Food can be big business, whether it’s served for on-site consumption or packaged and sold for customers to take home. However, food is also something that absolutely must be entirely safe and suitable for consumption, and therefore it is an area which is subject to strict and sometimes complicated regulations.

The rules surrounding the sale of food to consumers are extensive, and deal with various different aspects of the production and sale process. They also fall within the domains of different regulatory bodies. For instance, some are enforced by local authorities, and others by the Food Standards Agency.

Food Laws and Regulations

Just some of the areas of food preparation, packaging and sale that require careful consideration are:

• Hygiene: Ensuring that proper, appropriate measures are taken to ensure that food is prepared and packaged in a suitably hygienic environment with minimal risk of contamination. This applies both to food that is prepared for immediate consumption and food that is prepared for future sale for retail.
• Labelling: Businesses must make sure that packaged food is labelled to at least the standards required by law when it comes to details such as ingredients lists, potential allergens, and the nature of the contents.
• Quantities: When food is sold by weight, volume, number or any other measure of quantity, or when packaged food is labelled with such a quantity, businesses must ensure that the actual measure provided is suitably accurate. Quantities must match those stated within sufficiently narrow margins.

The exact rules that apply may vary based upon the nature of your business, the type of food you prepare, and the circumstances in which it is sold.

If you require the services offered by conventional food law lawyers or food law solicitors, as well as a professional food law barrister to represent you in court, please contact my clerk and ask for Stuart Jessop on 0207 797 8408 or info@stuartjessopbarrister.co.uk.