Advice for Food Business Operators Producing Cakes, Bread, Confectionary, Jams, Chutneys etc.

If you supply food to the public from your home on a regular and organised basis, free or otherwise, you’ll be classed as a food business and will need to comply with food legislation.

Sometimes, what starts out as a hobby – making cakes at home for friends and family on an occasional basis, for example – grows into a business. If you find yourself producing/selling food to others regularly (more than once a month, say), it’s likely that you’ll need to register your home as a food business. If in doubt, please call Environmental Health and Community Safety on 01392 265147 or email environmental.protection@exeter.gov.uk and we’ll help you decide.

Please note that the occasional sale of cakes, jams, chutneys etc. at fetes, charity events or similar is unlikely to be classed as food business due to the infrequent nature of these types of activities.

 

We’ve produced food safety advice for food businesses making low-risk items such as cakes, bread, confectionary, jams, chutneys etc. at home; it takes you through everything to consider before you get started and explains how to comply with food law, particularly if you’re using your home kitchen to make food. You can download a copy below.

 

Do I need any food safety documentation?

As a food business operator, you need to show that you’ve considered any food safety hazards specific to your operation and put in place appropriate measures to control them. It’s particularly important that you identify and monitor any points that are critical to the safety of your food – so if, for example, your ingredients or finished products require refrigerated storage, you’ll need to include this point in your food safety plan and have appropriate monitoring in place (a daily diary in which to write down your refrigerator temperatures, for example).

 

To help you, we’ve produced a blank Food Safety Plan that you can download and complete for your business. The Plan covers the most common safety points and includes space to add anything specific to your business. If any of the safety points aren’t relevant (none of your food requires cooking or refrigeration, for example), simply remove that section to personalise the plan to your operation.

 

What about food hygiene training?

Food law requires you to have suitable and sufficient knowledge to ensure that you prepare food safely - a food hygiene qualification is a great way to help you achieve this. It’s recommended that food handlers undertake a Level 2 Award in Food Safety, either online or in person. Find out more about our food training courses.

 

Downloadable documents

Food Safety Advice for Home Caterers

Advice on making Jams Chutneys

Food Safety Plan for Home Caterers (printable PDF)

Food Safety Plan for Home Caterers (download-and-keep Microsoft Word)