Food Handling Laws

Gosh, my pet portrait business is so straightforward in comparison!

I was thinking of purchasing bulk quantities of sweets and repackaging them. I obviously need to comply with food handling requirements. Does anyone know if this entails doing a food handling course?

And - does anyone know about repackaging requirements?

I'd have thought there might be Environmental Health problems too .... Would advise checking if you haven't already done so because the modifications to storage and packaging areas may be so expensive they'd wipe out any profit.

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I think you should first try out other ways to increase business because it may cost you more by spending more money for storage & repacking.I think rather spending more money on that you should try to establish an effective marketing strategy and after that you can try your idea.I advice you to do more research on marketing strategy and evaluate the exact reason behind for the failure of business.If need any help please provide more information of your product,area & market.All the best....

Yes by law you do need to do a one day food hygiene certificate if handling food. Its about £35 and usually done at your local college or the council will have a list of places doing it. I wanted to ask though for a friend not me is there anything you have to pay to environmental health to get a certificate to say you are cleared for doing food prep at home or in premises? My friend is going to be making wedding cakes so also needs to do this course but doesnt know what else there is to pay for with regards health and safety.

What I know about Environmental Health and food preparation / storage issues is anecdotal only (I've friends who explored the options of making food items at home for resale and also friends / work colleagues who worked in Environmental Health). However, I'd say it could save a lot of heartache, expense and legal troubles if you tell Environmental Health about your plans in advance and ask for their advice.

The friends gave up on the idea of food preparation when they realised they'd have to pay for very expensive and not particularly attractive modifications of their kitchen (modern and well-kept).

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Hi. As a food hygiene trainer I can only tell you that under the Food Safety Act amended in 2009 it states that all food handlers should undertake training appropriate to their role - which means that it does not specify any level as such.

You can also do catering, manufacturing or retail papers depending in what your business does. For example someone who is providing wedding cakes just for friends and family but not in bulk could do the catering paper, but if you were to produce them in bulk for supplying to another outlet then it would be classed as manufacturing. Depending on the role you would be playing in preparing and making any food then a Level 2 qualification may be sufficient - normally managers and chef, cooks etc would do Level 3 or 4.

Online courses are good for those who can concentrate for a 2 or more hours just on a screen, but personally I find I learn better from interaction with other people and being able to ask questions - but each to their own.

If you need any more help on anything specific - just ask - glad to help.