Food hygiene legislation - what you need to know
Thursday 24 August 2006
New food hygiene laws have applied in the UK since 1 January 2006. They affect all food businesses, including caterers, primary producers (such as farmers), manufacturers, distributors and retailers.
How the legislation affects you depends on the size and type of your business.
Do I need to register my business?
Most food businesses will need to register all of their premises with their local authority. This is now required under EU regulations, replacing previous national registration requirements.
Food business operators whose establishments are required to be registered should approach the relevant local authority, ideally before they open (or before starting to use new premises). If you have registered your premises already and have not changed the type of work you do, you don't need to register them again.
The premises for certain types of businesses need to be approved, rather than registered, including those producing the following foods:
- meat and meat products
- eggs
- milk and dairy products
- fish and fish products
Food business operators whose establishments require approval should approach the relevant local authority.
Specific information on registration for farmers and growers can be found in the primary production Q&A.
What is HACCP?
HACCP stands for 'Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point'. It is an internationally recognised and recommended system of food safety management. It focuses on identifying the 'critical points' in a process where food safety problems (or 'hazards') could arise and putting steps in place to prevent things going wrong. This is sometimes referred to as 'controlling hazards'. Keeping records is also an important part of HACCP systems.
What training do my staff need?
Food handlers must receive appropriate supervision, and be instructed and/or trained in food hygiene, to enable them to handle food safely. Those responsible for developing and maintaining the business's food safety procedures, based on HACCP principles, must have received adequate training. The requirements for training should be seen in the context of the nature and size of the business. There is no legal requirement to attend a formal training course or get a qualification, although many businesses may want their staff to do so. The necessary skills may also be obtained in other ways, such as through on-the-job training, self-study or relevant prior experience. The operator of the food business is responsible for ensuring this happens.
Where do I go if I have a specific question about how the new regulations apply to my business?
You should contact the environmental health service at your local authority if you have any specific questions about how the new regulations apply to your business.
Why has EU food hygiene legislation been changed?
The legislation has been changed to set out more clearly the duty of food businesses to produce food safely and to achieve consistency. The legislation includes most areas of farming for the first time, so it covers the whole food chain from 'farm to fork'.
Do the new laws mean more Brussels red tape?
No, when the new EU legislation was being negotiated, the UK argued for flexible and pragmatic legislation. The legislative framework will now be more explicitly focused on the need to protect public health in a way that is effective, proportionate and based on risk.
Do the new regulations affect the public?
The regulations do not include any new requirements for members of the public (though they may need to comply with the regulations when serving food at events etc.) But the key aim of the new laws is to improve food safety, which the Agency hopes will benefit the public by helping to reduce the number of cases of food poisoning.
What guidance is available on the new food hygiene laws?
The FSA has produced a draft guidance document for all sectors and three summary guides for different types of small businesses. This guidance focuses on what the legislation says, rather than how to comply with it. The guidance is now available as working drafts from the Guidance on the new food hygiene legislation page.
Also available from that page is guidance for the Revised Draft Food Law Code of Practice and Practice Guidance for England, the Draft Guide to Food Hygiene and Other Regulations for the Meat Industry, links to guidance produced by the Dairy Hygiene Inspectorate and the Egg Marketing Inspectorate, and guidance from the European Commission on various aspects of the legislation and on HACCP.
The FSA has produced special packs to help small catering businesses comply with the new regulations. See Information for caterers for more details.
Has any EU legislation been removed as a result of the new food hygiene regulations?
Yes, the new EU food hygiene regulations effectively consolidated seventeen EU measures in the food hygiene area into just two. The revocation of the seventeen measures has removed the duplication and inconsistencies in approach that caused difficulties both for businesses and enforcement authorities.
Most of the measures were revoked by EC Directive 2004/41 (one measure was revoked by EC Regulation 852/2004). EC Directive 2004/41 lists the legislation revoked (and amended).
Are there new rules covering microbiological criteria of foodstuffs?
Yes. The Microbiological Criteria for Foodstuffs Regulation has applied since 11 January 2006 and complements the EU food hygiene legislation. Microbiological criteria in current EC legislation have been revised as part of a risk-based approach to food safety. The microbiological criteria can be used by food businesses to validate and verify their food safety management procedures and when assessing the acceptability of foodstuffs, or their manufacturing, handling and distribution processes.
The legislation is structured so it can be applied flexibly in all food businesses, regardless of their type or size. Microbiological criteria should be applied within the framework of procedures based on HACCP principles.
Has any UK legislation been removed because of the new EU legislation?
The Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995 and the Food Safety (Temperature Control) Regulations 1995 do not apply anymore. Many of the requirements of these regulations are included in the new EU legislation, so this means that what businesses need to do from day to day has not changed very much. The main new requirement is to have 'food safety management procedures' and keep up-to-date records of these.
The Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006 provide the framework for the EU legislation to be enforced in England. There are similar regulations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
External links The Food Standards Agency has no responsibility for the content of external websites
Where can I get more detailed information on the new food hygiene legislation?
See the Background to the 2006 food hygiene legislation section of this website for more on the new legislation, as well as copies of all of the EU texts, and regular updates on relevant Brussels meetings.
The FSA Board has discussed food safety management. See the Board paper - 10 March 2005 (pdf document).