Registration of food businesses
All food businesses in the borough must be registered with us. This includes market stalls, and 'moveable premises' such as ice cream vans and burger vans that are kept overnight in the borough.
No charge is made for the registration, and it cannot be refused. No renewal is required unless there is a change of trading name or ownership.
Download a food registration form here and submit to us at food.registration@merton.gov.uk
Why you need to register
It is an offence not to register a food business or to give false or incomplete information.
The purpose of registration is to provide us with information about the size and type of food businesses within our area, so that we can target our inspection and education activities.
What happens after you register
The next step will be a visit by an officer to carry out a food hygiene and standards inspection and if applicable your premises will be given a score under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. We do not make appointments(unless you operate from a domestic premises) and we cannot indicate when this will be.
Once registered you can start trading as it is your responsibility to comply with the law and produce safe food.
Hygiene rating scheme
Merton operates the Food Standard Agency's national Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. Your first hygiene rating is based on the findings at the time of the inspection , so the better the inspection, the better will be your rating. To help get the best rating, please have a look at our Food Hygiene Checklist If you cannot answer 'yes' to the food safety questions on the checklist before the visit, it unlikely that you will be able to get the best rating for your business.
Before registering your business we also recommend you read the Food Standard Agency's information about:
Your information
As a local authority we are required to keep a public register detailing the trading name, address, and type of food business that is registered with us. Apart from this all the remaining information provided on the registration form is confidential and can only be revealed to an authorised officer from another local authority or to the police.
Changing your information
Once you have registered you only need to notify us if;
- the business proprietor changes - the new proprietor must complete an application form
- the nature of the business changes
- the address at which the moveable premises are kept changes