Local authority food establishment approval (England)

What this covers

Approval is required for certain food establishments that handle products of animal origin, such as meat, fish, egg, dairy products, and processed products of animal origin, which supply other establishments.

It applies in England. Other UK nations run their own regimes — check the equivalent for the nation you trade in.

Why you need it

This licence is not an administrative preference — it exists because Parliament created it. The power to require it comes from Food Safety Act 1990.

What the Act carries

These are the duties, penalties and exemptions our graph holds for Food Safety Act 1990 as a whole — the Act behind this licence, not the licence conditions themselves. They show what sort of instrument you are dealing with.

Duties on businesses

18

Penalties

20

Exemptions

5

Duties on businesses under the Act

• Render food injurious to health s.7
• Knowingly breach a food‑safety notice s.9
• Fail to comply with an improvement notice s.10
• Knowingly contravene a food prohibition order s.11
• Knowingly breach an emergency prohibition notice or order s.12
• Contravene emergency control order or ignore direction s.13

… and 12 more business duties in the same Act.

What happens if you get it wrong

• Cause another person to commit a food safety offence 2 years imprisonment
• Contravene emergency control order or ignore direction 2 years imprisonment
• Corporate liability for food safety offences 2 years imprisonment
• Disclose confidential beet information without consent 2 years imprisonment
• Disclose trade secrets obtained during inspection 2 years imprisonment

… and 15 more penalties in the same Act.

Exemptions that may take you outside it

• Defence of due diligence for food businesses — The person took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the offence
• Emergency slaughter in Scotland exempt from unfitness deeming — Slaughter occurred outside a slaughterhouse due to accident, illness, or emergency
• Exemption from Magistrates’ Court appeal for specific food licences — Where regulations provide for an appeal to a specific tribunal instead of a court
• Publishers and advertisers exempt for ads received in good faith — The person's business is to publish or arrange for the publication of advertisements and they did not know or suspect …
• Water supply services exempt from food safety regulations — Supply of water to premises by a water undertaker, licensee, or private supply

Read our full dossier on Food Safety Act 1990

Who issues it

Your local council issues this, acting as the licensing authority for the area you trade in. Councils apply the same statute but set their own fees, conditions and timescales, so two neighbouring authorities can reach you differently.

Where to apply

Our guidance on this

Everything below is written out in full elsewhere on Guvnor — this page points at it rather than repeating it.

Licences that often go with this one

Businesses in the same activities usually need one or more of these too.

Duty, penalty and exemption labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the enabling instrument, not the instrument itself. Fees, forms and conditions are set by the issuing authority — always check the linked source.

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