Before you can hit the ground running with a new food business, you will need to make sure that the legal aspects are covered, in addition to the obvious environmental heath requirements. Here a few that you might not have thought of…

Type of Business
If you are going into business with one or more people then it’s likely that you will automatically be in partnership together, unless you decide to set up a limited company. Whatever you do, if you are in business with other people then it’s important to set out the arrangements between you from the outset in a Partnership Agreement or Shareholders’ Agreement. This saves costs and stress further down the line if, for example, one of you wants to leave.

Intellectual Property Rights
A really important area that’s often overlooked. You should carry out searches (including at the Trade Marks Registry) and consider registering your own business name or branding as a trademark to deter replication from competitors.

Terms of Business
This varies depending on the type of business you’re running but for many businesses written terms are essential and it’s important to distinguish between consumer contracts (which are heavily regulated) and business to business contracts (which allow more flexibility).

Data Protection
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) introduced more stringent regulations and higher fines for non-compliance with data protection law. Make sure that your notices and policies are up to date.

Labelling
If you are producing food products, you will need to adhere to the labelling requirements, including, the nutritional declaration showing energy values and amounts of fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt.

If you would like further information about any aspect of article, please contact Laura Clarke on 01626 202404.