Unregistered Instagram food businesses raise alarm for Food Standards Agency.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) say there’s a concerning rise in food businesses operating out of people’s homes, especially during lockdown.

Experts are particularly worried about people selling food through social media, which means many fail to register their businesses. Even those who do register are often not inspected for hygiene before they start selling produce.

Julie Barratt, from the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, said: “Little food businesses are popping up like mushrooms in lockdown”, “There are rank outsiders operating off the radar, who think, ‘Oh, my mum can cook’, and confuse cooking with catering”.

Local authorities are now using video calls to clear the backlog of hygiene inspections. However, Ms Barnett says these video calls are unable to reveal things such as out-of-date ingredients or rat droppings under the cooker.