Food Safety and Food Hygiene

Our day-to-day support helps you build a compliance culture that gives you an effective ‘all reasonable precautions and all due diligence’ strategy. If a crisis does happen, we’re the expert legal team you need by your side.

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A meeting of two lawyers

Practical prevention

Our practical food safety and food hygiene advice means we’re a valuable partner to help you build a culture of compliance that prioritises prevention.

Our support includes:

  • Applying for consents, licences and permits
  • Reviewing and drafting your food safety manual and protocols
  • Reviewing allergen management protocols and risk assessments
  • Advising on food labelling and the steps needed to ensure any claims can be substantiated
  • Ensuring allergens are labelled correctly on pre-packed for direct sale (PPDS) foods and signposted on menus to ensure compliance with Natasha’s Law and the proposed Owen’s Law
  • Helping you to understand your duties
  • Providing training to your directors on food safety strategy and environmental obligations.

Proactive crisis support

In a crisis, our ability to respond rapidly and effectively helps you manage and mitigate the situation.

Our expertise includes advising on allegations of food poisoning and complaints, and breaches of food safety, food hygiene and labelling laws including issues such as the levels of lead in food.

We also help you navigate civil sanctions and penalties – the alternative to prosecution and fines – and provide support for closure of food businesses due to pest infestation.

Alongside this we provide incident response, investigating and advising on critical next steps in an emergency or crisis and represent clients at inquests following fatal food related incidents.

 

 

Our experts will also defend prosecutions taken by the FSA, local councils and others at UK courts and tribunals and appeal against decisions made by an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) or the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

Likewise, we can undertake appeals against notices and provide representation at Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) interviews. We’ll also apply for judicial reviews where needed.

In all our work, we bring an extensive background in enforcement and compliance, giving us a level of real-life insight that adds value to your business.

Recognition of our work

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Hear what our clients say about us

Jonathan Edwards has tremendous experience as a personal injury litigator. He will always go the extra mile to support a client and his legal and tactical knowledge is unsurpassed. The support and assistance he provides in every case is second to none.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

Leanne Conisbee is a truly outstanding solicitor. She has an astonishing capacity for hard work and always delivers an exceptional work product. She has brilliant judgement and clients admire her ability to achieve great results in the most difficult of cases. There is no-one I would rather have fighting my corner.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

I have every confidence in Jonathan Edwards and Leanne Conisbee when dealing with complex cases. They understand their cases and strategies well. They offer valid and well thought out opinions on matters and I trust and value their judgement. They also listen and collaborate well. We have had some great results together.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

The practice, all though it is a large practice, still maintains the feel of a family firm, and the support and engagement with the team is as such. The whole team have a great understanding of the business that we work in and understand the processes that we work to and with. The team are always there for use when we need them and if they can’t find the answer that is required they get back to use as soon as possible.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

Thank you for your personal guidance and professional support throughout the most difficult 12 months of my personal and professional life. I have no words that can describe how easy you are to talk to, and how you make the nerves disappear with your calming manner. Thank you for being in my corner and believing in me.

Client testimonial 2025

I would like to thank HCR Law for their extraordinary effort yesterday. I cannot thank Kate Oliver and the wider Insurance, Risk and Regulatory team enough. You made a very stressful situation much easier whilst achieving a positive outcome.

Client testimonial 2025

Kathryn Gilbertson is highly regarded for her work in the hospitality and retail sectors, as well as her advice to property developers, construction businesses, and facilities management companies.

Legal 500 2025 Health and Safety

Kathryn Gilbertson is the region’s standout partner. She is ‘very committed to client service and is extremely knowledgeable regarding the law in the health and safety and fire safety sectors‘.

Legal 500 2025 Health and Safety

Thank you for your advice, council and everything else

M Shepherd Client testimonial

As well as being incredibly professional and conscientious, Ruth was also incredibly kind and reassuring. This was a very difficult time for me, which had gone on for a long time.

Ruth reassured me with her knowledge of the law but was also a caring and empathetic person to be around. I honestly would not have got through it without her. Thank you so much Ruth.

Client An inquest and with insurance difficulties

As someone who practices at the Bar almost exclusively in the area of health and safety and regulatory law … I can say that Jonathan (Edwards) has a well-deserved reputation for being at the top of his professional tree.

He has a vast array of legal knowledge and also possesses considerable tactical and strategic acumen in relation to whether or not cases should be defended….

James Leonard, Barrister Outer Temple Chambers

I have worked with Jonathan Edwards as my ‘go-to’ legal specialist for over two decades. His strong technical skills backed up by an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the insurance market make him unique and he adds genuine value off the back of this. He has a calm and friendly nature, always taking time to understand us as a business and I am truly grateful for the invaluable support he has provided me over the years.

 

Jamie Lewis, Managing Director Jensten Group Ltd

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