This safety check is required by law to be completed annually by an engineer who has the correct qualification for commercial catering safety checks. 

Again, the Electrical PAT is completed annually and tests to ensure all electrical appliances that have a plug are safe to use. This is a service that Access Point offers or can be performed by a local electrician.

All of our traders have to be registered with the local council in order to ensure they’re all visited by the Local Environmental Health Officer, where they’ll be scored and given a food hygiene rating for the unit they’re trading from. All EHO visits are carried out without notice so caterers can’t just prepare for one specific day.

If a caterer receives a score below 3, we ask that they apply for a retest. Good standards are essential, so if they’re still scored below 3, Access Point will terminate their licence to trade. 

This is the minimum qualification we require for the caterer and all staff to be approved in one of our promotional spaces. This can be easily gained by completing an online course or in person at a college for example. It takes approximately 3-4 hours to complete online and is valid for 3 years. This course covers all you need to know about safely handling and serving food. 

There are also a variety of other useful training courses on offer online that can help to ensure caterers follow best practices, although they aren’t a necessity under the catering regulations. These are:

Health and Safety Level 3 – This is recommended for business owners, managers and supervisors to help you

understand the potential hazards within a catering environment and how to tackle any issues that should arise.

LPG/Gas Safety – This helps caterers, employers, and employees understand the regulations and practices

required for the safe use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) installations.

First Aid Training – For caterers to be able to react to minor accidents and those who are keen to understand the basics of First Aid.

Fire Extinguisher - This type of course will help you keep your cool when dealing with fires and teach you when to use the different types of firefighting equipment and extinguishers.

HAACP Course - This handy course helps caterers gain an understanding of the HAACP system and how you can effectively put it into practice in your food business, covering risk analysis, identification of potential hazards and how to overcome them.

Okay, this one's important: If you operate any form of business, you have a legal obligation under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and other related legislation to safely contain and legally dispose of any waste produced from your business. If you don’t, you can be taken to court for committing offences. 

We ask that you either:

• Dispose of your own business waste by taking it to your local tip and requesting a ‘Waste Transfer Note’ from the staff. 
• Organise for the council or a commercial waste collection service to provide you with a wheelie bin and for collections to be made periodically.

Another legal requirement of the mobile catering regulations in the UK is that you do not dispose of any waste water/ oil down the drains on-site. You must, instead, remove it from the site in wastewater carriers and dispose of the liquid in accordance with the Water Industry Act 1991. If you don’t properly dispose of wastewater, you may be prosecuted and liable to fines.

LPG canisters need to be either stored in a lockable vented cage, purpose-built housing attached to your unit or with a chain and lock securing it outside of your unit. These cylinders are considered full, regardless of their state, and should be stored accordingly, even when empty. 

Some councils require businesses to apply for a street trader's license even when on private land. If you’re unsure, most councils publish their policy and fees online. Find out by Googling ‘Street Trading Licensing’ with the name of the council that you pay council tax to.

Consent is based on where your pitch is and not where you live, so be careful if you plan to trade in two different council regions, as you may be required to pay twice!

Now that you’ve got a better understanding of the mobile catering regulations in the UK, start planning your promotional space today. Access Point can set you up with plenty of pop-up shops and kiosk spaces, Pod promotional spaces, mobile catering sites, and more. From town and city centres to shopping centres, we’ve got endless sites across the nation.

If you’re keen to find out more about Access Point, however, you can learn more about us on our website or contact us for more information by calling 01704 544999 or emailing hello@apuk.net.