If you make, prepare or handle food of animal origin such as meat, dairy, egg or fish for supply to other premises (even premises within your own ownership) as a significant part of your overall business, your business and its activities will have to be inspected and approved.
Food premises approved under these regulations must meet additional requirements over & above the general requirements for food premises as they usually involve more high risk operations.
There are some exemptions to this requirement.
You must not commence any business activity which requires approval, unless you have received conditional or full approval for your proposed activity from the Local Authority. To do so is an offence for which you are likely to be prosecuted.
| Regulation Summary |
A summary of the regulation relating to approval Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 (Hygiene rules for food of animal origin) (.pdf, 271kb) |
| Apply for Approval |
Apply online for food premises approval '(External Link)'
Downloadable application for food premises approval (.pdf, 64kb) |
| Application Process |
Approval involves making an application to the Council. There is no charge involved for the application or Approval and generally the Approval is a one-off procedure. The application must be supported by certain food safety processing information and you will need to meet certain hygiene standards. Once we receive your application, an officer from the Business Compliance Section will arrange to visit the premises and will want to understand the processing intended.
Approval may at this stage be granted either fully or conditionally for three (3) months.
Where a conditional Approval is granted you will be informed in writing about the terms of the Conditional Approval. If at the end of the three months you have complied with the terms of the Conditional Approval you can then expect a further visit, whereupon you will either be granted Full Approval, a further three (3) months Conditional Approval or you will be refused Approval. At all stages you can expect to be kept fully informed as to the status of your Approval. Where Approval is either refused or only conditional you also have certain rights of appeal.
Should your food business be exempted from the requirement to be approved, it will, nonetheless need to be registered and you should complete and submit an Application for Food Registration form to the Local Authority at least 28 days before you intend to commence operations if you are a new business, or within 28 days of taking over an existing food business. Failure to register a food business or notify significant changes is an offence for which you may be prosecuted.
If you are unsure if your business needs to be registered please us using the contact details below. |
| Target Completion |
You can expect to be contacted by the Business Compliance Section within 10 working days of receipt of your application. We would normally expect to let you know our decision on your application within 56 workings days of receipt. |
| Will Tacit Consent Apply? |
No. It is in the public interest that we must process your application before it can be granted. If you have not heard from the Business Compliance Section within a reasonable period, please contact it. You can do this online if you applied through the UK Welcomes service  or use the contact details below. |
| Conditions of the approval |
You will need to meet the hygiene standards set out in the Regulations (.pdf, 271kb) . |
| Change of Circumstances |
Any change of circumstances in relation to an existing approval must be notified to the relevant local authority. This includes the surrendering of an approval, a request to transfer the approval, or any other material change to the approval or how you operate.
Notify us of a change of circumstances (External Link) |
| Failed Application / Holder Redress |
Please contact the Business Compliance Section in the first instance. |
| Consumer Complaint |
We would always advise that in the event of a complaint the first contact is made with the trader by you - preferably in the form a letter (with proof of delivery). If that has not worked, if you are located in the UK, Consumer Direct will give you advice. From outside the UK contact the UK European Consumer Centre . |
| Trade Associations |
National Federation of Meat and Food Traders '(External Link)'
National Association of Catering Butchers (NACB) '(External Link)' |
* This page was last updated on 12 April 2011 *
