The food you sell or distribute must be safe to eat. So, you need to make sure that all your staff that are trained to the appropriate level of food hygiene. Go to our training section to find out what training they need and where to get it.
It is illegal to sell food which has passed its use-by date. Supermarkets may be able to donate food which is near to its use-by date – if you take up offer you will have the responsibility to use or retail the food before the use-by date. It is not illegal to re-sell supermarket food.
If you are selling food, your customers need to be sure that they know what food they are buying so that they can make informed choices. So you need to list the ingredients of any the food products that you sell, and anything the food might have come into contact with which could be a risk to people with allergies and intolerances.
Local councils are responsible for enforcing food safety law.
Where to go for information
- Food Standards Scotland is responsible for food safety and standards in Scotland. Its website has useful information, including:
- Food Standards Agency works across England, Wales and Northern Ireland but also useful information on its website, including:
- Food safety – your responsibilities: simple guide from the UK government covering food safety, food hygiene and food inspections
- Food labelling and packaging: simple guide from the UK government explaining the basics of how the food you sell should be labelled