Food and Feed Codes of Practice
Find information on the food and feed law codes of practice and practice guidance for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the Competency Framework for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Important
References to EU legislation in FSA guidance
Directly applicable EU legislation no longer applies in GB. EU legislation retained when the UK exited the EU became assimilated law on 1 January 2024, published on legislation.gov.uk. References to any legislation in FSA guidance with ‘EU’ or ‘EC’ in the title (e.g. Regulation (EC) 178/2002) should now be regarded as assimilated law where applicable to GB. References to ‘Retained EU Law’ or ‘REUL’ should now be regarded as references to assimilated law.
For businesses moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, information on the Windsor Framework is available on GOV.UK.
The Windsor Framework was adopted by the UK and EU on 24 March 2023. The Framework provides a unique set of arrangements to support the flow of agrifood retail products from Great Britain (GB) to Northern Ireland (NI), allowing GB standards for public health in relation to food, marketing and organics to apply for pre-packed retail goods moved via the NI Retail Movement Scheme (NIRMS).
Food Law Code of Practice
The Food Law Code of Practice gives instructions that local authorities must consider when enforcing food law. Local authorities need to follow and implement the relevant sections of the Code that apply.
England
Northern Ireland
Wales
Feed Law Code of Practice
The Feed Law Code of Practice gives instructions that local feed authorities must consider when enforcing animal feed law. Feed authorities need to follow and implement the relevant sections of the Code that apply to them.
England
Northern Ireland
Wales
Practice Guidance
We issue Practice Guidance that is non-statutory as a complement to the statutory Code of Practice. These provide general advice on approach to enforcement of the law.
Food Law Practice Guidance
England
Northern Ireland
Wales
Feed Law Practice Guidance
England
Northern Ireland
Wales
Competency Framework
Knowledge and skills for the effective delivery of official food and feed controls and other activities (the Competency Framework) sets out the competencies required for local authority and port health authority officers in England, Wales and district council officers in Northern Ireland, undertaking official food controls, other official activities and other activities related to these. The Competency Framework is hosted on the FSA Local Authority Information Network (FSA LINK). You will be required to have an FSA LINK account to view this.
Revision log
Published: 18 February 2018
Last updated: 2 December 2024