Get a licence for handling meat, fish, egg or dairy products.

You must be inspected and approved by your local council if your business involves handling meat, fish, egg or dairy products.

Conditions

You don’t need to be inspected or approved if you sell direct to the public or retailers like caterers, pubs and restaurants, as long as:

• food is less than 25% of your trade
• you don’t handle any wild game meat products
• you don’t sell food outside the county your business is registered in

You must still follow the rules for controlling the temperature and storage of any food you transport.

How to apply

Contact your council for an application form or visit their website to apply online.

Displaying your licence

Your council will have their own rules for how to display your approved status, usually on your food products themselves.

Fines and penalties

It’s a criminal offence to run unapproved food premises and you can be prosecuted for doing so.

Scotland