Regulations and training

Once we receive your registration form, we will schedule an inspection. We do not announce our inspections unless you operate from a domestic address when we will make an appointment.

The key regulations are

  1. Regulation (EC) no. 852/2004 (see Article 5 and Annex II for training and most other matters)
  2. The Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 (regarding temperature control).

Regulation 852 requires food handlers to have adequate training, appropriate to the activities they are doing.

Things to consider before opening

You will need to demonstrate the safety of the food you produce and sell.

You should consider each potential problem and work out how you will control any potential problem at each of the following stages:

  • recipes, sourcing ingredients, preparation, avoiding cross contamination
  • cooking, cooling
  • packaging
  • shelf life
  • storage
  • transport
  • point of sale
  • labelling

If the products could support bacterial growth, for example cream cakes, you must consider temperature control (below 8C in fridge or above 63C for foods kept hot). It is important to think how you will store, transport and display these foods.

If you are packaging your products for sale in a shop or farmers market, you will need to label your foods - contact Trading Standards (Telephone 03000 412 000). In any case, even if the product is provided unwrapped, your customer will still require some information about the ingredients (especially common allergens) and the product's shelf life.

Training

The Level 2 Award in Food Safety in Catering (formerly called the Basic or Foundation course) is appropriate for most food handlers of open high risk food.

Use a pack called Safer Food Better Business (SFBB), which can be found at Safer food, better business for caterers (FSA). The pack is also available in other languages.

Additional information