Find advice and guidance for mobile catering businesses from the council's Environmental Health Officers.
Download our Food Safety Guide Below
You can download our new Food Safety Guide for Mobile Caterers in PDF format below.
Mobile catering units include any caterers who use a vehicle in which to prepare and serve food. Often they are used to provide food at outdoor events, or to distribute food to the doorstep.
They include hot dog vendors, burger stalls, ice-cream vans, fish and chip vans and any other hot or cold food products, usually intended for immediate consumption.
How to Register Your Business
All mobile catering units must be registered with their 'Home Authority' - the Environmental Health service of the local council in which the main place of business is based or where the vehicle is kept.
Where a mobile caterer trades outside their Home Authority area, the host Environmental Health service may consult the Home Authority.
The Home Authority will inspect the catering unit on a regular basis, sometimes whilst trading. Inspections look at the structure of the vehicle, its fitness as a food preparation area, and the practices used in the preparation and storage of food.
To register your premises in Eastbourne, you can either download the application form in PDF format, or save time by applying online through Business Link via our registration page.
Late Night Refreshment Licensing
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Under the Licensing Act 2003 you will require a licence to serve ‘late night refreshment’ if you supply hot food and hot drinks between the hours of 11pm and 5am.
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Go to our Licensing pages for guidance and application forms, or contact the Licensing Team on 01323 415936 for further information.
Location of Vehicle for Trading
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You will also need to check with the landowner (often the council) before you operate from a highway or lay by.
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Planning permission may be required in certain circumstances to trade from private land. Both yourself and the site owner should therefore consult the council’s Planning Department on 01323 415210 for further information.
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Trading is allowed on consent streets with the consent of the council. Go to our Street Trading Consent section for guidance and how to apply for consent.
Food Safety Management and Training
The Food Hygiene Regulations 2006 require food businesses to have a documented Food Hygiene Management System in place.
To help you to do this, a free pack called Safer Food Better Business is available from the FSA – go to Related Pages for details and information about training and supervision of food handlers.
You can download our food safety booklet for mobile caterers in PDF format below, and also a health and safety at work checklist and a guide to the safe use and handling of LPG.
Derek and Nikki Waters, proprietors of Del Boy’s trading in Birch Road say they are "extremely impressed with the booklet. It is very satisfying to know that the road side caterer is being recognised as a place to buy reasonably priced food, which is prepared and cooked to the high standards of the safety laws."
You are at: www.eastbourne.gov.uk/mobilecatering
