Food & Beverage Exhibitors

Public Liability Insurance

All food & beverage exhibitors must hold a Certificate of Currency for both Public and Products Liability Insurance for a minimum of $20million for any one occurrence (or in the aggregate for Products). The Royal Agricultural and Horticulture Society of SA must be noted as an interested party and a copy of the insurance provided no later than 31 July 2026.

Please note that exhibitors in other content categories may also be required to provide their Public and Products Liability Insurance with the Royal Agricultural and Horticulture Society of SA noted as an interested party. This is primarily for those providing services which involve physical touch e.g. massage, face painting, tattoo etc.

Offsite Consumption

All food & beverage exhibitors are permitted to sample their products onsite, however any product sold must be intended for offsite consumption (i.e. for Show goers to take home and consume at a later date).

As products are intended for offsite consumption, any beverages should be sold at ambient temperature. In addition, minimum pack sizes may apply for some products. Please see indicative pack sizes below;

If we identify that there are issues with patrons purchasing and then consuming while onsite, you may be required to place labels on products or packaging, indicating that these cannot be consumed onsite; e.g. historically this often an issue for beverages sold in cans.

If you are interested in selling for onsite consumption (i.e. for Show goers to purchase and consume soon after while at the Show) then this process is managed by O'Brien Group Australia. You can reach out to them at adelaide.show@obga.com.au.

Food & Beverage Sampling

The Society has contracted O’Brien Group Australia as our Official Caterer to manage the provision of all food and beverage for consumption at the Royal Adelaide Show. Within the Taste SA and Goyder Food & Wine pavilions, exhibitors will be able to offer samples of food and beverage as part of their promotion at the Royal Adelaide Show.

Exhibitors will be allowed to provide samples of food and beverage under the following conditions:

Handwashing Stations

Please be aware that if you are handling any unpackaged food at your site, it is a mandatory requirement by the City of Unley council that you have hand washing station facilities set up and in use at your site. Even if you are using gloves or serving utensils, you must have a hand washing station at your site if there is any chance your hands may come into contact with unpackaged food. The only time that food exhibitors do not require a handwashing station is if you are only selling sealed products and are not providing sampling. Gloves and/or hand sanitiser are not sufficient substitutes for a proper hand washing station set up.

City of Unley council do conduct inspections at the Show to make sure that exhibitors with food products all have suitable hand washing facilities set up at their site AND that these hand washing facilities are being used. Fines may apply for those who are not compliant. We do have handwashing stations available for purchase, if required. Once purchased these are your to keep and can then be used at other and future events.

Limited Liquor Licence

The Society will coordinate a limited liquor licence for all exhibitors who are sampling and selling alcoholic beverages (complimentary tastings up to 50mls per serving, and sales of sealed bottles 500ml or greater). Exhibitors will be invoiced separately for the liquor license costs. Names of the responsible persons for inclusion on the application will be requested closer to the event. While exhibitors aren’t responsible for the actions of patrons once they have left their site, exhibitors must ensure that they are advising patrons that bottled items CANNOT be opened onsite and they may be confiscated if they are found open. Packaging of purchased items should also be secured in such a way to discourage them from being opened onsite, such as a bag sealed with a sticker advising that the product is not to be consumed onsite, and adhering to the requirement that beverages be sold at ambient temperature. We typically see more issues with single serving size products, such as canned beverages, noting that these must adhere to minimum pack size requirements.

Compostable Packaging and SA Plastic Legislation

Compostable Packaging: All food and drink sold or sampled for onsite consumption must be served in Australian Certified compostable packaging.

Single-Use Plastics Ban Compliance: Ensure compliance with South Australia’s ban on single-use plastics by visiting www.replacethewaste.sa.gov.au.

Compostable Certification: Any material or product bearing compostable symbols must meet the requirements of Australian compostable standards. Please be aware that there are mandatory requirements for compostable symbols on food and beverage containers from 1 March 2026 (find out more here).

Waste Separation: Australian Green Clean (AGC) will provide bin banks in strategic back-of-house locations for proper waste separation. These include Organics, Paper & Cardboard, Dry Materials and Refundable Container Crates.  Please ensure that you place waste in the correct bins while onsite to help us divert waste from landfill. Failure to comply with our waste separation and recycling practices may result in recovery of costs from payment settlement.

Recyclable Drink Containers: Only recyclable drink containers that attract a 10c rebate are permitted.