How we keep your food safe
Every cook completes a compliance check before selling. Here is exactly what we confirm at sign-up — and what stays the cook's own responsibility as the food business operator.
What every cook must have
FSA Food Hygiene Rating
Checked at sign-upWhen a cook joins, we look them up on the Food Standards Agency register and show their 0–5 hygiene rating on their profile. A newly registered home kitchen is only listed after its first council inspection, so it shows "Awaiting inspection" until the rating is published.
Open data from the Food Standards Agency
Local council food business registration
Required by lawEvery cook must register their home kitchen as a food business with their local authority at least 28 days before trading. It is free, cannot be refused, and lets Environmental Health Officers inspect the kitchen.
A legal requirement for anyone running a food business from home
Level 2 Food Hygiene training
ChowFlex standardThe law requires food handlers to be trained "commensurate with their work" — it does not name a specific course. ChowFlex goes further and requires Level 2 Food Hygiene training from every cook, covering safe handling, cross-contamination, temperature control and cleaning.
Reg (EC) 852/2004 requires adequate training; Level 2 is our own bar
Allergen labelling — before you order and at delivery
Required by lawCooks declare all 14 major allergens on every dish. We show them on the dish before you order, and again in writing on your order confirmation and the cook's packing slip at delivery — as the distance-selling allergen rules require.
Food Information Regulations 2014 (allergen information for distance sales)
Public & product liability insurance
ChowFlex standardCooks confirm they hold cover for the food they sell before going live, and we may ask to see the certificate. This protects both you and the cook if something goes wrong.
Not legally mandated, but required by ChowFlex
Daily kitchen diary & fit-to-cook check
ChowFlex standardEach cooking day, cooks keep a Safer Food, Better Business (SFBB) diary from their dashboard — fridge temperature, cleaning, and a health self-check. If a cook reports they are unwell, their kitchen is automatically paused for 48 hours and cannot take new orders.
Based on the FSA's Safer Food, Better Business system
Allergen information
All 14 major allergens must be declared on every dish. ChowFlex cooks list every allergen present, and because orders are placed online the law requires that information in two places: before you buy (on the dish) and again at delivery (on your order confirmation and the packing slip). You can also filter the browse page to exclude any allergens before you see results.
Reporting a food safety concern
If you have a food safety concern — suspected food poisoning, allergen mislabelling, or unhygienic packaging — please report it immediately.