Food hygiene information
Visit the Food Standards Agency (FSA) for:
- Information about what you need to do to produce safe food.
- The laws, regulations, codes of practice and guidance that apply to the production, processing, distribution, retail, packaging and labelling of food stuffs.
- A series of short food safety videos showing you how to keep food safe.
Safer food better business packs and diary refills
The FSA runs the Safer Food, Better Business (SFBB) scheme to help small businesses with food safety management procedures and food hygiene regulations. The website includes downloadable SFBB packs, individual pages and monthly diary refills designed to meet the specific needs of different food businesses.
Food industry guides to good hygiene practice for various types of business are available on the Food Standards Agency’s website.
Food hygiene training
Food businesses must make sure that any staff who handle food are supervised and instructed and/or trained in food hygiene in a way that is appropriate for the work they do. The person or people responsible for developing and maintaining the business's procedures must have received adequate training to enable them to do this.
There is no legal requirement to attend a formal training course or obtain a qualification, although many businesses may want their staff to do so. The necessary skills could also be obtained in other ways, such as through on-the-job training, self-study or relevant prior experience. You should keep a record of any training your staff have received.
However, if during a food hygiene inspection food handlers are found to have inadequate food hygiene knowledge, the inspecting officer will require them to receive instruction and/or training.
The Council is not currently running any food hygiene training courses, but alternative, accredited training providers can be found online, some of which can be found by checking the following websites: