Food Premises Approval
Your business needs to be inspected and approved by us if it involves handling, preparing or processing products of animal origin such as meat, fish, egg or dairy products. The Food Standards Agency has a full list of the types of products of animal origin which need approval.
The following businesses must also be inspected and approved:
- cold stores
- wholesale markets
- re-wrapping businesses.
It is a criminal offence to run food premises without approval and you can be prosecuted for doing so. There is no fee to apply for food premises approval.
Exemptions:
You do not need to be approved if you sell direct to the public or to retailers such as caterers, pubs and restaurants, as long as you can satisfy certain exemptions. These generally relate to the quantity of food that you supply and the geographical area over which it is supplied. You are advised to contact us to discuss your specific circumstances or visit the Food Standards Agency website.
You do not need to renew your premises approval, but please let us know of any changes.
Are there any restrictions?
You cannot manage or apply for an approval for a food business if you have been issued with a court order banning you from running a food business.
How do I apply?
Complete the online application form. You will also need to provide a number of documents including a detailed scale plan and a description of the proposed arrangements of your business for:
- food safety management procedures based on hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) principles
- premises and equipment maintenance
- the cleaning of premises, equipment and transport
- waste collection and disposal
- water supply
- product testing
- pest control
- staff health and hygiene training
- record keeping
- applying identification marks to product packaging or wrapping.
We will then arrange to inspect your premises. If your business is approved we will issue you with a unique approval number, which must be applied to your products and documentation.