Food-safe surfaces, wash-hand basins and WC ratios
Food premises have to be built and finished so they can be kept clean and safe — washable, sealed surfaces in food areas, a wash-hand basin dedicated to handwashing (not shared with food prep) with hot and cold running water, and enough WCs for the number of staff and customers.
Food premises have to be built and finished so they can be kept clean and safe — washable, sealed surfaces in food areas, a wash-hand basin dedicated to handwashing (not shared with food prep) with hot and cold running water, and enough WCs for the number of staff and customers. Get this right at the specification stage, before tiles and fittings are ordered.
If your environmental health officer finds the kitchen does not meet these basics at your first inspection, you are looking at a hygiene rating hit or enforcement action, plus the cost of ripping out and redoing finishes you have already paid to install.
Most councils offer free informal advice before you commit to a layout.
Who this is for
Any venue with a kitchen doing more than serving drinks — reheat, prep or full cooking operations all trigger this.
Applies from a reheat-only kitchen upward; drinks-only bars with no food handling are out of scope.
What you’ll hold
- Kitchen fit-out specification
- Any written advice from environmental health
Watch out for
- Sharing the handwashing basin with food prep or washing-up. It has to be a dedicated basin, positioned for convenient use, supplied with hot and cold water, soap and hygienic drying.
- Choosing finishes on looks rather than washability. Untreated wood, unsealed grout and porous work surfaces in food areas are a routine reason inspectors ask for remedial work.
- Sizing WC provision for the kitchen team only. Customer WC numbers scale with covers, and a mismatch is a common finding at first inspection.
Sources
- GOV.UK — Starting a food business checked 2026-09-08
See also
This is item 34 of 66 in the free UK Launch Checklist. See the whole list →