Requirement of licenses and permissions when opening a food outlet

The catering and hospitality industry is an ever blooming business. Many such businesses have seen to grow from a small eatery shop to a five star resort. If you are also thinking of opening a food outlet, there are a number of things to be dealt with initially. The first thing that you have to do is to get registered with the environmental health service department of your local authority. The registration is free of cost and you have to register at least 28 days before opening the food outlet. Some people are running a catering business from their home while others are using a restaurant franchise or a temporarily hired premise. Some businesses are also being operated by using mobile catering vans or market stalls.

Whatever kind of a business may it be, it has to be registered with the environmental health service department. In case when the premise is hired and being used by more than one catering businesses, such as conference centers or community halls, it becomes the responsibility of the owner of the building to get each one of them registered. Looking at the necessity of the processes like registration and acquiring various licenses like alcohol premises licence, there has been made a provision for getting these done online with many local authorities.

However, if this provision is not available in your local authority, you can get it done by post, fax or email. You can download the application form anytime through internet. Another thing that you need to get yourself registered for is being self- employed. You will also have to think about getting registered for value added tax and you will probably have to pay business rates. This is the case when you are using the premises as assigned to you. But if you want to make changes to it, you will also require the permission of the local authority. There are some legal requirements to be met when you change the design and construction of your assigned premises. There should be proper arrangements regarding the health and safety of people like fire regulations.

All the food and drinks that you are going to sell must describe their contents precisely and rightfully. Before starting to sell alcohol in your food outlet, you have to obtain an alcohol premises licence from the licensing authority. Such a license will make you legally authorized to sell alcohol in your premises and areas where the license is applicable. There is a particular time interval during which one can operate his food outlet. If you want to extend this time interval, you will require an additional permission.

Not only the owner but the whole staff of the food outlet must be well aware of the principles of good food hygiene. It is your social responsibility to check the quality of food being served to prevent the chances of food poisoning. As an owner, you must also keep the record of the pay of your employees and ensure that the correct tax is being paid. Waste management and recycling measures are also required to be taken to ensure strict adherence to the rules of your council.