If you run a food business in Sydney — whether it’s a buzzing café in Newtown, a fine-dining restaurant in Darlinghurst, a brewery in Marrickville, or a food processing plant in Western Sydney — you know that floors matter far more than most people think.
A floor isn’t just something you walk on.
👉 In food and beverage spaces, your floor has to:
✅ Keep your products safe
✅ Protect your staff from slips and falls
✅ Stand up to harsh cleaning chemicals
✅ Comply with hygiene regulations
✅ Survive high traffic, heat, and impact
✅ Look clean and professional — for customers, inspectors, and auditors
It’s no small ask.
That’s why many food business owners come to us with the same question when considering floor upgrades:
👉 Is epoxy flooring really safe for food and beverage businesses in Sydney?
The short answer? Yes — but only when done right.
In this detailed guide, we’ll unpack everything you need to know:
✅ Why epoxy is a great choice for food & beverage flooring
✅ How it meets Sydney and NSW hygiene regulations
✅ The risks to avoid
✅ The best epoxy systems to use
✅ Where epoxy shines — and where other materials may be better
✅ Maintenance tips to ensure lasting food-safe performance
Why Floors in Food & Beverage Businesses Are Critical
Let’s start with a simple fact:
👉 In food businesses, your floor is a key line of defence for food safety.
Under NSW Food Authority guidelines and the national Food Standards Code (Standard 3.2.3), floors in food premises must be:
✅ Seamless — to prevent harbourage of bacteria
✅ Non-absorbent — so liquids, fats, and food residues can’t soak in
✅ Easily cleanable — can handle frequent washing and sanitising
✅ Durable — stands up to foot and equipment traffic
✅ Properly sloped — drains correctly, no puddling
Floors that don’t meet these standards can result in:
❌ Bacterial growth → product contamination
❌ Slip hazards → staff injuries and WorkSafe claims
❌ Health inspector warnings or closures
❌ Expensive maintenance and shutdowns
👉 A well-installed epoxy floor for commercial kitchens can meet or exceed all of these requirements — provided the correct system is specified.
How Epoxy Flooring Meets Food Safety Standards
✅ When installed professionally, commercial-grade epoxy flooring systems tick every regulatory box.
Let’s break it down:
1️⃣ Seamless and Non-Absorbent
A properly installed epoxy floor is:
✅ 100% seamless → no grout lines, joints, or cracks
✅ Non-porous → liquids sit on the surface, not inside the floor
This prevents:
- Bacterial harbourage
- Mould growth
- Fat and sugar build-up in joints
- Smells caused by trapped organic matter
👉 Compare this to tile + grout → which is porous and extremely difficult to keep clean in food environments.
2️⃣ Chemical Resistance
Food floors are exposed to:
- Detergents and sanitisers
- Grease and fats
- Acids (vinegar, wine, lemon juice)
- Caustic soda in some cleaning processes
- High-temperature water
👉 High-grade epoxy floors are formulated to resist all of these:
✅ They won’t degrade under regular cleaning
✅ They resist staining from food and beverage products
✅ They tolerate periodic steam cleaning and high-temp washes
IMPORTANT:
👉 Cheap DIY epoxy kits do NOT offer this level of chemical resistance — they will fail fast in a food environment.
3️⃣ Slip Resistance
Slip hazards are a top cause of injury in Sydney’s food and beverage businesses.
An epoxy floor can be finished to the correct slip resistance rating (P3, P4, P5) as required:
✅ Coarse quartz broadcast for wet areas
✅ Fine texture for balance of cleanability and slip resistance
✅ Smooth finish in dry prep areas where hygiene is the priority
👉 The finish is tailored to:
- Kitchen areas
- Front-of-house zones
- Brewing floors
- Packing areas
- Cool rooms / freezers
👉 This is something your installer should customise → not a one-size-fits-all approach.
4️⃣ Food-Safe Certification
✅ Many industrial epoxy systems used in Sydney are:
- HACCP-certified
- Food-safe certified
- Compliant with Australian Standards for use in food production areas
👉 Ask your installer to confirm this — and request certification documents for your records → useful for audits and council inspections.
Where Epoxy Flooring Is Used in Sydney Food & Beverage Businesses
✅ The versatility of epoxy makes it suitable for a wide range of spaces:
Commercial Kitchens
- Restaurant back-of-house
- Cafes
- Catering kitchens
- Hotel kitchens
- Aged care kitchens
- School / hospital food service
Food Processing Plants
- Bakeries
- Butcheries
- Beverage production
- Dairy processing
- Dry food packaging
- Meat processing (with hybrid epoxy/polyurethane systems)
Breweries & Distilleries
- Brew houses
- Cellar areas
- Packaging areas
- Tap rooms
Front-of-House Food Areas
- Open kitchens
- Bar service areas
- Coffee bars
- Food court service counters
Are There Risks or Downsides?
👉 When done properly, epoxy is an excellent food-safe floor — but there are caveats:
1️⃣ Poor Installation = Poor Outcome
- Insufficient prep = delamination, bacterial traps
- Wrong epoxy system = chemical or thermal damage
- Incorrect slip rating = unsafe surfaces
👉 This is why professional installation is critical → cheap jobs or DIY kits will NOT deliver a compliant or durable floor.
2️⃣ Heat and Thermal Shock
Pure epoxy has some limits:
- It can tolerate hot water cleaning, but not direct steam blasts.
- It may crack under sudden thermal shock → e.g. tipping boiling water on a cold floor.
👉 Solution:
✅ Use hybrid epoxy / polyurethane systems in high-temp areas (dishwashing zones, breweries, etc.).
✅ Install floors correctly sloped to drains → prevents standing hot water.
3️⃣ UV Exposure
Standard epoxy is not UV stable.
👉 For any front-of-house area with direct sunlight, or outdoor service zones, a UV-stable polyurethane topcoat is needed.
Best Epoxy Systems for Food & Beverage Flooring
| System | Best For |
|---|---|
| High-build epoxy (3–4mm) | General kitchen, dry prep areas |
| Quartz-filled epoxy | Wet areas → dishwash, packing zones |
| Hybrid polyurethane-epoxy | High-temp zones, breweries |
| Antimicrobial epoxy | Hospitals, aged care, high-care food facilities |
| UV-stable polyurethane topcoat | Sun-exposed service areas |
👉 Your installer should advise based on YOUR specific operation — not just quote a “standard epoxy floor.”
Also, please read this article if you are unsure whether to choose a polyurethane system or an epoxy floor system.
Maintenance Tips to Keep Epoxy Floors Food-Safe
✅ Daily floor scrubbing with approved detergent
✅ Weekly high-pressure clean (where safe)
✅ Immediately repair any damage → chipped topcoats can harbour bacteria
✅ Check slip resistance annually — especially in high-fat/oil areas
✅ Avoid unapproved harsh acid cleaners — can damage the surface
✅ Train staff on correct floor cleaning methods
👉 Well-maintained epoxy floors can last:
- 5–8 years in heavy-use kitchens
- 8–12 years in processing facilities
- 10+ years in front-of-house service areas
Final Thoughts: Is Epoxy Flooring Safe?
✅ YES — when specified and installed correctly, epoxy flooring is one of the BEST choices for Sydney food and beverage businesses.
✅ It meets hygiene standards.
✅ It protects your staff.
✅ It supports your audit/compliance requirements.
✅ It lasts for years with proper care.
👉 The key is choosing the right system — and the right installer.
If you’re considering a new floor for your food business, talk to our experts at Epoxy Flooring Sydney about the safest options for your operation. Just Check out our Contact page for more info.