Before you start selling food, you have to get a certificate of acceptability from the Department of Environmental Health. If you sell food without a valid licence you may be liable of a fine up to R2 000.

Depending on the requirements from your local municipality and what you want to sell, you may also

1. You must have a valid certificate of acceptability

You must apply for this certificate at your local department of environmental health. You should have this certificate before you start to trade. Try this link for the contact details: Department of Environmental Health

The best option is to actually go into the offices rather than call.

2. Your facility must look like a food facility

Not a scrapyard. It needs to be in an area that doesn’t pose a risk to the processes or the food handled. Open ground can lead to rodent infestation, dust from the neighbor can contaminate the product. If the environment is not ideal and you cannot move, you need to apply additional measures to keep the outside from becoming a problem on the inside.

The regulation puts the onus on you to protect food by the best available method against contamination or spoilage by poisonous or offensive gases, vapours, odours, smoke, soot deposits, dust, moisture, insects or other vectors, or by any other physical, chemical or biological contamination or pollution or by any other agent whatsoever.

The design of a food facility must also be conducive to easy cleaning. The regulation uses the words, smooth, easy to clean, non-porous when describing walls, ceilings and floors. Be careful with tiles as the grout may be porous.

The facility must be adequately ventilated to remove the build-up of steam. Any cooking appliances will require extraction hoods. Lighting must also be sufficient. In both cases the national building regulations apply. Kitchens for restaurants must also be of a minimum size for the number of patrons. If you are changing the building or designing a new one – make sure your plans are approved first.

Your facility must also be pest-proof – flies and rodents are specifically mentioned. This means keeping them out so there should be no open windows unless these are screened, grates on drains and no opening in walls. Rubber strips on the bottom of doors will further discourage rodents.

Your wastewater system must be approved by the EHP. Fat traps should be installed.

There must be a wash-up facility for cleaning purposes. NOTE! This is NOT the handwash basin.

3. Enough toilets and handwash basins

You will need to provide the right number of toilets for the employees and the patrons if you have a restaurant. The regulation provides a table with the number of toilets you will need.

Each bathroom must have running hot and cold water, soap – always use liquid soap and a means to dry hands.

Rather use paper towels or adequately powered hot air dryers. Make sure there is a waste bin too. The occupational health and safety act regulations also require you to provide sanitary bins in ladies' toilets.

The toilets cannot open directly onto the restaurant or the kitchen/food preparation areas. There must be a lobby/double door configuration at least.

Toilets should obviously be cleaner very regularly and preferably not by kitchen staff. NOTE! There still have to be more handwash basins in the food preparation areas.

4. A place for everything and everything in its place

There should be enough space for all activities in your process. There should be storage areas for food that are separate from storage areas for food and ingredients. Ideally, you should keep raw food and any cooked/heat-processed products separately.

There must be a specifically designated area for waste containers.

There must be a place for staff to change and store their personal clothing away from food handling activities. Staff should not change in the toilets.

5. The right tools for the job

All the equipment used in a food handling facility must be fit-for-purpose. You have to consider that items will be used repeatedly so domestic equipment will not last. Rather spend the money and invest in industrial equipment.

Any surface that is in contact with food must not be a source of contamination so these surfaces should be smooth, rust-proof, non-toxic and non-absorbent material that is easy to clean. Wooden chopping boards are not ideal.

Crockery, cutlery and any other utensils must not be chipped or cracked and must be cleaned before used.

The first part of our article has discussed how your food facility should be built, part 2 will tackle the practices you will need to enforce to handle food hygienically.

Note R962 has now been replaced with R638 view more

Here is everything you need to know to establish a restaurant in South Africa.

1. Building planning

Ensure you meet the appropriate requirements, including: zoning, rights of use, road and public access and parking.

2. Fire inspection

Ensure appropriate fire inspection is carried out – this is done by the Fire Department. For all non-residential buildings, the plans must be approved by the Fire Department prior to applying for the construction permit

2. Company registration

If you’re setting up a private company ((Pty) Ltd), you need to register your company as a legal entity. It’s mandatory to register within 60 days of starting a business.

the following documents must be submitted:

– Certified ID copies of all indicated initial directors and incorporators.
– Certified ID copy of applicant if not the same as one of the indicated initial directors or incorporators.
– If an incorporator is a juristic person, a power of attorney is required for the representative authorized to incorporate the company and sign all related documents.
– If another person incorporates the company and signs all related documents on behalf of any of the incorporators and initial directors, a power of attorney and certified ID copy of the person is required.
– If a name was reserved before filing of incorporation documents, the valid name reservation document is necessary.

3. Trading licence

​Legislation requires that certain types of businesses be in possession of a valid business or trade license. This can include businesses like a restaurant, coffee shop, a tavern or a health and wellness spa.

4. Health

Every food enterprise needs to apply for Certificate of Acceptability for Food Premises. Business owners need to ensure that the appropriate health inspection is carried out.

If you restaurant has a smoking area, it will have to comply with the Tobacco Products Control Act as it applies to smoking in public places.

5. Taxation

Register for Company Tax, VAT, PAYE, Skills Development. Businesses with a turnover above R335 000 have to pay tax.

6. Labour

Businesses need to comply with labour legislation, including the minimum conditions of employment and minimum wage requirements. Businesses also need to register for Workmen’s Compensation.

7. Consumer protection

If you supply goods or services you must comply with the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (the Act) which promotes fair, accessible and sustainable trading.

8. Entertainment

Apply for television licences. If you are broadcasting or playing sound recordings in your establishment, a licence is required either from South African Music Performance Rights Association (SAMPRO) or Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO).The process of getting a food truck license and a permit is a bit more complicated than just opening up a food truck. This is because it involves the city, state, and federal governments.

In order to get one of these licenses, you must be in compliance with all laws and regulations. You will also need to make sure that your business meets the health codes for your specific location.

For Food Trucks

It is important that you comply with all South African laws and regulations, which include municipal by-laws. The list of regulations includes the following:

• The Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act 54 of 1972
• Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997
• Tax Law; SARS, VAT, Income Tax, Customs Tax,
• Companies Act 71 of 2008,
• Close Corporations Act 69 of 1984,
• Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2009 and the Competition Act 89 of 1998.

Also, to sell any foodstuff here in South Africa (not including unprocessed Agri products), you will need the Certificate of Acceptability. To get it, you must file an application with your local municipality.

As part of the application, before you get the certificate, the municipal environmental inspector will visit your food truck in South Africa and carry out an inspection.