Cleaning and maintenance

Structural requirements

You must keep your premises clean and maintained in good repair and condition. Your premises must allow you to follow good food hygiene practices, including protection against contamination and pest control.

You can read details on structural requirements within a food business.

Food waste

You must have adequate facilities for storing and disposing of food. You must remove food waste, oil and other rubbish from rooms containing food as quickly as possible to avoid it building up and attracting pests.

You can read more on disposing of business or commercial waste.

It is a legal requirement that you arrange for a registered waste carrier to transport or dispose of your business waste. Registered waste carriers will provide you with a Waste Transfer Note (WTN) when they collect any waste. You must keep WTNs for 2 years.

Birmingham City Council provides Waste Contracts. You can also arrange a waste contract with an independent company.

Pests

You will be required to put into practice adequate pest control procedures. You should carry out regular checks to ensure your premises is free from pest activity.

It is not a legal requirement to have a pest control contract, but you may wish to do this.

Cleaning

You should put into practice a two-stage cleaning method in your business. This requires firstly cleaning areas with hot soapy water and drying the area, followed by using a disinfectant that has been tested to BS EN 1276 or BS EN 13697.