Legal: Are you on the food register?

For the past four years, new food hygiene laws have been in force in the UK. They affect all parts of the food and hospitality industry.

As a result, registration for serving food has - without any exceptions - to be submitted to the local council wherever your business is located before any new food premises (or existing premises which plan to start serving food) are opened. Incidentally, no charge is imposed for this registration service.

The reason for registration is so that all premises serving food come under the radar of councils' environmental health departments, which will help and guide a business to ensure that what it is doing is safe and that there is an awareness of how to keep and store food in the utmost safety. So expect a visit from an inspector within a few weeks of submitting documents for registration.

The document itself is quite simple in the amount of detail it requests and the basic questions it asks regarding the nature of the business and should only take a matter of minutes to complete. It is sensible to keep a copy of the application for your records.

One thing you will need to be aware of is Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) - an internationally recognised and recommended system of food safety management. It focuses on identifying the 'critical points' in a process where food safety problems (or hazards) could arise and taking action to prevent things going wrong. Keeping records is an important part of all HACCP systems.

Remember, the law insists that every food premises, no matter what size or type of operation, must be registered.