Overview of food regulation and legislation

Food law is made up of legislation, codes of practice and guidance that regulate all stages of the food chain. These controls apply whether food is produced domestically or imported, and are designed to ensure consistency and safety from farm to fork.

Food regulation covers:

• production
• processing
• packaging and labelling
• importing
• distribution
• retailing and catering

Understanding how these rules fit together helps businesses identify which requirements apply to their activities and where to seek further guidance.

The Food Standards Act 1999

The Food Standards Act gives the Food Standards Agency (FSA) its statutory functions and enforcement powers. The agency’s role is to protect public health and consumers' interests in relation to food. It also works to ensure that food regulation is applied consistently and proportionately, and that businesses are not burdened by excessive or unclear regulations.

General food law

The main general food legislation applying in Northern Ireland includes:

• the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order, which provides the framework for food legislation in Northern Ireland and creates offences in relation to safety, quality and labelling
• the General Food Law Regulation (EC), which creates general principles and requirements of food law
• the Food Hygiene Regulations (Northern Ireland)
• the EU Food Hygiene Regulations

There are also specific regulations covering:

• feed hygiene for businesses placing food materials into animal feed - Feed Hygiene Regulations
• food information for consumers, including allergen labelling - Food Information for Consumers  
• chemical safety, including contaminants, approved additives and food supplements  

Responsibilities for food businesses

Food law places clear responsibilities on food business operators, regardless of size or type of business. These duties are intended to ensure food is safe, accurately described and suitable for consumption at every stage of the food chain.

Under the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order, food businesses must make sure that:

• nothing is included in food, removed from food, or food is not treated in any way that would harm the health of people eating it
• food is of the nature, substance and quality that consumers would reasonably expect
• food is labelled, advertised and presented in a way that is not false or misleading

Under the General Food Law Regulation, food businesses must:

• ensure food is safe and not harmful to health or unfit to eat
• ensure labelling, advertising and presentation of food do not mislead consumers
• be able to identify suppliers and business customers, known as traceability
• withdraw unsafe food from the market and inform the authorities of this
• keep appropriate records

If unsafe food has reached customers, businesses must tell them why the food is being withdrawn and, if needed, recall it to protect health. This usually happens when other steps, like withdrawal from sale, are not enough.

Food hygiene legislation affects all food businesses. Core EU food hygiene regulations cover:

• hygiene of foodstuffs
• general hygiene requirements for food premises
• businesses products of animal origin
• products of animal origin intended for human consumption
• verification of compliance with feed, food, animal health and animal welfare law

Animal feed regulations

Food businesses placing food materials into the animal feed chain play an important role in protecting animal health and food safety further along the supply chain. These businesses must:

• register as a feed business operator (before operating)
• only supply feed materials to other registered feed business operators
• follow written procedures based on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles for feed production

Registration covers activities like manufacturing, storing, transporting or selling feed materials. Written procedures should be proportionate to the size and nature of the business, but must clearly show how feed safety risks are controlled and how problems would be identified and addressed. Learn more about feed safety laws.