Hospitality Compliance Made Simple

HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) is a systematic approach to identifying and controlling food safety hazards. Under the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 — which enforce EU Regulation 852/2004 — all food businesses handling, preparing, or serving food are legally required to implement a food safety management system based on HACCP principles. This means you must identify food safety hazards, establish critical control points (such as cooking temperatures and refrigeration), set critical limits, monitor controls, take corrective action when limits are breached, and keep records. Assistant Manager provides digital HACCP templates, temperature logs, and corrective action records to help you meet this requirement.

Natasha's Law (the Food Information (Amendment) Regulations 2021) came into force on 1 October 2021 and applies to food pre-packed for direct sale (PPDS) — meaning food that is packaged on the same premises where it is sold, before a customer selects it. This includes items such as sandwiches and wraps made in the morning and placed in a chilled display, baked goods pre-packaged at a cafe counter, and grab-and-go salads portioned and wrapped in advance. All PPDS food must now carry a full ingredients list with the 14 major allergens emphasised (for example in bold or a different colour). If your operation makes or pre-packages any food for direct sale, you must have a labelling process in place and update labels whenever ingredients or recipes change.

The frequency of EHO inspections depends on your Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) score and the assessed risk of your business. A premises rated 0 or 1 may be inspected every 6 months, while a premises rated 5 (very good) may not receive a routine inspection for up to 5 years. However, EHOs can inspect at any time without prior notice, including in response to complaints from members of the public. Newly opened or recently changed premises are typically inspected within the first year of operation. Maintaining compliant records at all times — rather than preparing only when an inspection is anticipated — is the only reliable strategy.

The law does not specify an exact retention period for food safety records, but the Food Standards Agency recommends keeping records for at least three months for daily records (temperature logs, cleaning schedules) and at least one year for training records, supplier information, and food safety management plans. In practice, many legal claims and EHO investigations look back 12 months or more, so retaining records for two years is advisable. You must be able to produce your HACCP documentation, temperature logs, delivery acceptance records, allergen information, and staff training records on request during an inspection. Assistant Manager stores all records digitally with timestamps, making retrieval immediate.

Under EU Regulation 852/2004 (retained in UK law), food business operators must ensure that food handlers are supervised, instructed, and trained in food hygiene matters commensurate with their work activities. There is no specific legal requirement for a Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate, but having staff complete accredited training is the most reliable way to demonstrate due diligence. In practice, any staff member who handles open food — including kitchen porters, front-of-house staff who handle buffets, and bar staff serving food — should have appropriate food hygiene training. New starters should be trained before being placed in food-handling roles, and training should be refreshed at least every three years.

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the responsible person must carry out (or commission) a fire risk assessment and review it annually or after any significant change to the premises. Ongoing checks include: weekly alarm tests (logged); monthly emergency lighting functional tests; annual emergency lighting full-duration tests; quarterly fire door inspections; annual fire extinguisher servicing; and fire drill records (at least one per year for staff). Hotels have additional requirements including guest evacuation procedures and fire safety information in bedrooms. All records must be kept and made available to fire safety inspectors on request.

For non-prepacked food (food ordered from a menu and prepared to order), you must provide allergen information for the 14 major allergens: celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide/sulphites, and tree nuts. This information can be provided on menus, on a separate allergen menu, via a written notice directing customers to ask staff, or verbally — provided there is a written backup of the allergen information that staff can refer to. You must not provide inaccurate information, and you should have a process to update allergen records whenever recipes, ingredients, or suppliers change. Assistant Manager provides a digital allergen matrix that can be updated in real time and accessed by both kitchen and front-of-house staff.

A Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) score of 0 ('Urgent improvement necessary') or 1 ('Major improvement necessary') is published publicly on the FSA website and — in Wales and Scotland — must be displayed prominently at the premises. In England, display is voluntary but many businesses choose to do so. A poor rating can significantly damage consumer confidence, result in negative press coverage, and affect trade. Beyond the reputational impact, a low rating typically triggers more frequent EHO inspections. In serious cases, the EHO may issue a hygiene improvement notice, a prohibition notice preventing the use of all or part of the premises, or pursue prosecution under the Food Safety Act 1990 — which can result in unlimited fines and up to two years' imprisonment.