Home catering

Things you need to consider

Registration

Your home will have to be registered with the Council as a food business. This is free, and there is only one simple online application fill in, but it is a legal requirement. You could be prosecuted if you do not register and you should register your business with us 28 days before starting your business.

Register a food business

Food Safety Law

The laws on food safety apply in the same way if a business is run from home as to a commercial premises. You will receive regular inspections by officers from the Council's Environmental Health Team and you may face legal action if you are found to be breaking food hygiene laws.

This also applies if you use a kitchen somewhere else to prepare food, for example a village or community hall kitchen.

Further details of these regulations can be found on the general food guidance page.

Food Safety Management System

Most food businesses are legally required to have a documented food safety management system in place. Safer Food Better Business is a free, easy to use food safety management pack produced by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The pack aims to help small businesses put in place food safety management procedures and to follow food hygiene regulations.

You can also download our Food Safety pack for home bakers.

Training

One of the main requirements of the law is that all food handlers must know enough about food safety to allow them to work safely. This usually means undertaking a training course in food hygiene, at a level which is appropriate to the type and volumes of food being prepared. The level of training you would need and information regarding trainers and training centres can be found on the CIEH website.

If food handlers do not have any formal training, then they must receive adequate instruction and/or supervision to protect food safety.

Structure of the Kitchen

The kitchen must be designed, constructed so that it can be kept clean and maintained in good state of repair. Any surface that comes into contact with food must be in good condition and be easy to clean and disinfect.

A sink with hot and cold water must be provided to wash utensils and equipment.

If you have a dishwasher this will be acceptable. If the sink is to be used for food washing as well then it must be cleaned and disinfected between use.

Temperature Control

Enough cold storage space

Commercial food preparation at home means large quantities of cooked and uncooked food competing for limited amounts of fridge and freezer space. Inappropriate storage is one of the most common faults reported as contributing to food poisoning outbreaks.

High-risk food must be kept at or below 8 °C (below 5 °C is recommended). It is recommended to keep commercial food in a separate fridge or freezer from your own food.

Cooking Facilities

Domestic ovens may not have the capacity to handle the amounts of food that need to be cooked, particularly if large joints of meat and whole poultry are involved. Cooked food should reach a temperature of 75 °C for 30 seconds therefore you will need a probe thermometer to help you check.

Food Handling Practices

In a catering kitchen there are likely to be greater quantities of both raw and cooked food than a domestic kitchen. More pots, pans, plates and utensils will be used. There will be more washing up and greater problems keeping worktops clean.

It is always important to separate raw and ready-to-eat food. If raw food can touch or drip onto ready-to-eat food, harmful bacteria can be transferred onto the ready-to-eat food.

Prepare raw and ready-to-eat food separately. Do not use the same knife or chopping board for raw meat/fish, ready-to-eat food, and raw fruit/vegetables unless they are cleaned thoroughly between uses.

All possible sources of contamination must be removed from the kitchen prior to it being used for food preparation. Possible sources of contamination include jewellery, paper clips, drawing pins, pets and plants.

Keep people (including children) not involved in food preparation out of the kitchen during preparation time.

It is recommended you do not carry out routine activities such as washing clothes.

Handwashing

Handwashing is the single most important method of reducing the spread of infection.

Hands must be washed frequently with warm water and soap. While preparing food, especially between handling raw and ready-to-eat foods, after using the toilet, after touching the dustbin and when they look dirty.

Domestic kitchens are not usually fitted with a separate wash hand basin, arrangements must therefore be made to enable food handlers to wash their hands. A wash hand basin in a downstairs bathroom or a nominated sink in the kitchen would be acceptable.

Transporting food

Once the food is prepared, getting it to where the customer is located safely is important. When transporting food, it must be protected from any risk of contamination and high-risk food must be maintained at a temperature that is less than 8 °C. If you do not have a refrigerated vehicle you can use cool boxes, which must be cleaned and disinfected between use.

Allergen Risk Assessment

From 13 December 2014 it became a legal requirement for food businesses that serve meals or any unpackaged foods to provide information to their customers about food allergens. There are three ways of providing this information to your customers:

• You can list the allergens on your printed menu or written listing of foods that you offer for sale.
• You can direct customers to a 'Menu Folder' at point of order which could include recipes, ingredient labels etc to help them make an informed decision.
• You can provide a statement on the menu, or at the point of order (Allergen Signage)

You can find lots of helpful guidance through the Resources for Allergen Management and free FSA Allergen training.

More information is available on the Food Standards Agency website.