Northern Ireland

Registering a food business

Use the FSA service at least 28 days before the first food activity.

1. Identify every premises where food is prepared, handled, stored or sold.
2. Use the FSA registration service to route the application to the correct council.
3. Describe home production, transport, storage and the honesty box—not only “online sales” or “farm shop.”
4. Ask whether approval is also required for any animal-origin activity.
5. Keep the submission and council acknowledgement with the food-safety records.
6. Notify the council of material changes or closure.

Local council contacts

Use the council for the premises address.

Northern Ireland has 11 local councils. Environmental health teams handle registration and routine food-hygiene controls for many businesses. Use nidirect’s live council directory, then choose the environmental health or food safety service for the area where the food premises is located.

• Give the full production and honesty-box addresses.
• List the foods, processes, storage temperatures, packaging and sales routes.
• Ask whether the council wants plans, recipes, food-safety records or a pre-opening discussion.
• Keep the name of the officer and the advice received; confirm important points in writing.

Food Standards Agency guidance

Use FSA guidance as the national starting point, then apply council advice.

• Starting your food business safely.
• Food safety management and Safer Food, Better Business where suitable.
• Allergen guidance and PPDS labelling.
• Packaging and labelling requirements.
• Food Hygiene Rating Scheme guidance and safeguards.

Food hygiene rating scheme

The rating communicates hygiene performance; it is not a product award.

Following inspection, the council can issue a rating from 0 to 5 based on food handling, the condition of the premises and how food safety is managed. Northern Ireland businesses must display the sticker where customers can see it and the rating is published online.

• Check the rating details online after publication.
• Use the appeal, right-to-reply and requested-revisit safeguards within the stated process and timescales.
• Display the current sticker; do not obscure or substitute it.
• Treat a good rating as the minimum outcome of good controls, not permission to relax them.

Egg sales

NI has a specific rule for ungraded eggs in honesty boxes.

DAERA guidance says ungraded eggs may be sold through an honesty box or vending machine only where that box or machine is situated on the farm where the eggs were produced. Other sales routes can require producer marking, grading and packing-centre involvement.

• Register the flock with DAERA.
• Contact the Egg Marketing Inspectorate before starting or materially changing table-egg production.
• Do not mix producers or locations without advice.
• Use no later than 28 days after laying for the best-before date.

Home baking guidance

Home is a location, not an exemption.

• Register the home food business at least 28 days before trading.
• Use a documented food-safety system suitable for the products.
• Control pets, children, domestic food, laundry, storage, cleaning and allergen cross-contact.
• Apply PPDS full-ingredients and emphasised-allergen rules where the product meets that sales definition.
• Validate chilled storage and shelf life for higher-risk cakes and fillings.
• Expect the home food areas and relevant records to be inspected.