Food safety guidance for home bakers
If you want to start a home baking business, there are several important things to consider before you begin trading.
Registering your business
You must register your food business with us before you start operating, as this is a legal requirement. An officer may contact you to confirm the type of business you plan to run. For home‑based businesses, any visit will always be arranged in advance.
Guidance is available on:
- how to start a food business – Food Standards Agency
- basic food hygiene requirements – Food Standards Agency
Allergen awareness
When selling food directly to customers, you must understand and clearly communicate allergen information – Food Standards Agency. This is essential for customer safety.
Assessing your level of risk
If your baked products do not contain high‑risk ingredients such as fresh dairy (e.g. fresh cream or cream cheese), your business will usually be considered low risk.
If you use these ingredients, you must show how you keep them at safe temperatures during purchase, storage, preparation and delivery. Businesses using high‑risk foods are inspected more frequently.
Food safety management
All food businesses must have a written food safety management system. A free toolkit, Safer Food Better Business – Food Standards Agency, is available to help you put this in place. You can complete it digitally or print and fill in the sections that apply to your business.
Training for food handlers
Food handlers do not legally need a certificate, but business operators must ensure all staff receive suitable food hygiene training and supervision.
Recommended training levels:
- Level 2 for anyone preparing or handling food
- Level 3 for supervisors or business owners
Online training options are widely available.
Labelling requirements
If you plan to supply your baked goods to retailers, you will need to follow food labelling rules. This may require further discussion with a Food and Safety officer once your business is closer to starting.
Future regulations will also require nutritional information on packaging, though this may not apply immediately.
Traceability
You will need a simple traceability system to record where your ingredients come from and where your products go. Guidance from the Food Standards Agency is available to support this.
Business support
Additional help and advice is available from the council’s economic development team.