Food Hygiene (Wales) Regulations 2006
What this means for your business
- Enforced by
- FSA
- Applies to
- United Kingdom
- On this page
- 12 compliance obligations
What you must do
12 compliance obligations under this legislation — 12 can result in imprisonment.
Management duties 1
Maintain food hygiene and HACCP compliance
2 years imprisonmentIf you run a food business you must make sure every step you control – from primary production to processing, storage, distribution and import – meets the EU food‑hygiene rules. This means having a HACCP‑based safety plan, keeping it up‑to‑date whenever you change a product or process, keeping the required records, notifying the authority about each site you operate and obtaining any approvals, and cooperating with inspectors.
Offences and prohibitions 11
Cause another person to commit a food hygiene offence
2 years imprisonmentIf someone else breaches the food hygiene regulations because of something you did or failed to do, you can be charged with the same offence. You may be prosecuted even if the person who actually committed the breach is not charged. The penalties you face are the same as those for the underlying food hygiene offence.
Contravene a hygiene emergency prohibition notice or order
2 years imprisonmentIf you knowingly ignore a hygiene emergency prohibition notice or order issued by an authorised officer or magistrates' court, you commit a criminal offence. This applies to any person who breaches the notice or order, including the food business operator. Conviction can lead to a fine and/or imprisonment, although the exact penalties are set elsewhere in the legislation.
Corporate liability for food hygiene offences
2 years imprisonmentIf your company breaches any of the food hygiene rules and the breach is caused by, or allowed by, a director, manager, secretary or anyone acting in that capacity, both the company and the individual can be prosecuted. The corporation will be treated as guilty of the same offence as the person responsible and can face the same penalties that apply to the underlying breach.
Fail to comply with a remedial or detention notice
2 years imprisonmentIf a food business is served with a remedial action notice or a detention notice and you do not do what the notice requires – for example, you keep using equipment that has been prohibited, you continue a process that must stop, or you refuse to release detained food – you are committing a criminal offence. Conviction can lead to a fine and/or imprisonment, but the exact penalties are not spelled out in this section.
Fail to comply with specified Community food‑hygiene provisions
2 years imprisonmentIf you break any of the Community (EU/UK) food‑hygiene rules that are listed in the Regulations, you commit a criminal offence. On conviction you can be fined – the fine is unlimited – and/or be sentenced to up to two years’ imprisonment.
Fail to meet labelling and record‑keeping for farm‑direct meat sales
2 years imprisonmentIf you supply small amounts of poultry or rabbit meat directly from your farm to consumers, you must put a label showing the farm’s name and address, keep weekly records of the numbers of animals received and meat dispatched, keep those records for one year, and show them to an authorised officer on request. Not doing any of these things makes you guilty of a criminal offence, which can lead to prosecution, a fine and possibly a custodial sentence.
Keep food above 8 °C when it may support pathogen growth
2 years imprisonmentIf you store any food that could allow harmful bacteria or toxins to grow at a temperature above 8 °C in your premises, you commit an offence. This applies to any commercial food operation, except where specific exemptions apply. Conviction can result in a fine (unlimited on summary conviction).
Knowingly breach a hygiene prohibition order
2 years imprisonmentIf you deliberately ignore a court order that stops you from using a particular process, premises, equipment, or from managing a food business, you commit a criminal offence. Conviction can lead to a fine and possibly imprisonment, although the exact penalty is set by the court.
Obstruct or hinder food hygiene officers
3 months imprisonmentIf you deliberately block a food‑hygiene officer, refuse to give them information they reasonably need, or provide false or misleading information, you commit a criminal offence. A conviction can result in an unlimited fine and possibly a custodial sentence, depending on the court and the seriousness of the breach.
Partner liable for partnership food‑hygiene offence
2 years imprisonmentIf a Scottish partnership breaches any of the food‑hygiene rules in these Regulations and a partner either gave consent, turned a blind eye, or was negligent, that partner is treated as guilty of the same offence as the partnership. The partner can be prosecuted and punished in the same way as the partnership itself.
Sell raw milk that fails to meet safety standards
2 years imprisonmentIf you sell raw cow's milk and it does not meet the bacterial limits set out in the regulation (plate count ≤ 20,000 cfu/ml and coliforms < 100 cfu/ml), you commit a criminal offence. A conviction can lead to a fine (normally unlimited) and/or imprisonment, although the exact penalty is not spelled out in this provision.
Penalties for non-compliance
12 penalties under this legislation. 12 can result in imprisonment. 11 carry an unlimited fine.
Maintain food hygiene and HACCP compliance
Unlimited fine and/or 2 years imprisonment
Contravene a hygiene emergency prohibition notice or order
Unlimited fine and/or 2 years imprisonment
Corporate liability for food hygiene offences
Unlimited fine and/or 2 years imprisonment
Fail to comply with a remedial or detention notice
Unlimited fine and/or 2 years imprisonment
Fail to comply with specified Community food‑hygiene provisions
Unlimited fine and/or 2 years imprisonment
Fail to meet labelling and record‑keeping for farm‑direct meat sales
Unlimited fine and/or 2 years imprisonment
Keep food above 8 °C when it may support pathogen growth
Unlimited fine and/or 2 years imprisonment
Knowingly breach a hygiene prohibition order
Unlimited fine and/or 2 years imprisonment
Obstruct or hinder food hygiene officers
Unlimited fine and/or 3 months imprisonment
Partner liable for partnership food‑hygiene offence
Unlimited fine and/or 2 years imprisonment
Sell raw milk that fails to meet safety standards
Unlimited fine and/or 2 years imprisonment
Cause another person to commit a food hygiene offence
Fine up to £5,000 and/or 2 years imprisonment
Practical guidance
Our guides explain how to comply with the requirements above.
Sections and provisions
40 classified provisions from this legislation.
Duties 3
Offences and penalties 12
- Schedule 4 TEMPERATURE CONTROL REQUIREMENTS
- Schedule 5 DIRECT SUPPLY BY THE PRODUCER OF SMALL QUANTITIES OF MEAT FROM POULTRY AND LAGOMORPHS SLAUGHTERED ON THE FARM
- Schedule 6 RESTRICTIONS ON THE SALE OF RAW MILK INTENDED FOR DIRECT HUMAN CONSUMPTION
- s.7 Hygiene prohibition orders
- s.8 Hygiene emergency prohibition notices and orders
- s.9 Remedial action notices and detention notices
- s.10 Offences due to fault of another person
- s.14 Powers of entry
- s.15 Obstruction etc. of officers
- s.17 Offences and penalties
- s.18 Offences by bodies corporate
- s.19 Offences by Scottish partnerships
Powers 5
Definitions 5
- Schedule 1 DEFINITIONS OF LEGISLATION Directive 2004/41 Regulation 178/2002 Regulation 852/2004
- Schedule 3A REQUIREMENTS REFERRED TO IN REGULATION 17(5)
- Schedule 3B REQUIREMENTS REFERRED TO IN REGULATION 17(6)
- Schedule 3C REQUIREMENTS REFERRED TO IN REGULATION 17(7)
- Schedule 3D REQUIREMENTS REFERRED TO IN REGULATION 17(8)