Street parties: your questions answered

One-off events such as street parties aren't usually considered food businesses, so there are no forms to fill in. You may wish to let your council's environmental health team know that it’s happening. They will be happy to provide advice. Information on how to contact your local authority can be found on our website via the link at the bottom of this page.

No, it wouldn't. One-off or occasional events aren't considered regular enterprises, so you won't need to fill in any forms. Again, you may wish to let the council's environmental health team know what’s happening.

Caterers would already be registered as food businesses, and will have to comply with food safety rules as usual for the event.

You don't need to hold any formal qualifications to prepare food, but you must make sure that the food you supply or sell is safe to eat. You can find advice on safe handling of food on the NHS Choices website (see link below).

Anyone supplying food other than in a purely domestic situation is legally responsible for ensuring that the food that they supply is safe. It is important that you take care to follow hygiene advice, which is available on the NHS Choices website (see link below). Your local authority can also provide advice. If someone were to fall ill as a result of eating food that you've prepared, your local authority might need to investigate to determine the cause.

This will depend on who is providing the food. While the event itself would probably not be considered a food business, if the PTA is providing the food then even though it is on school premises, you would be responsible for ensuring that the food you supply is safe.

If the food is provided by the school kitchen, then the school would be responsible.

Food allergy and food intolerance must be taken seriously. Some people can have serious reactions to certain foods – such as nuts, milk and egg. If anyone asks if a specific food contains an allergen you should try to find out. If you can’t find out or you don’t know, you should say that you don’t know. Many people with serious allergies are unlikely to eat unlabelled food, so you may want to suggest that they bring their own food to the event. You can find more information on food allergies on the NHS Choices website (see link below).

The NHS Choices website has lots of common-sense information on how to prepare food safely, ways to prevent food poisoning and how to store food safely (see link below). Alternatively, your local authority will be able to provide you with some advice.