How To Start A Food Company In South Africa
What is Food Company?
The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world’s population.
How To Start A Food Company In South Africa
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.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do you need a license to sell food in South Africa?
If you are a hawker selling food and meals, which you take from place to place or sell from a vehicle, you need to have a licence. You will need to apply for a licence from the City’s Trade Licence Department. In addition, you will need to pay a once-off application fee.
How much do you need to start a food company in South Africa?
The average restaurant startup cost is $275,000 or $3,046 per seat for a leased building. Bump that up to $425,000 or $3,734 per seat—if you want to own the building. Our restaurant startup cost checklist breaks down all the costs you’ll need to consider to make your dream a reality.
Can I sell food from home South Africa?
To legally sell any foodstuff in South Africa, except unprocessed agricultural products, you must apply for a Certificate of Acceptability from the local authority, which would typically be your municipality. This certificate must be in place before you start trading.
How much money do I need to open a small restaurant in South Africa?
The estimated cost can be somewhere from R4 million – R6 million, depending on the type of restaurant and other factors. “An applicant must have a minimum of 35% of the purchase price of a restaurant in unencumbered, non-borrowed cash.
How do I get a health and safety Certificate in South Africa?
How do I get a Health and Safety Compliance Certificate? Health and Safety Compliance Certificates are issued following a site inspection of your factory or business premises by qualified auditors from a company such as Hesscon, which is registered with the relevant authorities.
Do you need a food hygiene certificate to work with food?
Food delivery workers are not directly involved in the preparation of food, such as the washing and cutting of raw food, and the processing of ready-to-eat food. Therefore, they are currently not required to attend the Basic Food Hygiene Course.
Can I make food at home and sell it?
Cottage food laws vary among the states, and those interested in selling food from home should consult their local laws before launching their businesses. States also require home-based food business owners to have food-handlers permits, which typically requires a brief training course.
How much is a business license in South Africa?
A duly completed DHA-947 form online. Handwritten forms will not be accepted by the Department of Home Affairs. Payment of the application fee of R1350.
What licenses are needed to start a food truck in South Africa?
The most important regulations that business owners in this sector have to comply with are health and safety permits, licenses for the selling of liquor and tobacco, as well as zoning permits, to operate in certain locations. If you comply with all the requirements, you will be issued with a licence