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Setting up a food business
If you are planning to start a new catering business, you must register your premises with the environmental health service by completing Food Registration Form at least 28 days before opening.  This is a legal requirement for fppd business, including catering businesses run from home and mobile or temporary premises such as stalls and burger vans.  

Registration enable us to generate a suitable inspection programme taking into account the risks involved.  It also enables us to contact you should there be a notification of contamination of foodstuffs you sell or use or a product recall. Any changes in proprietorship much also be notified by means of completing a new form.

Plan what you need to do

Before opening, organise waste and recycling collections and get appropriate training and tools in place.  It makes good business sense to serve food that is safet to eat - good food hygiene helps prevent food poisoning and protects your reputation with customers.

You might need to register as self-employed and/or register for Value Added Tax (VAT).  These registration processes are completely separate from registering your food premises.

If you want to make changes to your premises, remember that you might need planning permission.

You will need to pay business rates on most premises and licences for certain activities, such as selling or supplying alcohol or selling hot good between 11pm and 5am.

Checklist for starting up

  • Have you registered your premises?
  • Do the design and construction of your premises meet legal requirement?
  • Are you aware of the main General Food Law Requirements?
  • Do you keep written records of all the suppliers that provide you with food or any food ingedients?
  • Have you put food safety management procedures in place and are you keeping up-to-date records of these?
  • Do you and your staff understand the prinicples of good food hygiene?
  • Have you considered health and safety and fire safety arrangements?
  • Have you registered as self-employed?
  • Do you need to register for VAT?
  • Are you keeping records of all your business income and expenses?
  • Are you keeping records of your employees' pay and do you know how to pay their tax and National Insurance contributions?
  • Do you describe food and drink accurately?
  • Do you need to apply for a licence to sell alcohol, for entertainment, for selling hot food and drinke late at night or selling food on the street?
There is a leaflet entitled "Stating up: you first steps to running a catering business" (external website) produced by the Food Standards Agency.

"Food Hygiene - a guide for businesses", also produced by the Food Standards Agency, has information on legal requirements for food businesses.  These are available in a variety of languages.

Food Hygiene Training

Food, when not handled properly, can be very dangerous, leading to illness and even death.  It is important that ebfore starting your business you have some knowledge about food safety and good hygiene practices.

It is a legal requirement that "the proprietor of a food business shall ensure that food handlers engaged in the food business are supervised and instructed and/or trained in good hygiene matters commensurate with their work activities."  It is also good business sense to have appropriate training.  It is recommended that you attend the CIEH Level 2 Award in Food Safety in Catering training or an equivalent.  Courses are run regularly at the Council Offices by our Environmental Health team or you can find a trainer on the CIEH website.