Food safety advice for businesses
Starting a food business
It makes good business sense to serve food that is safe to eat. Good food hygiene helps prevent food poisoning and protects your reputation with customers.
If you don't ensure that you know the requirements for food businesses before you start trading, then you may be breaking the law.
Registration
All food businesses must register with us 28 days before opening.
There is no charge and we cannot refuse to register your business. Once registered it is not necessary to re-register, unless there is a significant change in the business, such as the type of food business (e.g. starting to provide external catering) a name change, or change of ownership.
Download a Food Business Registration Form
Before you start to trade you should organise waste and recycling collections. If you want to make changes to your premises, remember that you might need planning permission and/or building control approval from the local authority.
You will need to pay business rates on most premises and to apply for a licence for certain activities, such as selling or supplying alcohol or selling hot food between 11pm and 5am.