Registration of Food Businesses

What is registration?
Who needs to register?
How do I register?
What happens to the information given on the form?
Changes

What is Registration?

The law requires that food business operators must register any premises used for a food business (including market stalls, delivery vehicles and mobile vans) with their local authority. This helps the local authorities keep an up to date list of all food businesses in their area. They can then visit them when they need to. The frequency of the visits will depend on what the food business does and how good they are.

Who Needs to Register?

If you run a food business, whether for profit or not (e.g. a charity), you must tell the local authority about any premises you use for storing, selling, distributing or preparing food.

Market stalls and mobile vendors like ice cream, kebab or burger vans must be registered with the local authority in whose area the vehicle is ordinarily kept.

Any one starting a new food business must register with the local authority 28 days before they start trading. This gives time for the local authority to give advice that might sort out any problems before the business opens.
Exemptions

Most food businesses will have to register but some are exempt. These include primary production for domestic use, domestic preparation and storage of food for domestic consumption, direct supply by the producer of small quantities of primary products to the final consumer or to local retail establishments directly supplying to the final consumer. You will not have to register if you only occasionally handle, prepare or serve food on a small scale (e.g. a church, school or village fair or are a charity volunteer who only prepares food occasionally). Contact your local authority if you are not sure if you are exempt.

How do I register?

By filling in the Food Registration Form. Registration is free. The registration form must be sent to your local authority. If you use premises in more than one local authority area e.g. have a number of shops in a region, you must register
each one individually with the local authority in whose area they are based.

You must tick all the boxes that apply to your business, answer all the questions and give all the information requested, including all the names of people that own the business. Contact your local authority if you need any help.

Alternatively because food business registration is covered by the European Services Directive, if you are registered on the Government Gateway you can Register your Food Business Online using the UK Welcomes Service

What happens to the information given on the form?

The local authority will enter the details on a Public Register. This contains the name of the food business, food business operator, business address and the type of food business being carried on. The register is open to inspection by the general public. The other information provided will not be publicly available. Copies of the registration details will be forwarded to other competent authorities, like the Trading Standards Department, that may have an interest in the business.

Changes

Once you have registered with the local authority you only need to notify them of a change of food business operator, if the nature of the food business changes or if the business closes. The new food business operator will have to register the new business.

It is an offence not to register a food business or to give information which you know to be false.

To inform us of a change to food business in Wealden you can either resubmit the Food Registration Form or, if again if you are registered on the Government Gateway you can Notify us of the Change Online using the UK Welcomes Service

Please return the form to:

Public Protection Team

Wealden District Council

PO Box 49

Hailsham,

East Sussex

BN27 2AZ

Tel: 01323 443555
Fax 01323 443320
Email foodandsafety@wealden.gov.uk