Food Hygiene Policy UK: Rules, Records & Compliance

Overview

A food hygiene policy is the written framework that sets out how your business keeps food safe from delivery through to service. It is not a single form or a tick-box exercise. It is a living set of documents and procedures that together demonstrate you understand the risks in your kitchen and have taken reasonable steps to manage them.

Under UK law, any business handling food must put in place a food safety management system based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. For smaller operators, the Food Standards Agency provides the Safer Food, Better Business pack, which is widely used as a starting point.

Larger or more complex kitchens will usually need a bespoke system. Alongside the policy itself, you need daily records covering temperatures, cleaning, deliveries, staff training and supplier checks. Together, these prove due diligence if something goes wrong.

Key steps

1. Map the hazards in your kitchen. Walk through your operation from delivery bay to customer plate. Identify where things can go wrong: raw meat touching ready-to-eat food, fridges running warm, allergens contaminating dishes, staff handling food while unwell. Write these risks down. This is the foundation of any HACCP-based system and the starting point for your policy. 2. Draft a written food hygiene policy. Your policy should state your commitment to safe food, name the person in charge of hygiene, describe your food safety management system and set out what every member of staff is expected to do. Keep the language plain enough that a new starter can follow it on day one. Include sections on cleaning, temperature control, personal hygiene, pest control and allergen management. 3. Set up your daily and weekly records. Environmental health officers want to see evidence, not promises. Put in place log sheets for fridge and freezer temperatures, cooking and cooling checks, cleaning schedules, delivery inspections and opening and closing checks. Decide who completes each record, when, and where the paperwork is stored. Digital systems are acceptable as long as the data is retrievable. 4. Train every member of staff and record it. Everyone who handles food needs hygiene training appropriate to their role. Keep signed training records showing what was covered, when, and by whom. Refresh training regularly and whenever procedures change. Staff also need to know how to report illness, injuries and near-misses without fear of being penalised. 5. Review, audit and update the policy. A food hygiene policy written two years ago and left in a drawer is worth very little. Schedule internal audits, review records monthly, and update procedures whenever you change menu items, suppliers, equipment or layout. Keep a dated version history so you can show an inspector how your system has evolved.

Common questions