an hour or two, message and reschedule.
Sterilise your jars
For preserves, run jars and lids through a hot dishwasher or boil them for 10 minutes before filling. Lids should pop or seal cleanly. If a jar didn't seal, refrigerate and use it yourself rather than swap it.
When in doubt, compost it
If something smells off, looks suspect, or you wouldn't feed your own family, it stays out of the swap pile. The compost is a perfectly honourable second life.
Something seems off about a swap or a listing? Report it from inside the app, or send a note to hello@swapharvest.com. The community guidelines cover the rest.