Wales food business compliance checklist

Food business registration submitted to your local authority at least 28 days before opening. Registration is with the Welsh local authority where your premises are located, not where you live.

Registration accurately describes all food activities carried out (manufacturing, catering, retail, distribution). Update your registration if activities change.

Wales law requires mandatory display of your food hygiene rating sticker in a conspicuous place at or near the entrance. This is a legal requirement under the Food Hygiene Rating (Wales) Act 2013, not voluntary as in England.

The displayed sticker matches your most recent inspection result. Remove and replace stickers after a new inspection.

There is no statutory duty to display your rating online, but you must give customers information about your current rating if they ask, including verbal requests. Displaying your rating on your website, app, or online ordering platform is strongly encouraged by the FSA.

It is an offence to fail to display, alter, or obscure your food hygiene rating sticker. Penalties include a fixed penalty notice or prosecution.

All food waste must be separated at source and collected separately. This applies to all food businesses in Wales under the Waste Separation Requirements (Wales) Regulations 2023.

Dedicated food waste bins or caddies are available in all food preparation and serving areas. Containers are clearly labelled.

A waste carrier registered with Natural Resources Wales collects your food waste separately. Check your carrier's registration on the NRW public register.

Separately collected food waste must not be sent to landfill or incineration (including energy-from-waste). In practice it goes to anaerobic digestion or composting.

If you discharge trade effluent to the public sewer, you need consent from your water company. For direct discharge to a watercourse, you need a permit from Natural Resources Wales.

If you abstract more than 20 cubic metres of water per day from a river, stream, or borehole, you need an abstraction licence from NRW.

If you transport your own waste, you must be registered as a waste carrier with NRW (not the Environment Agency, which covers England only).

While not a legal requirement for most private businesses, providing bilingual signage and menus is considered good practice in Wales and is expected by many customers, particularly in Welsh-speaking areas.

If you hold a Welsh Government or public sector contract, you may be required to comply with Welsh Language Standards. Check your contract terms.