Operating a food business

Environmental Health Officers and Food Safety Officers carry out periodic food law inspections of registered food businesses to ensure food safety and compliance with the law. Inspections are generally unannounced.

The frequency of inspections will be determined by the:

• type of business
• level of risk
• level of compliance
• inspection history, and
• confidence in management

However, officers can visit premises at any time, for example, when a complaint is received.

The structure of your food business and the facilities it contains is very important as it must allow you to prepare food safely.

This includes having the following:

1. Toilets that are connected to an effective drainage system with either natural or mechanical ventilation. Toilets must not open directly into rooms in which food is handled.
2. Separate handwashing facilities for food handlers, in addition to those in toilet areas. These must include a piped water supply for cleaning hands, hand wash and hygienic material for drying hands.
3. Separate facilities for washing food and cleaning equipment. Every sink must have a supply of hot and cold water.
4. Adequate ventilation, lighting and drainage.

In addition, food preparation areas require the following:

1. Floors and walls to be in good condition, easy to clean, smooth and hard-wearing.
2. Ceilings to be in good condition, easy to clean and free from condensation, mould and flaking paint or plaster.
3. Windows and other openings must prevent dirt from building up. If they open to the outside, they should be fitted with insect-proof screens that can be easily removed for cleaning. Doors must be easy to clean and disinfect.
4. Surfaces in areas where food is handled, particularly those that are touched by food, must be in a good condition and easy to clean and disinfect.

Good food hygiene is essential to make sure that the food you serve is safe to eat.

The four main areas to remember for good food hygiene are the 4C’s:

• Cleaning
• Cooking
• Chilling
• Cross contamination

More information on good food hygiene practices to support your food business can be found at Food Standards Scotland: CookSafe Guide.

Food handlers must have appropriate supervision or training to enable them to handle and prepare food safely.

Formal food hygiene training is not a requirement to prepare or sell food, however it is recommended that food handlers are suitably trained in food hygiene to a level that suits the work activity.

Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland: Community training courses

You must ensure that those responsible for the food safety management system have received training in the application of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) principles.

• personal hygiene
• cross contamination
• maintenance
• temperature control
• allergen management
• cleaning
• stock control
• waste management
• pest control

Food information provided to consumers must clear, accurate, easy to read and is not misleading.

This includes food information on:

• menus
• signs
• packaging and labelling – Food Standards Scotland: Packaging and labelling
• advertised online

Food information includes:

• name of the food
• list of ingredients
• best before and use by dates
• allergen and nutritional information

Food businesses must tell consumers if the food they sell contains any of the 14 allergens which must be declared by law in the UK:

1. Milk
2. Eggs
3. Gluten
4. Lupin
5. Fish
6. Crustaceans
7. Molluscs
8. Mustard
9. Celery
10. Sesame seeds
11. Soya
12. Tree nuts
13. Peanuts
14. Sulphur dioxide and sulphites

How this information is provided depends on how the food is packaged and presented to the consumer. This can be:

• prepacked
• prepacked for direct sale (PPDS)
• non-prepacked (loose)

For more information and free training visit Food Standards Scotland: Managing allergens.

You must be able to identify where the food used in your business comes from and where the food you produce goes. This helps keep track of food in the food chain and will be important if there is ever a product recall or withdrawal.

This involves keeping records of:

• all your food suppliers
• any businesses that you supply with food

All records need to be kept up-to-date and always be available for inspection.

Food crime is a significant threat to food businesses.

Examples include:

• falsely claiming meat labelled as originating in Scotland when it is not
• false claims that food is organic, free range, the ingredients used, or the benefits
• animal by-products being diverted into the human food chain
• counterfeit alcohol

More information can be found at Food Standards Scotland: Food crime guidance for businesses.

Food businesses that serve or supply food direct to the public, may be covered by the Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS).

The FHIS provides consumers with information about hygiene standards in food premises at the time they are inspected.

Officers will check that the business complies with the hygiene element of the inspection and that food is safe to eat. They will then determine whether the hygiene standards within the premises warrants a 'pass' or 'improvement required' status.

Pass

A pass requires ‘satisfactory compliance’ with the food hygiene regulations. Satisfactory compliance allows for minor non-compliances provided that they are not critical to food safety and also that they are not recurring.

Improvement required

Improvement required is where significant non-compliances which are critical to food safety and/or recurring minor non-compliances are found.

This status will then be updated to the Food Hygiene Information Scheme, empowering consumers to make informed choices about where they are buying their food and eating out.

Newly registered food businesses will have a status of 'awaiting inspection' until an inspection is carried out.

Check the status of a food business in East Ayrshire

The status of all other food businesses in the UK can be found at Food Standards Scotland: Food Hygiene Information Scheme.

The Eat Safe Award is designed to promote excellence in food hygiene.

Food Standards Scotland: Eat Safe Awards

The award provides an incentive to food businesses to strive for food hygiene and food safety management standards beyond those required by law.

For consumers, it provides a recognisable sign of excellence in food hygiene practices.

Businesses are assessed for the award by officers from Environmental Health during their regular food inspections.

If you are planning to start up a childminding business from your home that provides food as part of your childminding service, depending on the food services you provide, you may need to register as a childminder food business with our Environmental Health Service.

Childminding business registration form (PDF 67 KB)

Your childminder business does not need to register as a food business if you only provide:

• mains drinking water
• cutlery, plates or storage for the children’s own packed lunches
• occasional provision of food when parents or guardians are delayed or it’s a special occasion such as a birthday

If you are operating a food business from your home you must still ensure that you have the required knowledge in food hygiene matters to provide food safely.

Formal food hygiene training is not a requirement to prepare or sell food, however it is recommended that food handlers are trained in food hygiene to a level that suits the work activity.

All food businesses, including childminders and those who operate from a domestic house must have procedures based upon Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles.

Procedures and documentation proportionate to the nature and size of the food business must be established. 

A food safety management system has been produced for childminders. Find out more at Food Standards Agency: Safer food, better business for childminders.

All other businesses operating from a domestic house can use the  Food Standards Scotland: CookSafe Guide.