Use this checklist to confirm your food or drink manufacturing business meets its obligations before a production run. Work through each item and answer yes or no. If you answer no, follow the linked guide before you proceed.
The food and drink regime is devolved, so the regulator differs by nation. Food law (registration, hygiene, labelling, establishment approval) is run by the Food Standards Agency and local authorities in England, by Food Standards Scotland in Scotland (the rating scheme there is FHIS, not FHRS), and by local authorities under Food Standards Agency oversight in Wales and Northern Ireland. Health and safety duties are enforced by the Health and Safety Executive in Great Britain and by HSENI in Northern Ireland. Alcohol duty and the Soft Drinks Industry Levy are UK-wide and are run by HMRC. Each section names the body that applies.
Section 1 — Every food and drink manufacturer
These duties apply to every food and drink manufacturer, whatever you make. Confirm each one before you start production.
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1
Have you registered the food business with your local authority?
You must register each food premises with the local authority at least 28 days before you start trading. In Scotland you register with the local authority under Food Standards Scotland arrangements.
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2
Do you have a HACCP-based food safety management system in place?
You must have documented food safety management procedures based on HACCP principles, kept up to date and followed in practice.
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3
Are you ready for the hygiene-rating inspection?
Your premises will be inspected and given a Food Hygiene Rating (FHRS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or a Food Hygiene Information Scheme result (FHIS in Scotland). Confirm your hygiene, structure and management records are inspection-ready.
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4
Is your labelling and allergen information correct?
Confirm mandatory food information, allergen declarations and any prepacked-for-direct-sale (Natasha's Law) requirements are met for every product you place on the market.
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5
Are you meeting general health and safety duties, including dust control?
You must protect workers and others from risks arising from your work, including controlling flour and other dusts that can cause occupational asthma in food manufacturing.
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6
Is employers' liability insurance in place and the certificate displayed?
If you employ staff you must hold employers' liability insurance and make the certificate available to employees.
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7
Have you handled environmental permitting, trade effluent consent and packaging EPR for your site?
Depending on what you make and discharge, you may need an environmental permit, a trade effluent consent and to meet packaging extended producer responsibility duties. These are run by the Environment Agency in England, SEPA in Scotland, Natural Resources Wales in Wales and NIEA in Northern Ireland, with your water and sewerage company for effluent.
Section 2 — If you make products of animal origin (meat, poultry, fish, dairy)
Products of animal origin are regulated more tightly than other food and usually need establishment approval. If you make them, work through these items and see the guide on getting your animal-origin establishment approved.
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1
Is your establishment approved by the FSA or local authority?
Most premises handling meat, poultry, fish, milk or dairy must hold establishment approval before they can place product on the market. Approval is granted by the Food Standards Agency or the local authority depending on the product.
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2
Do you hold the required WATOK welfare-at-slaughter certificates?
If you slaughter animals, staff carrying out regulated tasks must hold certificates of competence under the welfare at the time of killing rules.
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3
Are your animal by-products registered with APHA?
If you generate or handle animal by-products you must register the activity with the Animal and Plant Health Agency and dispose of material through approved routes.
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4
Are product-specific temperature, heat-treatment and parasite controls in your HACCP?
Your food safety management system must include the chill, heat-treatment and parasite controls (for example freezing for certain fishery products) that apply to the products of animal origin you make.
Section 3 — If you produce alcohol
Alcohol production is licensed and taxed by HMRC and these duties are UK-wide. If you make beer, cider, wine or spirits, work through these items and see the guide on getting approved and paying duty as an alcohol producer.
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1
Do you have HMRC approval to produce alcohol (APPA) in place before production?
You must hold the Alcoholic Products Producer Approval from HMRC before you start producing alcohol for sale.
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2
Have you set up monthly alcohol duty returns?
Approved producers account for and pay alcohol duty through periodic returns to HMRC.
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3
Do you hold AWRS approval if you sell alcohol wholesale?
If you sell alcohol to other businesses you must be approved under the Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme.
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4
Have you claimed Small Producer Relief if you are eligible?
Smaller producers below the production threshold may pay reduced duty rates under Small Producer Relief.
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5
Do you have a premises licence if you sell alcohol on site?
Selling alcohol from your premises needs a licence under the Licensing Act 2003 (England and Wales), the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 (Scotland) or the Licensing (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (Northern Ireland).
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6
Do you meet the geographical-indication rules for any protected name you use?
If you make a product with a protected geographical indication — for example Scotch Whisky — you must meet its production, maturation and labelling rules before you use the name.
Section 4 — If you make soft drinks or bottled water
Soft drinks and bottled water carry their own levy, recognition and abstraction duties. If you make them, work through these items and see the guide on making soft drinks and bottled water. The Soft Drinks Industry Levy is run by HMRC and is UK-wide.
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1
Are you registered for the Soft Drinks Industry Levy if you are liable?
If you produce liable sugar-sweetened drinks above the threshold you must register for and pay the Soft Drinks Industry Levy to HMRC.
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2
Is your natural mineral water recognised before you market it?
Natural mineral water must be officially recognised before you can market it as such.
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3
Do you hold a water abstraction licence if you abstract water?
Abstracting water above the threshold needs a licence from the Environment Agency, SEPA, Natural Resources Wales or NIEA for your nation.
Section 5 — If you make processed food with contaminant or composition risks
Some processed foods carry contaminant, residue or compositional controls that go beyond general hygiene. If yours do, work through these items and see the guide on meeting food composition and contaminant controls.
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1
Does your HACCP include contaminant and residue monitoring?
Where relevant, your controls must cover contaminants and residues such as acrylamide, cadmium, dioxins, ochratoxin and pesticide maximum residue levels.
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2
Have you obtained novel food authorisation where it applies?
Foods not consumed to a significant degree before May 1997 need authorisation before you can place them on the market.
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3
Do you meet infant-formula or food-for-special-medical-purposes compositional rules?
Infant formula, follow-on formula and foods for special medical purposes have strict compositional and labelling requirements.
Section 6 — If you make animal feed or pet food
Animal feed and pet food are regulated separately from human food. If you make them, work through these items and see the guide on running an animal feed or pet food business.
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1
Are you registered with APHA as a feed business operator?
Making feed or pet food needs registration with the Animal and Plant Health Agency as a feed business operator, a separate regime from food business registration.
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2
Do you use only authorised feed additives?
Feed additives must be authorised and used only at permitted inclusion levels.
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3
Are feed ban and TSE controls in place?
You must control the ruminant feed ban and other TSE cross-contamination risks in your process.
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4
Is your feed and pet-food labelling correct?
Feed and pet food must be labelled to their own statutory rules, separate from human food labelling.
If you answered no to any item
Do not proceed with a production run until the gap is closed. Follow the linked guide for that regime to bring the obligation up to standard. If you are unsure which regimes apply to your business, see the guide on which food and drink manufacturing regulations apply to your business, or confirm with the relevant regulator before you commit.
Official sources
Statutory sources and regulators for food and drink manufacturing compliance