Food safety and the law

Food law in the UK has one main aim: food must be safe to eat. Anyone who runs a food business must make sure of this. The rules are similar across the UK, but each nation has its own laws and some rules differ. This course tells you when a rule is different in one nation.

In England, Wales and Scotland, the main law is the Food Safety Act 1990. In Northern Ireland, it is the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991. These laws make it an offence to sell unsafe food. It is also an offence to sell food that is not what the customer asked for, or to describe food falsely. Selling haddock as cod is an offence, even if the fish is safe to eat.

Food is unsafe if it is harmful to health or unfit to eat. Food can be unfit to eat even if it would not make anyone ill, for example if it is rotten. Labels, adverts and the way food is presented must not mislead customers either. For a food handler this is simple. If the menu says home-made, it must be home-made.

Each nation also has its own hygiene regulations. These are the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013, the Food Hygiene (Wales) Regulations 2006, the Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and the Food Hygiene Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006.

These work alongside three assimilated regulations: (EC) 178/2002 on general food law, 852/2004 on food hygiene and 853/2004 on food of animal origin. In Northern Ireland, the EU versions apply directly under the Windsor Framework.

Businesses must also be able to trace food. They must keep records of who supplied their food and of any businesses they supplied. If food turns out to be unsafe, it must be taken off sale, and it may need to be recalled from customers. The business must tell the authorities straight away.

You do not need to learn all these names. You do need to know what they mean for your work. Food must be safe. Food must be what it says it is. The business must be registered and must have safe procedures. Staff must be supervised and trained.

On training, the law says food handlers must be supervised and instructed and/or trained in food hygiene matters, in a way that fits their work. People responsible for the business's HACCP-based procedures must have adequate training. No law requires a specific certificate or level, and certificates have no legal expiry date. Your employer decides what training your role needs.

A food business must register with its local authority at least 28 days before it starts trading. In Northern Ireland this is the district council. Registration is free. This applies to small businesses too, such as a food van or a home baker selling to the public.