Regulatory Services

Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum

Help Support Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Saradan

New Bee
Joined
Dec 6, 2008
Messages
48
Reaction score
0
Location
Staffordshire, uk
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
6
Hi all

Anyone come across this before?

A women from my local Council knocked on the door earlier today. As it happened my wife was in, I was doing my normal 9 - 5 job.

The lady worked for the Council's Regulatory Services Department and had made a visit to a local butcher's shop who recently had 40+ jars of honey off me for sale on his premises.

Presumably she'd noticed the jars on sale and decided to pay me a visit.

She left a form (Application for the registration of a food business establishment) for completion and asked me to give her a call as she would like to see where the honey extraction and jarring is done. She assured my wife that there was nothing to worry about.....
 
i would not worry too much, ive never had a visit, but i personally would not fill that form out incase you open a can of worms.
More experienced beek should be along soon.
 
Start filling in forms like that and you are commiting yourself to stainless steel kitchens and seperate sinks for hand washing etc. etc.
I would not let her know that you did it in your shed or garage whatever. Know anybody with a cafe or even the butcher......????????? Thier premises have already been passed as fit by council.


or tell her you bought it from another local beek who has moved...
 
Tell the nice lady you don't want to fill in the form. The following is a quote from the BBKA leaflet "Selling Honey":

'Registration of premises does not apply to the direct supply by the producer of small quantities of primary products to the final consumer or to local retail
establishments directly supplying the final consumer'.

The only quibble can be interpretation of the word "small" but I doubt if there can be much argument about 40 jars. And if this is not a business then you don't have a "food business establishment".

She is probably right about nothing to worry about, unless of course you consider the endless stream of paperwork that will emerge and suck away your will to live.
 
unless of course you consider the endless stream of paperwork that will emerge and suck away your will to live.

and the fact that the health people will be able to enter your house whenever they want....
 
If you sell to the public, i think you might need a "Basic Food Hygene Certificate"

You might also get a visit from your friendly tax inspector.
 
If you sell to the public, i think you might need a "Basic Food Hygene Certificate"

You might also get a visit from your friendly tax inspector.


Who needs to register? from local authority and yes better to do a food hygiene course, you can take some on line

If you run a food business for 5 or more days in any 5 consecutive weeks, you must tell (or arrange for someone else to tell) the local authority about any premises you use for storing, selling, distributing or preparing food. Food premises includes restaurants, hotels, cafes, shops, supermarkets, staff canteens, kitchens in offices, warehouses, guest houses, delivery vehicles, buffet cars on trains, market and other stalls, hot dog and ice cream vans, etc.

If you use vehicles for your food business in connection with permanent premises such as a shop, or warehouse, you only need to tell the local authority how many vehicles 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 the local authority at least 28 days before doing so.

The majority of premises have to be registered. However, certain premises are exempt from registration, eg 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 your local authority if you think you might be exempt.
 
If you sell to the public, i think you might need a "Basic Food Hygene Certificate"
.

You dont have too re honey but its recommended, that is the guidance I got from them.
 
Well, I mentioned it because one of our members had her extraction room inspected by the local council.

Are some Councils different, by-laws etc?
 
"some village halls."

No, new in is village halls are not exempt and must have certificate from EH.
 
Oh Heck, I've got a visit tomorrow. Never was any good a saying no. Will have to play my cards close to my chest...and go back to cleaning the kitchen now....Bu**er

AMAE
 
Oh Heck, I've got a visit tomorrow. Never was any good a saying no. Will have to play my cards close to my chest...and go back to cleaning the kitchen now....Bu**er

AMAE


you better get an on line certificate then

http://www.train4food.co.uk/


but stress "surely i am not covered by the need to register as i do it less than 5 days in the month, just two days, one extracting and one or two bottling
 
Many thanks MM, will do. I'll let you all know the outcome........once more to the breach......
 
Show her the BBKA info about not having to register and tell her your not running a food business.Politely show her to the door.
 
Show her the BBKA info about not having to register and tell her your not running a food business.Politely show her to the door.

and invite him /she/ it to take a quick tour around the apiary.... they either make excuses and leave.... or say they/ grandad/ best friend keeps/ used to keep bees and you have another beekie friend!!!!:hurray:
 
I would be inclined to say that I only extract for three days of the year and spend three days of the following month putting the honey into jars...

but thats only if I felt inclined to talk to them at all...
 

Latest posts

Back
Top