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Registration of Food Premises
Operating within Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough
What is registration?
Registration of premises used for a food business (including market stalls, delivery vehicles and other moveable structures) is required by law. Registration will allow Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council to keep an up-to-date list of all those premises in their area so they can visit them when they need to. The frequency of the visits will depend on the degree of risk involved.
Who needs to register?
If you run a food business for five or more days in any five consecutive weeks, you must tell (or arrange for someone else to tell) Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council's Environmental Health Team about any premises you use for storing, selling, distributing or preparing food. Food premises includes restaurants, hotels, cafés, shops supermarkets, staff canteens, kitchens in offices, warehouses, guest houses, delivery vehicles, buffet cars on trains, market and other stalls. Mobile vehicles, including hot dog and ice cream vans normally operating as a food business in connection with permanent premises such as a shop or warehouse you only need to tell the Council how many vehicle's you have. You do not need to register each vehicle separately. If you have one or more vehicles but no permanent premises, you must tell the authority where they are normally kept.
Anyone starting a new food business must register with Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council at least 28 days before doing so.
The majority of premises in the Borough will have to be registered. However, certain premises are exempt from registration, e.g. some which are already registered for food law purposes, certain agricultural premises, motor cars, tents, and marquees (but not stalls), some domestic premises and some village halls. You should contact the Council if you think you might be exempt.
How do I register?
By filling in a simple form (this can be found in our forms section). Registration cannot be refused and there is no charge. The registration form must be sent to the Council at the address at the end of the application form. If the form is sent to the wrong address your application will not take effect until it is received at the proper place. If you use premises in more than one local authority area, you must register with each authority separately.
You must tick all the boxes which apply to your business, answer all the questions and give all the information requested. Seasonal business operating for a certain period each year should give the dates between which they will be open in answer to question 9. If you have any questions, Environmental Health Food and Safety team will help you (please telephone 01743 281000). It is an offence to give information which you know is false.
What happens to the information given on the form?
Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council will enter the details on its Register. A register of the name of the business (if any), the address, telephone number and the type of business carried on at each will be open to inspection by the general public. Records of the other information provided will not be publicly available.
Changes
Once you have registered with Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council you only need notify them of a change of proprietor or if the nature of he business changes. The new proprietor will have to complete an application form.
If Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council wishes to change the entry in the Register, with the exception of amending telephone numbers, because of information which it receives from someone else, you will be given 28 days notice and an opportunity to comment on the proposed change.
These notes are provided for information only and should not be regarded as a complete statement of law
Regulations on Registration of Food Premises : Exemptions
The following are exempt from registration under the regulations:
A. A Place used only for the following activities and which are already registered or licensed for that purpose:
- Slaughter houses.
- Poultry meat slaughter houses and cutting premises.
- Meat export cutting premises, cold stores and transhipment centres.
- Meat product plants approved for export to another country in the EEC.
- Dairies or dairy farms.
- Premises used by milk distributors.6
B. Premises used irregularly or only occasionally
Premises used for less than five days in any five consecutive weeks (this will exempt village fetes, car boot sales, markets held only irregularly, some sporting events etc.). The five days do not have to be consecutive and thus any premises used regularly once a week will be included.
C. Premises where only low risk activities take place, which are exempt UNLESS the retail sale of food takes place there
- Places where game is killed in sport (e.g. grouse moors).
- Places where fish is taken for food (but not processed).
- Places only harvesting, cleaning, storing and packing crops (e.g. vineyards, arable farms) except where the crops are packed on those premises in the form in which they are to be sold to the ultimate consumer. Thus farms which harvest, clean and pack vegetable in cellophane wrapping in which they will ultimately be sold retail are included in the scope of registration.
- Places where honey is harvested.
- Places where eggs are produced or packed.
- Livestock farms, livestock markets and shellfish harvesting areas.
- Places at which no food is kept (e.g. the administrative headquarters of a food business, or kitchen used for washing up only).
D. Exemptions for some food businesses run from domestic premises
- Domestic premises where the person resident is not the owner of the food business (for example where the resident is a volunteer preparing food for another business, e.g. for meals on wheels) except where the food business involves peeling shrimps or prawns.
- Domestic premises used for the production of honey or subsequent preparation, storage, bottling or sale (whether wholesale or retail) of honey.
- Domestic premises where crops are produced, cleaned, stored, packed and sold (whether wholesale or retail).
- Domestic premises where bed and breakfast accommodation is provided in not more than three bedrooms.
E. Exemptions for some vehicles and stalls etc.
- Private motor cars.
- Aircraft.
- Ships, unless they are permanently moored or used for pleasure excursions in inland or coastal waters only.
- Food vehicles normally based outside Great Britain.
- Vehicles and stalls kept at or used from premises where are themselves registered or which are exempt (e.g. food trolleys used within a hospital, forklift trucks in food warehouses, delivery vans run from a registered baker's shop).
- Market stalls provided by the controller of the market. (The market itself must be registered).
- Tents and marquees, awnings and similar structures (not including stalls).
F. Other exemptions
- Places where the main activity is not to do with food, but where biscuits, cakes and/or soft drinks are served to customers without charge (e.g. hairdressers).
- Places where the only food sold is through vending machines.
- Places run by voluntary or charitable organisations and used only by those types of organisations, if no food (except tea, coffee, sugar or biscuits or similar dry products) is stored on the premises e.g. some village and church halls.
- Crown premises where a certificate of exemption had been issued for reasons of national security.
- Places supplying food or drink in the course of religious ceremonies.
- Places where food is sold, stored or prepared for use in the event of an emergency or national disaster
Please see our forms section for a 'Registration of Food Premises' form.