- Enforced by
- Local Authority, FSA, Food Standards Scotland
- Status
- Amended (in force with amendments)
- Penalty ceiling
- Prosecution 1 of 19 obligations carry an unlimited fine. 18 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.
Does it bind you?
Business-side roles with duties under this instrument.
Plus 1 duty on the regulator, Crown ministers and public bodies — folded into the section list below.
Other Acts binding the same actors
If a role above is yours, these are the other instruments that most often bind it.
Trader — also bound by 864 other Acts
Operator — also bound by 803 other Acts
What it requires
Regulations creating concrete business duties or carrying penalties, grouped as the instrument is structured. Titles link to the source text — blue means you’re leaving for legislation.gov.uk.
- Protect primary products from contaminationOperator
- Ensure hygiene at all stages of your food businessTrader
- Maintain high hygiene standards across all stages of food productionOperator
Unlimited fine
- Comply with general and specific food hygiene requirementsOperator
- Implement and maintain specific food hygiene measuresTrader
- Implement and maintain a food safety management system (HACCP)Operator
- Implement and maintain HACCP food safety systemTrader
- Register and keep your food establishments approved with authoritiesTrader
- Register your food business and keep your details up to dateOperator
- Develop and disseminate good‑practice guides for your food sectorTrader
- Ensure imported food meets EU hygiene standardsTrader
- Ensure imported food meets hygiene requirementsTrader
- Ensure exported food meets hygiene requirementsTrader
- Maintain hygiene standards for exported food productsTrader
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Government must consult food safety experts on public health rulesCrown / Minister / Government department
- Maintain hygiene and control hazards in primary productionTrader
- Maintain hygiene standards and records in primary food productionOperator
- Maintain clean, hygienic premises and facilities for food handlingTrader
- Maintain food premises in a clean and hygienic conditionOperator
11 other provisions — procedural and definitional
Help complying
Guvnor’s practical routes through this instrument.
Meet food safety requirements for your business
Register, implement HACCP, and comply with food safety law including allergen requirements
Respond to a food safety incident
Immediate steps when unsafe food is discovered or a customer reports illness. Stop selling, withdraw the product, notify the FSA, and cooperate …
Start a restaurant
Open a restaurant, cafe, or food business
Start a food business for the first time
Everything you need to do before opening a food business. Covers registration, premises, HACCP, training, allergens, labelling, and preparing for your first …
Food safety quick compliance check
A quick compliance check for food business operators. Covers registration, HACCP, allergens, temperature control, training, and record keeping.
Improve your food hygiene rating
Practical steps to improve a poor food hygiene rating. Understand what inspectors scored, fix the issues, and request a re-inspection.
Control food temperatures safely
Keep food at safe temperatures throughout storage, cooking, holding, cooling, and reheating to prevent harmful bacterial growth and comply with food hygiene …
Food safety requirements in Scotland
Food businesses in Scotland are regulated by Food Standards Scotland, not the Food Standards Agency, so check Scottish guidance. Most small businesses …
Register a food business in Wales
Every food business in Wales, from restaurants and market stalls to home bakers and online sellers, must register with its local authority …
Set up food premises that meet hygiene standards
Food premises anywhere in the UK must meet the hygiene standards in Annex II of Regulation (EC) 852/2004. Plan the layout so …
Train your staff in food safety
The law requires food handlers to be supervised and instructed or trained in food hygiene to suit their work, and HACCP staff …
20 more guides that reference this instrument
Duty extraction and severity labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the instrument, not the instrument itself. Always verify against the linked source text.