Food hygiene for businesses
Food waste
You must store and remove food waste and rubbish safely. If you do not, you could contaminate food, equipment and surfaces. You could also attract pests such as rats, mice, birds and insects. This could make your customers ill. It could also mean you get a low food hygiene rating.
If there’s a serious and immediate risk to health, your business could be closed down or prosecuted.
Storing and removing waste should be part of your food safety management system.
You must:
- remove waste from rooms where food is present as quickly as possible
- store waste appropriately
- dispose of waste correctly
- dispose of cooking oil safely
Storing waste
You must store waste in a way that prevents contamination and pests.
To do this, you should put all food waste and rubbish into sealable containers.
If you cannot put waste into sealable containers, you must be able to prove to your local council that your system prevents contamination and pests.
Waste containers must be:
- easy to clean and to disinfect
- solid and strong
- kept in good condition and repair
- cleaned and disinfected regularly
You should store waste away from food preparation and storage areas, whenever possible.
Disposing of waste
You must:
- separate food waste from other waste if your business is in England – if your business has less than the equivalent of 10 full-time employees you must do this after 31 March 2027, larger businesses must do this now
- check the rules on disposing of animal by-products if you throw away more than 20kg a week of meat, dairy, eggs, fish, shellfish or other products from animals
- make sure waste is disposed of by a registered waste carrier
- follow the waste disposal rules for businesses
Check the register of waste carriers for your country or ask your district council for help if your business is in Northern Ireland.
Disposing of cooking oil
Cooking oil must be disposed of safely, because it can cause blockages, bad smells and pests.
You could be fined or prosecuted if you do not dispose of cooking oil safely.
You must:
- keep it separate from other waste
- organise for your cooking oil waste to be collected by a registered waste carrier who will take it to an authorised site
Check the register of waste carriers for your country or ask your district council for help if your business is in Northern Ireland.
You must not:
- pour oil into drains or sewers – it will cause blockages
- take cooking oil to household recycling centres for disposal in engine oil banks – it will make all the other contents unsuitable for recycling
- throw cooking oil out with other waste – some waste collectors will refuse to take oil-contaminated waste
Reducing food waste
Ordering too much stock increases the risk of food going out of date before you can use it. This can cause risks to food safety as well as waste.
To reduce food waste you can:
- monitor how much food you throw away and adjust your orders
- review customers’ leftovers and adjust portion sizes
- use older food first to avoid it going off or becoming out of date
- freeze food before it goes off, instead of throwing it away
Get advice and resources for reducing food waste from Guardians of Grub.
Help and advice
Your local food safety team can tell you more about waste management and collection in your area.
Get advice on managing waste from a Safer Food Better Business pack or the Safe Catering guidance in Northern Ireland.