Registering as a food business

[paul o']

Just sell it onto the game dealer and let the food chain sort it out as long as you have done your part right, or as in most things keep mum about it ! as there will always be an outlet for cheap meat that makes a profit for the buyer!
its a time served way of life ever since the caveman done a deal for a new wife ? The less BS in your life the better it will make you enjoy life better and become a happy camper along the way . Just go and look at any goverment dept there running around like ducks on a shootday trying to stay out of the moonlight there so afrade to say anything that will point them towards the redtape BS and HR room of doom and dispare .life is for livin and doing stuff you like its not about sucking some other Tosser's D""k just to
make them feel higher up the food chain ..
.Thats it i feel better now

 

[geoffw]

Just been signed off as a Food Premises (in-skin & processed) by Wycombe District Council.
For what it's worth here are the procedures I documented and demonstrated (with thanks to Mark S)
@stratts

PM me if you'd like them in an editable format (I don't seem to be able to upload powerpoint)
Worth noting that if you don't register, your trade customers can be prosecuted for using you.

 

[User00025]

My lot just asked what I wanted. Primary producer says I from larder to wherever. Ok you are now registered. Couldn't really believe it so checked two weeks later " Yes you are registered, no you don't need a licence".Great.

 

[willie_gunn]

Just a quick note to thank all those who posted advice above, particuarly @geoffw who kindly shared his HACCP plans.

At the start of lockdown I decided to get everything sorted and register, so that I could offer venison products for sale directly to local consumers. After some rearrangement and decorating of the small larder that I have at the bottom of the garden (a posh word for what is effectively a converted outside privy) this all culminated with a visit from the local EHO this morning and I was delighted to receive my 5* rating.

The advice in this thread has been really useful, not least because the type of food businesses we have as stalkers is somewhat of a niche area.

So now I am fully registered as a Food Business, as well as having Waste Carrier registration for the transport of Animal By-Products. This is apparently necessary if you go from butchering for personal consumption to becoming a food business - the good news is that it is free to register. I also did my Level 2 Food Hygiene certificate, which can be completed online. This proved to be a very useful course, and definitely relevant, as it helped answer a couple of the questions that I discussed with the EHO.

The EHO couldn't have been more helpful, and I would thoroughly recommend that anyone contemplating registering as a Food Business gives their local officer a call and has a chat.

Having completed the registration I can't help but question why it took me so long. I was somewhat daunted by what I read about the relevant legislation, and also seeing some very professional looking operations that gave me a bad case of larder envy. However the simple operation I have here met all the criteria, so don't be put off if you think it requires a huge investment in state-of-the-art kit.

It has been both an enjoyable and interesting journey, and I now have another outlet for excess venison. Happy Days!

 

[homer]

So, are all the commission contractors registered?

 

[deerstalker.308]

So, are all the commission contractors registered?

Why would they be? They just shoot the deer and run them into the FC larder.... that’s the bit that would be registered not the individual.....

 

[homer]

Why would they be? They just shoot the deer and run them into the FC larder.... that’s the bit that would be registered not the individual.....

So why does a private individual have to register, when he is running them straight to a game dealer?

 

[howa243]

In a recent thread on here it became aparent that lots of people (myself included) weren't aware that registration as a food business would be required even if all you do is transfer carcasses directly from the field to an AGHE.
Following that discussion, I have registered as a food business with my local authority, and thought I'd just share the process for the benefit of anyone else who needs to do the same:

First off, it didn't cost anything! Just downloaded a simple form, filled in and sent off. There are a number of "tick box" options for the type of food business that you want to register, so I ticked "primary producer", and then wrote "registration required for the supply of in-skin deer carcasses directly from the field to an AGHE" in the info box.

Within a few days of submitting the form I recieved a letter confirming my registration. Also a phone call, wanting to arrange a time to come out to do an inspection. I pointed out that I wasn't registering a premises, that deer would be going directly to an AGHE, and that they wouldn't even be entering the county, but they still insisted on an inspection, primarily to look at my record keeping.

So, what did the inspection involve?
1) Inspector wanted to see my written risk assessment (at least, the bit that related to food production), and took a copy of it.
2) Asked about training / qualifications: I showed DSC1 certificate, which the inspector photographed. She also asked a few questions about lymph node inspection etc.
3) Asked what steps I took to minimise contamination / cross contamination in the field: I showed the contents of my backpack, which includes wet wipes, latex golves, sanitising gel and a small first aid kit. I also explained about the gralloching process using minimal cuts.
4) Asked about disposal of offal: I just said "in line with best practice guidelines".
5) Asked about transport of carcasses: I showed her the back of my pickup (which was thankfully clean!) and carcass tray, which inspector photographed.
6) Asked about tracability: I showed the BDS carcass tags that I use, which the inspector photographed.
7) Asked about record keeping: I showed my field notebook (carried in backpack) and also cull record sheets that I enter all info on at home (date, species, where shot, weight, abnormalities, purchaser, tag number, etc). Inspector photographed a couple of sample pages.

All in all, pretty thorough.
I recieved a letter a couple of days later confirming all ok, and pointing out that I wouldn't be required to display a rating sticker due to not having a registered premises. However, the letter did go on to say that had they awarded me a rating it would have been 5.

It has come up in conversations many times. I assume lots dont do this. I know someone who stalks for a living and sells all of his carcasses to a game dealer and he has not.

Now you are in the system they will be out to do repeat checks. Number 4) will not suffice if you start culling some of your fallow herd at some point.

 

[75]

So why does a private individual have to register, when he is running them straight to a game dealer?

Read this thread - tells you all you need to know!

 

[VSS]

So why does a private individual have to register, when he is running them straight to a game dealer?

Because that's the law.

 

[slider]

So why does a private individual have to register, when he is running them straight to a game dealer?

Commission contractors are not supplying anyone, they are shooting deer on behalf of the commission and taking them to the larder. The Commission is then supplying teh game dealer and it is their duty to ensure it is fit for the food chain.

as part of their due diligence the Commission require all contractors have to have DSC1 & 2. DSC1 includes large game hygiene certification.

 

[slider]

It has come up in conversations many times. I assume lots dont do this. I know someone who stalks for a living and sells all of his carcasses to a game dealer and he has not.

Now you are in the system they will be out to do repeat checks. Number 4) will not suffice if you start culling some of your fallow herd at some point.

once you are in the system its actually very easy. Local Authority inspectors are not ogres to be frightened off, they want to help and ensure food is fit for consumption. If people are put of by very simple hygiene standards then they have no place in teh modern world

 

[willie_gunn]

Now you are in the system they will be out to do repeat checks.

Every three years - and likely a questionnaire rather than a visit. A small price to pay, given that I now have options as to how to dispose of the deer I shoot.

 

[Alantoo]

However the simple operation I have here met all the criteria, so don't be put off if you think it requires a huge investment in state-of-the-art kit.

Do you know anybody with a camera that could take some photos of your set up for us to see?

Alan

 

[willie_gunn]

Do you know anybody with a camera that could take some photos of your set up for us to see?

Alan

Only had the iPhone, but hopefully this gives an idea.

The panoramic shot gives a distorted perspective, as the room is about 12x14 feet. I had the drain/floor and the I-beam installed about 12 years ago, but we sealed and painted the walls, and insulated, lined and painted the ceiling, at the start of lockdown. I also bought the secondhand packing table a couple of months ago. Prep tables are cheap enough to buy on eBay or Gumtree. In fact most of the kit is secondhand, other than the chiller - the vacuum sealer, the label printer, the hanging and electronic scales, etc.

View from the outside:



A panoramic view of the inside:



The packing side:



The prepping side:



The hanging beam:



At some point I’d like to replace the current water boiler with something bigger. I’ll also invest in a better mincer. There’s nothing wrong with the ones I have but, as I find I’m processing more venison than in the past, having higher output machines just makes life easier.

 

[Alantoo]

@willie_gunn Excellent, thank you...consider yourself one of those with an envied larder!

Your outside privy was evidently on a rather grand scale, ours is very pretty in Cotswold stone, but only a one-holer...inside it is only 4'x5'!

Alan

 

[VSS]

@willie_gunn Excellent, thank you...consider yourself one of those with an envied larder!

Your outside privy was evidently on a rather grand scale, ours is very pretty in Cotswold stone, but only a one-holer...inside it is only 4'x5'!

Alan

Those little brick or stone built thunderboxes make excellent smokehouses though, so do have a new role to play in food processing even if not on the grand scale of @willie_gunn's.

 

[willie_gunn]

@willie_gunn Excellent, thank you...consider yourself one of those with an envied larder!

Your outside privy was evidently on a rather grand scale, ours is very pretty in Cotswold stone, but only a one-holer...inside it is only 4'x5'!

Alan

Perhaps ours was originally a "double trap"

When I went moose hunting in Sweden they had a grand privy, with three holes each side allowing six people to sit and contemplate life simultaneously. A communal privy was certainly a new one on me!

 

[homer]

Because that's the law.

Ok, but im still struggling to see the difference between a contractor and a private individual. Im not agreeing or disagreeing with you, i just don't see the difference. Heres the scenario:
There are 2 stalkers, both with dsc2, one is a contractor, one is a private individual, they both shoot a deer and both deer are going into the food chain through a game dealer. Only difference is, the private individual has to be registered and the contractor doesn't!
Why?

 

[Alantoo]

Those little brick or stone built thunderboxes make excellent smokehouses though, so do have a new role to play in food processing even if not on the grand scale of @willie_gunn's.

We managed to squeeze a compost loo unit into it so it is still in use as nature intended...just at the other end of the food process!

Alan