Food businesses – including home enterprises – have been warned that they must register with a competent authority before they start operating, according to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
In an alert to such enterprises, the authority stressed the relevant agencies that must be contacted prior to opening one’s doors.
The FSAI said: “You have to register your food business with a competent authority before you start operating, even if operating from home.”
- The local environmental health office (of the Health Service Executive);
- The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine;
- The Local Authority Veterinary Service;
- The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority.
Who you register with will depend on the type of business and whether foods of animal origin, for example meat, poultry, fish etc, are handled or processed, the FSAI adds.
In addition, it was noted that microbreweries must register as a food business with the local environmental health office.
“You should make contact with the registering body as soon as possible, as they will advise whether your premises and operations comply with the food hygiene legislation,” the FSAI said.
In particular, if you plan to operate from home you need to make sure that it is suitable for the activities you intend to carry out.
This follows reports in recent months of two Irish firms falling foul of the FSAI for operating as an “unapproved establishment” and an “unregistered and unsupervised food business”. The companies in question included a dairy firm and a meat business respectively.