Food safety management for trade shows and exhibitions
When hundreds of exhibitors prepare and sample food on temporary stands, food is one of the biggest risks at your show. We help you keep your visitors safe and protect your reputation, by finding food problems and getting them put right before they become an illness or a headline.
Working at UK shows and events since 2007
A team of 20+ qualified food safety advisers
Food safety problems found before your show opens
Clear advice, with every decision left to you
Shows and venues you'll know us from
The food risk at your event is high
At a big show or event, food is handled by hundreds of different businesses, many of them working from a temporary stand without a full kitchen. Hand washing and keeping food cold are harder to get right, and visitors try food from dozens of stands in a day, each with its own allergens.
If something goes wrong, your visitors are the ones who get hurt, and the questions come to you as the organiser or venue. Complaints, enforcement action, claims, insurance questions and press coverage can stay with a show for years.
The Food Standards Agency puts foodborne illness in the UK at about 2.4 million cases a year, with more than 16,000 people needing hospital treatment and a cost to society of £9.1 billion a year. It also estimates that up to 2.4 million adults live with a diagnosed food allergy.
We work to the published rules for the show and current Food Standards Agency guidance. Our role is advisory: we recommend, and you decide.
What you get
- Food problems found and put right before they reach your visitors
- Exhibitors who know what you expect, because it is written into your exhibitor manual
- Missing or out-of-date documents chased for you
- Qualified advisers on site at build-up and on open days
- A written record of the food safety steps taken at your show
- Recommendations that make next year safer
Before, during and after your show
Gaps found weeks before opening
- We agree the food requirements with you
- Your exhibitors complete only what applies to their stand
- Food safety plans, allergen information, product lists and hygiene certificates reviewed
- Reminders go only to stands with something outstanding
- Documents are usually due about 28 days before the show
Risks put right on site
- Visits to food stands as they set up and while open
- Hand washing, temperature control, allergens and sampling checked
- Practical advice given to stand staff on the spot
- Anything serious raised with you straight away
- Every visit recorded against the stand
A record of the steps taken
- Every stand we checked and what we found
- What was put right during the show
- Recommendations for your exhibitors and for next year
- Each stand history kept for repeat exhibitors
What our advisers look at on a food stand
The same few things go wrong on food stands at most shows, and any of them can make a visitor ill. Our on-site advisers are qualified in food safety and used to the pace of build-up, and they help your exhibitors fix these before the doors open.
- Hand washing: a working basin with hot water, soap and towels where food is handled
- Temperatures: chilled food kept cold, hot food kept hot, probe checks recorded
- Allergen information that staff can give accurately
- Sampling: portions protected, utensils and waste handled properly
- Cleaning, storage and food brought in from outside caterers
See which stands are ready, and which are a risk
You can see who is ready at any point, so you can deal with a risky stand weeks before the show instead of on opening morning. You set what each event needs and your exhibitors send it online. Every visit and follow-up is kept for next year.
- Requirements set per event, from food sampling to allergens
- A live view of which stands are ready
- Every visit and follow-up recorded against the stand
Running the show, hosting it or exhibiting at it
Organising a show?
Fewer food risks at your event and a clear record for every food exhibitor, with the decisions left with you.
Hosting shows at your venue?
Protect your venue's name at every show you host, alongside audits of your own outlets.
Venue safetyExhibiting at a show we support?
Know exactly what your stand needs, send it once online and open on time. Email our exhibitor support team with any questions.
Exhibitor sign-inEvent safety questions
Exhibiting and have a question about your documents? Email [email protected]. Organising a show or running a venue, and your question is not here? Call sales on 020 4572 4502 or email [email protected].
What happens if there is a food incident at our show?
Visitors who become ill or have an allergic reaction may complain or make claims, the local authority can investigate and take enforcement action, and incidents often reach the press and social media. Our advice is there to make that much less likely and to give you a record of the food safety steps taken at your show. We cannot guarantee an outcome, and each exhibitor stays responsible for the food it serves.
Do you sign off or approve stands?
No. We confirm what we have received, visit the stand and give our advice and recommendations. You decide whether an exhibitor continues.
What do my exhibitors need to send?
It depends on what they serve. A stand sampling food usually sends a product list with allergens, a short food safety plan, hygiene training certificates and insurance. Stands that are not serving food are not asked for food documents.
When are my exhibitors' documents due?
Most shows set a deadline about 28 days before the event (at exhibition venues this follows the AEV eGuide). We keep following up until the show opens.
Do you cover build-up as well as open days?
Yes. Build-up is when most problems can still be fixed easily, so we usually start visiting food stands as they set up.
Do you audit outside caterers?
Where a stand brings in an external caterer, we review their documents and can audit their premises before the show where that is practical.
How do you price a show?
We send a quote based on the number of food exhibitors at your show, the show days and the on-site cover you need.
More on food safety at events
Venue safety
Audits of the food outlets and kitchens inside your venue
Exhibitor resources
Free guides and PDFs to share with your exhibitors
Training for stand staff
Online Level 2 Food Hygiene with an instant certificate
What a food stall needs for EHO compliance
The documents and checks an officer expects to see on a food stand
Food safety audits for event vendors
What an audit of your food vendors covers and what it protects you from
Food hygiene in event safety training
Why your event safety training should cover food hygiene
Planning a show or event?
Keep your visitors safe and protect your event's reputation. Tell us about your event and how many food stands you expect, and we will send you a quote.