FSAI registration for Irish food trailers
Every food business in Ireland must register with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland at least 28 days before opening. This is free and legally required by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act 1998 + the European Communities (Hygiene of Foodstuffs) Regulations. For a food trailer, the process runs through your Local Authority's Environmental Health Office, which forwards the registration to FSAI nationally. This guide covers exactly what you need, who to contact, and what happens at inspection.
1. Identify your Local Authority
Registration goes to the Local Authority where your trailer's home base is — typically the local council where you store the trailer overnight, not where you trade. For Dublin operators that's one of the four city/county councils (Dublin City, Fingal, South Dublin, DLR); for Cork, Galway, Limerick etc. it's the city or county council. Cross-county trading is fine but you register only once with your home base.
2. Contact the Environmental Health Officer
Phone or email the EHO at your Local Authority before you do anything else. Tell them: trailer dimensions, planned menu, water source (typically a 50-100L onboard tank with food-grade plumbing), waste-water plan, hand-washing setup, refrigeration spec, and trading patches (festivals + farmers markets + private events). The EHO will tell you exactly which form to fill in and what documentation they want.
3. Complete the FSP01 (food premises registration form)
The form asks for: business name + trading name, owner details, full address of premises (the trailer's home base), nature of food business (coffee trailer, food truck, catering trailer), date of intended opening, water supply details, waste-water details, and a description of the food activities. Submit at least 28 days before the planned opening date. The form is free.
4. Prepare the trailer for first inspection
EHO will want to see: hot water at the wash basin (min 38°C), a separate hand-wash basin from the food-prep sink, food-grade water tank with non-toxic plumbing, refrigeration logging documentation (chill <5°C, freeze <-18°C), HACCP plan written down (a 1-page laminated sheet on the trailer wall is standard), gas cert (RGI), and pest-prevention measures. Bring all paperwork to the inspection — registration without paperwork present often results in a re-visit.
5. Trade through the inspection cycle
After registration FSAI/EHO can inspect unannounced — typically 1-3 inspections in the first year, then annually. Categories of non-compliance run from "minor" (verbal warning, fix at next visit) to "imminent risk" (closure order). Common issues: temperature logging not kept, hand-wash sink dirty, allergen labelling missing, single-use gloves overused without changes. Keep daily logs (5 minutes a day) and you'll fly through inspections.
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