Food Hygiene

Food Hygiene Inspections

The Authority is responsible for inspecting all food businesses located within the confines of the docks. This includes floating restaurants and hotels. All food inspections will be carried out in accordance with the requirements of Food Law.

All shore side food businesses operating within the Port are required by law to register their premises with the Authority before trading commences.

Application For Food Premises Registration

Food Hygiene Inspections on Board Ships

The Food Safety (Ships and Aircraft) (England and Scotland) Order 2002 implements the Food Safety Act 1990. This means that the same food hygiene regulations apply to ships and shore side food premises.

In some cases, where the food operation does not extend to serving members of the public (passengers) or the ship does not have a home port within the United Kingdom it is not appropriate to inspect the ship in a manner commensurate with inland food premises. Where this is the case, the ship will be inspected under the Public Health (Ships) Regulations 1979 (as amended) using the guidelines within the Handbook of Inspection of Ships and Issuance of Ship Sanitation Certificates which is based on the IHR (2005) provisions regarding ship inspection and issue of ship sanitation certificate.

Liaison with other Port Health Authorities is maintained through the Association of Port Health Authorities (APHA) with the aim of ensuring consistency of enforcement and sharing good practice. Ship inspection data will be shared, confidentially between port authorities usually by means of the EU Common Ship Sanitation Database, email and/or telephone.