There’s another legislative change coming in…

….and we’re here to tell you exactly what’s going on.

Since the pandemic, almost 40% of us order takeaway food either using an app or online. There are around 170,000 food businesses operating through he three biggest platforms – Just Eat, UberEats and Deliveroo. Along with the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA), these three platforms have pulled together a new Food Safety Charter to address the number of regulatory gaps within the area of online food sales.

Selling food online isn’t a completely unregulated space, but online sales and buying through a third party can mean customers have less visibility of a business, so food hygiene and safety is likely to be less of a priority.

The charter supports the three platforms’ commitment in four different areas:

• Making sure each of the business selling food through these services is registered with their local authority
• Making sure each business meets a minimum standard under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS), and platforms will introduce FHRS rating filters for customers
• Working with the FSA to use communication channels to share FSA information with the goal of supporting couriers and restaurant partners when it comes to complying with food safety and hygiene
• Working with restaurant partners and third-party groups to support customers with food hypersensitivities

In addition to the points outlined above, the FSA is developing some guidance to help online platforms in the process of taking new food businesses onboard with the intention to support food businesses operating online, and therefore reduce the burden on local authorities when it comes to queries like this.

For more information on what this charter means, contact our team on 020 7244 1900.