Approved food premises and approval under Regulation (EC) 853/2004:

All food businesses must be registered, but businesses who supply animal products to other businesses may need approval before they start trading. Operating without approval is an offence for which you could be prosecuted.

Businesses which may need approval include those that make, prepare, store or distribute animal products. For example:

  • Meat and poultry - whether fresh, frozen or cooked
  • Mechanically separated/recovered meat
  • Meat products such as pies, sausage rolls, faggots, black pudding and bacon
  • Raw or partially cooked minced meat or meat preparations such as sausages, burgers, marinated raw meat and kebab meat
  • Fish and fish products such as fish fingers, prawns, lobsters, crabs and crayfish - whether dead or alive
  • Live bivalve molluscs
  • Ready meals containing fish or meat
  • Milk and dairy products such as butter, cream, cheese, yoghurt, ice-cream
  • Egg and egg products
  • Frogs legs and snails
  • Rendered animal fats and other animal by products such as gelatine, collagen, stomachs, bladders and intestines
  • Honey and blood

Businesses who only sell direct to the public do not need approval. There are other times approval is not needed.

If you think your business needs approval please Contact us or call 01322 343434 for further advice and to request an application form.

Businesses that need approval must follow some additional product specific and structural requirements as detailed in EC Regulation 853/2004, as well as the general hygiene requirements in EC Regulation 852/2004.

If we tell you that your business requires approval we will give you an application form. You will need to complete and return the form to us.

Further information:

Approved premises advice from the Food Standards Agency