The Food Standards Agency has produced a booklet for new catering businesses, Starting up. This covers the main things you need to think about when you start a business, including food hygiene issues and more general requirements and is available in a range of languages
The Food Standards Agency has also produced a guidance to businesses of food hygiene.
Registration of a Food Premises
If you run a food business for 5 or more days in any 5 consecutive weeks, you must tell (or arrange for someone else to tell) the local authority about any premises you use for storing, selling, distributing or preparing food. Food premises includes restaurants, hotels, cafes, shops, supermarkets, staff canteens, kitchens in offices, warehouses, guest houses, delivery vehicles, buffet cars on trains, market and other stalls, hot dog and ice cream vans etc.
If you use vehicles for your food business in connection with permanent premises such as a shop, warehouse you only need to tell the local authority how many vehicles you have. You do not need to register each vehicle separately. If you have one or more vehicles but no permanent premises, you must tell the authority where they are normally kept.
Anyone starting a new food business must register with the local authority Environmental Health Division at least 28 days before doing so.
The majority of premises will have to be registered. However, certain premises are exempt from registration e.g. some of which are already registered for food law purposes, certain agricultural premises, motor cars, tents and marquees (but not stalls), some domestic premises and some village halls. You should contact this Division if you think you might be exempt.
If you what to register your business use the electronic form available
First steps to running a food business
Food Hygiene - A Guide For Businesses
