4 No-Fuss Ways to Figure Out Your Street Food Insurance
Whether you want to serve up delicious homemade Thai green curry at your local foodie festival or fuel festive cheer with mince pies at a Christmas market when you become a street food vendor you can transform your love of cooking into a profitable business without the hassle of running premises.
But just because you’re not serving from a restaurant or café, that doesn’t mean you don’t have to stick to the rules. Trading Standards and Environmental Health require the same strict standards of hygiene and making sure the food you produce is safe should be your highest priority.
Getting things wrong can be costly. New guidance introduced early in 2016 has increased the penalties for failing to meet food hygiene and safety standards with higher fines and custodial sentences, and no win no fee legal representation makes it easy for the public to sue. That means that no matter how small or large your business, you’ll need the right street food insurance to protect you financially in case something does go wrong.
1. Planning to avoid risks
Every food business needs to create a risk plan based on seven key principles, which are known as Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point principles, or HACCP.
These are:
- Conduct a hazard analysis (identify food safety hazards)
- Identify critical control points (the stages at which a hazard can be prevented or eliminated)
- Establish critical limits for each critical control point (the maximum and minimum level to which a hazard must be controlled)
- Establish critical control monitoring requirements (the monitoring activities needed to ensure compliance with the procedure)
- Establish corrective actions (actions to be taken when monitoring indicates non-compliance)
- Establish procedures to ensure that the HACCP system works as intended (validate and periodically review points 1-6)
- Establish record keeping procedures (keep a written plan on points 1-6, and record monitoring activities and their findings)
If you’re a street vendor you’ll need to consider these seven principles for both the place where you sell your food and the kitchen where it is prepared. More guidance and information is available from The Food Standards Agency.
2. Food safety
Allergies
Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 on the Provision of Food Information to Consumers states that; ‘food businesses must declare the 14 allergenic ingredients in both pre-packed and non pre-packed food’. These rules are taken very seriously; a North Yorkshire restaurant owner has recently been jailed for six years after his gross negligence led to the death of a customer after an allergic reaction to peanuts in the food his restaurant served.
Food poisoning
Even with the strictest adherence to food preparation and handling hygiene, food poisoning can unfortunately occur. If you’re cooking on an open-air grill it can be harder to ensure the right temperature is achieved and food storage and transportation can pose more challenges, leaving produce susceptible to the growth of bacteria. In addition to a claim against you for the personal injury suffered during the illness, you could also find yourself liable for other costs, such as time at work lost through sickness or even end up paying out for holidays or other events missed due to the illness.
Both of these public health risks can be covered by comprehensive public liability insurance, which will pay out against any claim and also cover legal costs if necessary.
3. What about staff?
If you employ any staff, you have a duty to ensure they are trained in food hygiene to a level relevant to their duties. As well as ensuring your staff handle and prepare food safely, you’ll also need to consider their health and safety. Even if you only employ someone part-time or pay them cash in hand, you still need employer’s liability insurance by law. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day and if someone you have paid does make a claim against you following an injury, you’ll be liable to pay out compensation.
4. Get on with running your street food business with peace of mind that the risks are covered
Our dedicated catering team has over 20 years experience helping businesses of all sizes. We know that one size doesn’t fit all, and understand the unique needs of your business. We’ll work hard to tailor-make an insurance package for you that gives you the level of cover you need without costing the earth.
As well as public and employer’s liability insurance we can provide you with other insurance products, including business vehicle insurance and personal injury insurance, so you’ll know all the risks are covered.