Food, Drink & Hospitality UK-wide

Which food and drink manufacturing regulations apply to your business

Every food and drink manufacturer starts the same way: register the food business with the local authority and prepare for a hygiene-rating inspection. After that the rules diverge sharply by what you make.

Guide summary

Register your food business with the local authority at least 28 days before you start trading. Each site needs its own registration. After registration, follow the rules for your product type – meat, alcohol, soft drinks, animal feed, or general food. Your local authority will inspect you and give a hygiene rating.

  • Register each site with your local authority at least 28 days before trading
  • Registration is free and each site is separate
  • From 1 April 2026, register online at register.food.gov.uk (England only)
  • Get a hygiene rating – 0 to 5 in England, Wales and NI; Pass/Improvement Required in Scotland
  • Display your rating – mandatory in Wales and Northern Ireland, voluntary in England and Scotland
  • Follow extra rules for meat, fish, dairy – you need establishment approval
  • Follow extra rules for alcohol – you need approval and pay duty
  • Follow extra rules for soft drinks, bottled water, pet food or animal feed
  • Check your inspection frequency – every 6 months to 3 years based on risk
  • Keep your registration details up to date after you register
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Whatever you make, every food and drink manufacturer in the UK starts in the same place. You register your food business with the local authority before you begin trading, and you prepare for a hygiene-rating inspection of each site.

After that the rules diverge sharply by what you produce. A bakery, a meat-cutting plant, a brewery and a pet-food maker share the registration step but then follow very different obligations.

Registration and hygiene rating are devolved. In England, local authorities register and inspect food businesses under Food Standards Agency oversight. In Scotland, Food Standards Scotland runs the regime, and Scotland uses the Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS) rather than the numeric Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS). Wales and Northern Ireland have their own regulations under the Food Standards Agency. Start by registering your business.

Once you are registered, your local authority (or Food Standards Scotland) will inspect each site and award a hygiene rating. The scale below shows how ratings work across the UK.

What you need to do

Identify the description that best fits what you make. If you make more than one type of product, follow every obligation that applies.

  1. 1

    General or processed food

    Bakery, confectionery, oils and fats, milling, prepared meals, fruit and vegetable products. Follow "Meet food composition and contaminant controls", then the universal "Register and run a safe food and drink manufacturing business".

  2. 2

    Meat, poultry, fish or dairy

    Products of animal origin. As well as registration you usually need establishment approval. Follow "Get your animal-origin establishment approved".

  3. 3

    Alcohol

    Brewing, distilling, winemaking, cidermaking or malting. You need approval and you pay duty. Follow "Get approved and pay duty as an alcohol producer".

  4. 4

    Soft drinks and bottled water

    Soft drinks, juices and bottled water. Follow "Make soft drinks and bottled water".

  5. 5

    Animal feed or pet food

    Feed for farmed animals or food for pets. Follow "Run an animal feed or pet food business".

  6. 6

    Every manufacturer

    Whatever you make, also work through the universal "Register and run a safe food and drink manufacturing business" guide, then finish with the food and drink manufacturing compliance checklist to confirm you have covered your obligations.

Official sources

Authoritative guidance and the registration service on GOV.UK and the food regulators.