Food businesses are mainly governed by the following regulations:
- Food Safety Act 1990
- The Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006
- Regulation (EC) No. 852/2004 -hygiene of foodstuffs
- Regulation (EC) No. 853/2004 - specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin
Advice on the legislation which applies to a business is available from Environmental Health.
Who the regulations apply to
Regulations apply to all food operations. A food operation means any undertaking, whether for profit or not and whether public or private, carrying out any preparation, processing, manufacturing, packaging, handling or offering for sale or supply.
Premises include any room where food is prepared, treated or processed. They also include:
- marquees
- market stalls
- mobile shops
- premises used primarily as a private house
- church halls
- vending machines
Non-compliance is an offence, punishable by a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years. A court conviction could also mean loss of reputation. Conversely, compliance is a means of producing and providing safe food.
A food business operator (FBO) must ensure compliance with the regulations. An important aspect of this is the development, implementation and maintenance of a food safety risk management system. This is also known as a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point plan or HACCP (plan) for short.
The FBO must identify any step in the activities of the food business which is critical to ensuring food safety, and ensure that adequate safety procedures are identified, implemented, maintained and reviewed. The FBO must also ensure that all food handlers are suitably trained, committed with their work activities and also in HACCP principles.
Guidance and a documented system called 'CookSafe' is available from us and the Food Standards Agency. If followed correctly, the system will help FBOs comply with their legal obligations.
People suffering from certain medical conditions
A person working in a food handling area who knows or suspects that he/she is suffering from or carrying a disease likely to be transmitted through food; or who is afflicted with an infected wound, skin infection, sores, or diarrhoea, should report this immediately to the FBO. The person may have to be excluded from work until they have recovered.
For further information please contact us.