Food safety

Food Business Registration

It is a legal requirement that all food business operators register with their local authority at least 28 days before trading commences.

Registration is free and can be completed at: Register a food business

Once your business is registered then it will be included on our public register of food businesses.

In some circumstances a food business may need to be approved rather than registered if it carries out certain activities in relation to products of animal origin (POAO). Further information on food business approvals can be found at: Applying for approval of a food establishment | Food Standards Agency

Please contact our Environmental Health Team if you are unsure whether your business requires registration or approval.

Starting a Food Business

Advice on starting a food business can be found at: Getting ready to start your food business | Food Standards Agency

Food Safety Management

Advice on managing food safely, including HACCP, Safer Food Better Business (SFBB) and training is available at: Starting your food business safely | Food Standards Agency

Should you require any further advice on managing food safety or the appropriate food safety management system for your business then please contact the Environmental Health Team.

Allergens

Advice on the requirements in relation to food allergens, including useful management templates and free training material is available at: Allergen guidance for food businesses | Food Standards Agency

Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS)

The Council participates in the national Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS). Full details of the scheme are available at: Food Hygiene Rating Scheme | Food Standards Agency

In order to ensure that the scheme is fair to businesses it has been designed to include a number of safeguards. There is an appeals procedure, a right to reply procedure and also an opportunity for a business to request a revisit when improvements have been made.

*PLEASE NOTE* – A charge of £150 will be made for a revisit. Should your request for a revisit be accepted then we will provide acknowledgement of this in writing together with details of the accepted payment methods.

Food complaints

The Council can investigate food complaints. The types of complaints that we can investigate may include

• Unfit food, e.g. mouldy food or foreign body contamination
• Poor hygiene practices at a food premises
• Reports of pest activity at a food premises
• Potential food fraud or food crime
• Poor allergen management

Please report food complaints at the following link For consumers – Report a food problem | Food Standards Agency

We do not investigate complaints relating to food labelling such as use by or best before dates, or matters relating to food pricing and quantity. Concerns regarding these matters should be addressed to the Food Standards team at Gloucestershire Trading Standards.