Food business register
Any premises used as a food business must be registered with the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture. Registration allows us to keep an up-to-date list of all food premises in the Island, so we can visit them when required. The frequency of the visits will depend on the type of business.
Food businesses include any premises used to produce, prepare, store, distribute and sell food. Examples being restaurants, cafes, shops, supermarkets, staff canteens, home caterers, milk producers, egg producers, warehouses, hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs, online retailers, market stalls and mobile food traders.
Any individuals or an organisation who handles, prepares stores or serves food occasionally and on a small scale, such as a church, school or village fair or organised charities comprising of individual volunteers may be exempt from registration. Please contact us for further details.
Who needs to register?
The food business operator needs to register the food premises. The food business operator is the person or company who owns the business and is responsible for ensuring that the premises comply with food law.
A food business operator can be a sole trader, partnership or legal entity.
When to register
You must register the food premises at least 28 days prior to commencing food operations.
How to register
Registration is very simple and the registration form should only take a few minutes to complete.
Registration is free and does not need to be renewed every year.
Apply online at:
What happens next?
Once you have submitted your application form, your premises will be listed in our food premises register and you will receive a letter confirming your registration number.
Registration is not the same as licensing and a registered business does not automatically have the right to trade.
Confidentiality
The Department will enter the details provided on its Food Business Register. A register of addresses, contact numbers and the type of business carried on at the registered address will be open to inspection. Records of the other information provided will not be publicly available, but may be used for the purpose of registration, enforcement and the protection of public funds.
Reporting changes to your food business
If the nature of your business changes, the business closes, the food business operator or manager changes, or if you change the storage location of your moveable premises, you must notify us. You can check the publically available details that we hold of your business on the Register.
If you transfer ownership of your business to someone else, that person will need to contact us and complete a registration form.
Contact Details
For further information or to notify us of any changes, please email ehenquiries@gov.im or call (01624) 685894.
