Applying for approval of a meat establishment

Establishments approved by the Food Standards Agency

The following establishments require veterinary control and must be approved by us before they start trading:

• slaughterhouses
• cutting plants
• game handling establishments
• wholesale meat market

Apply for approval

Complete the relevant application form and send to:

Food Standards Agency
Approvals Team
Room 112, Kings Pool
Peasholme Green
York YO1 7PR

When we receive your application one of our veterinary officials will contact you within two weeks to arrange a visit to conduct an assessment.

Application for additional activities 

If you are already approved as a meat establishment and wish to apply for approval of additional activities or species please complete this application form and email to approvals@food.gov.uk

Advisory visits

Prospective FBOs wishing to obtain approval for their establishments may request an advisory visit. Advisory visits aim to help the FBO identify the welfare and hygiene requirements which may apply to their proposed approval activities. Areas of advice include building structure, equipment and facilities, operational hygiene considerations and HACCP, good practices, record management and standard operating procedures as well as animal welfare. Advisory visits will be charged at a set fee which is payable before the visit is scheduled to take place. This fee for the financial year April 2021 - March 2022 is £358.44 inclusive of VAT. This fee is strictly non-refundable.

To request an advisory visit, you will need to submit an application form to approvals@food.gov.uk and state that you require an advisory visit. The approvals Team will provide details of how to make this payment.

Approval assessment

As part of the approval process, we will assess:

• the equipment and structure of your establishment
• your food safety management system, as part of the approval process.

You are not permitted to operate until a conditional approval has been granted.

After approval, one of our veterinary officials will return within three months to assess production and your compliance with all the hygiene requirements in Regulation 852/2004 and Regulation 853/2004.

Right of appeal

You have a right to appeal our decision if your premises is refused approval under Regulation 12 of the Official Feed and Food Controls Regulations 2009.

You can submit an appeal one month from the date when you were notified of the decision.

Operational policy

The Operational policy explains the application and decision-making process involved in giving approval to your businesses. It also explains the circumstances in which we would remove your approval.

This document is for food business operators of existing approved food businesses and potential:

• slaughterhouses
• cutting plants
• game handling establishments
• wholesale markets 

List of approved food establishments

• Approved UK food establishments
• Approved EU food establishments