Small producers and direct supply

This guidance helps small scale producers, such as farmers, crofters and small businesses, understand the food hygiene legal requirements which may apply to them.

Our guidance is an aid and is by no means exhaustive. For more detailed advice, contact your local authority and ask for the advice of your local environmental health officer. 

The Farm Advisory Service has more useful advice for small producers and selling your own produce.

If you're starting a new business, visit our guidance for new businesses for more advice on how to do this.

Sample scenarios

Scenario 1

You have some hens and use the eggs they lay for your own personal consumption or for sharing with family and neighbours.

You are exempt from all of the outlined regulations as you are keeping the food you produce for private domestic consumption.

Scenario 2

You sell small amounts of fruit, vegetables or eggs you have produced on farm/croft to a local restaurant.

You are exempt from Retained Regulations 852/2004 and 853/2004 and therefore do not need to register as a food business or abide by any of the specific food hygiene controls.

You must still abide by Retained Regulation 178/2002, including the obligation to supply safe food and maintain traceability. This is because you are only supplying primary products direct to the final consumer or local retail establishments who supply the final consumer.

Scenario 3

You have some of your livestock (cattle, sheep, pigs etc.) slaughtered and butchered at a slaughterhouse and sell the meat to a local restaurant or at a local farmer’s market.

You are exempt from Retained Regulation 853/2004 but must abide by Retained Regulations 178/2002 and 852/2004. This means you must be registered as a food business with your local authority. This is because once your livestock have been slaughtered and butchered they are no longer primary products and you are therefore not eligible for the exemption which applies to the direct supply of primary products.

Legislation details

This section lists the key food hygiene regulations. The hygiene requirements which apply to food production in Scotland are set out in European Union (EU) general food law and the EU food hygiene regulations, which have now been retained as UK law following Brexit. 

Each of these regulations contain exemptions. These might apply to you if you are a small producer or if you only directly supply final consumers (for example, from your farm-gate) and local businesses such as restaurants, farmshops and butchers.

Retained Regulation 178/2002 (General Food Law)

This regulation lays down the general principles of food law and is the foundation of all other food hygiene regulations.

It defines what a ‘food’ or ‘foodstuff’ is, and sets out other key definitions, including: ‘primary production’, ‘food business’, ‘final consumer’, ‘retail’, ‘placing on the market’ and others.

It places responsibility on the food business operator (FBO) to ensure all food they supply has been produced in line with food law and is safe for human consumption. It also obligates them to initiate procedures to withdraw any food which may be unsafe and to inform the competent authorities in such circumstances.

The regulation applies to “all stages of production, processing and distribution of food”. The regulation therefore applies to all producers and suppliers of food, even if, for example, you are only selling eggs from your farm gate or supplying veg to your local restaurant

Another key requirement is the obligation to maintain the traceability of food at all stages of production, processing and distribution.

This means a record needs to be kept of all the people and businesses who have supplied you and of all the people and businesses to whom you supply food (i.e. a one step forward, one step back record). This information is to be stored and presented to the competent authority on demand.

Any food or feed placed on the market must be adequately labelled and identifiable to remain traceable.

Retained Regulation 931/2011 sets out specific traceability requirements for food of animal origin (i.e. meat, eggs etc.)

There are only two circumstances in which the requirements of Retained EU Regulation 178/2002 shall not apply:

• primary production for private domestic use (i.e. keeping the eggs you produce, the game you hunt or the veg you grow for your family and friends domestic consumption, with no further onward supply)
• the domestic preparation, handling or storage of food for private domestic consumption

Retained Regulation 852/2004 (General Food Hygiene Regulation)

This regulation lays down general requirements for FBOs on the hygiene of foodstuffs. It reinforces that the primary responsibility for food safety lies with FBOs.

The regulation applies to all stages of production, processing and distribution of food.

It requires that all individuals and businesses producing, processing or supplying food register with their Local Authority as a food business. 

It also requires that all FBOs have a food safety management system based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points Principles (HACCP). Your local EHO will be able to assist you in developing a HACCP plan.

Annex I of this regulation sets out the general hygiene requirements for FBOs carrying out primary production and associated operations. Annex II sets out the general hygiene requirements for all FBOs, except where Annex I applies. These annexes outline many of the requirements you must abide by with regards to your food premises and equipment, as well as setting out rules for water supply, food waste and the transport of food.

The requirements of this regulation shall not apply in the following circumstances:

• primary production for private domestic use (i.e. keeping the eggs you produce, the game you hunt or the veg you grow for your family and friends domestic consumption, with no further onward supply)
• the domestic preparation, handling or storage of food for private domestic consumption
• the direct supply, by the producer, of small quantities of primary products to the final consumer or to local retail establishments directly supplying the final consumer (e.g. selling a dozen eggs from your farm gate or selling fruit, veg and in-skin wild game to a local farm shop or restaurant)

Retained Regulation 853/2004 (food hygiene regulation for food of animal origin)

This regulation lays down the specific hygiene rules for FBOs with regards to food of animal origin and supplements those outlined above.

It includes rules which apply to those FBOs which require approval as slaughterhouses, cutting plants and game handling establishments, as well as for specific categories of food of animal origin (e.g. meat preparations, meat products, wild game, fishery products, raw milk etc.).

However, in most cases, this regulation shall not apply to small producers directly supplying the final consumer. The requirements of this regulation shall not apply in the following circumstances:

• Retail (as defined in Retained Regulation 178/2002)
• primary production for private domestic use
• the domestic preparation, handling or storage of food for private domestic consumption
• the direct supply, by the producer, of small quantities of primary products to the final consumer or to local retail establishments directly supplying the final consumer
• the direct supply, by the producer, of small quantities of meat from poultry and lagomorphs slaughtered on the farm to the final consumer or to local retail establishments directly supplying such meat to the final consumer as fresh meat
• hunters who supply small quantities of wild game or wild game meat directly to the final consumer or to local retail establishments directly supplying the final consumer

Some of the requirements in this regulation will apply if you supply food to an approved establishment. For example, if you supply wild game to a game handling establishment, live animals to a slaughterhouse or raw milk to a processing establishment.

Generally however, this regulation is unlikely to apply to you if you do not process food or supply it to an approved establishment. Consequently, it is unlikely to apply to farmers and crofters directly supplying food from their farm gate or at farmers markets etc.

However, if you are not exempt from this regulation as set out above, you should contact your local authority and FSS to seek the appropriate approval.

Being exempt from the requirements of this regulation does not necessarily mean you are exempt from the requirements of Retained Regulations 178/2002 and 852/2004 and indeed, in most circumstances, these regulations will still apply.