The premises for certain types of food businesses need to be approved, rather than registered.
Do You Need to be Approved instead of Registered?
If a business makes, prepares or handles food of animal origin for supply to other businesses, then the food business and its activities in most circumstances must be approved by the council's Environmental Health team.
Food of animal origin includes:
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meat and poultry - whether fresh, frozen or cooked
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meat products such as pies, sausage rolls, faggots, black pudding and bacon
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raw or partially cooked minced meat or meat preparations such as sausages, burgers, marinated raw meat and kebab meat
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fish and fish products such as fish fingers, prawns, lobsters, crabs and crayfish - whether dead or alive
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live bivalve molluscs
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ready meals containing fish or meat
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milk and dairy products such as butter, cream, cheese, yoghurt, ice-cream, etc.
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frogs legs and snails
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rendered animal fats and other animal by products such as gelatine, collagen, stomachs, bladders and intestines
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honey and blood
Food businesses must not commence any business activity which requires approval, unless they have received conditional or full approval for the proposed activity from the council. To commence business without approval is an offence for which the business is likely to be prosecuted.
To obtain approval you will need to meet certain hygiene standards, set out in Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 Hygiene Rules for Food of Animal Origin and Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 Hygiene of Foodstuffs, which is available on the Food Standards Agency website.
Exemptions
There are some exemptions from the requirement to be approved. If the food business supplies food of animal origin to the final consumer, i.e. the person who eats the food product, then they are exempt from approval.
Additionally there may be an exemption available depending on the extent to which the business wishes to supply food of animal origin to other businesses.
How to Apply for Approval
Complete and submit the Application for Approval form, which you can download below in PDF format, or apply online.
Determination of the application will require a site visit and an officer will contact you within 14 days of receipt of the completed application in order to arrange this.
You will be advised in writing within 28 days following the determination of your application for approval.
Refusal of Approval
In the event of the application being refused you will be notified of the reasons in writing and the matters necessary to satisfy approval requirements. You will also be advised of your right of appeal to the Magistrates Court.
Download Application Form
