New person in charge of a food premises? Your first 30 days under R638

By Mthokozisi Nkosi, Food Scientist, SAATCA Registered R638:2018 Lead Implementer (SAATCA register RG003), Lead Auditor registered with Exemplar Global and IRCA, Founder of ASC Food Safety Consultants. Updated November 2026.

Short answer: the day you become the person in charge of a food premises, three R638 duties land on you at once. You have 30 days to report yourself to the municipality in writing (regulation 3(8)), you must be adequately trained in food safety and hygiene yourself (regulation 10(1)(a)), and every person working on the premises must be trained too (regulation 10(1)(b)). This post is the training side of that handover, week by week.

It applies whether you bought the business, were promoted when the old manager left, or opened a second branch. The Certificate of Acceptability is issued in the name of the person in charge and cannot be transferred (regulation 3(9)(a)), so a new name means a new certificate. For the full picture on buying a business, moving premises or renovating, read when your Certificate of Acceptability must change on ascfoodsafety.com.

I see the same gap every month. The new person in charge sorts out the lease, the stock and the staff, and leaves the training for later. Then an environmental health practitioner walks in, asks who the person in charge is and what training they hold, and there is nothing to show.

What R638 actually says

R638 is the Regulations Governing General Hygiene Requirements for Food Premises, the Transport of Food and Related Matters, published on 22 June 2018 under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, 1972. The parts that matter when the person in charge changes:

• Regulation 3(1): no food may be handled on a premises without a valid Certificate of Acceptability.
• Regulation 3(5): the local authority issues the certificate in the name of the person in charge, after an inspector has inspected the premises.
• Regulation 3(8): when the person in charge is replaced, the local authority must be told in writing within 30 days, and a new certificate is issued in the new person’s name.
• Regulation 3(9)(a): a certificate is not transferable between persons or between premises.
• Regulation 10(1)(a): the person in charge must be suitably qualified or adequately trained in food safety and hygiene.

What the inspector will ask the new person in charge

The inspector is checking two things: the premises and the person. On the person side, expect these questions:

• Are you, the new person in charge, trained in food safety and hygiene, and can you show the certificate? (regulation 10(1)(a))
• Have the people who work on the premises been trained in the same principles? (regulation 10(1)(b))
• Do you keep training records, and do you check that the training is working? (regulation 10(1)(c) and (d))

If the premises fall short, regulation 3(5) lets the local authority give you up to six months to fix things. That time is for the building and equipment. It is not a reason to put off your own training, because the training certificate is something you can sort out this week.

Your first 30 days as the new person in charge

1. Find out whose name is on the certificate. Look at the original on the wall. If it is not yours, the clock is running.
2. Enrol in a Person in Charge course. Choose one that is accredited and that ends in a proper assessment, so the certificate you get will stand up when the inspector asks for it.
3. Write to the municipality. Send a letter or email to the environmental health section of your local municipality saying you are the new person in charge, and ask how they want the application for the new certificate submitted. Keep a copy.
4. Train your staff. Every food handler needs basic food safety training. Start with the people who prepare and serve food.
5. Start a training register. Name, course, date, certificate number. One page is enough, as long as it is kept up to date.
6. Display the new certificate when it arrives. Regulation 3(7) says it must be visible on the premises, or a copy must be produced at once if displaying it is impractical.

Mistakes I see new people in charge make

• Keeping the old certificate up. It looks fine to a customer. To an inspector it shows the business has not reported the change.
• Waiting for the inspector to come. The 30 days in regulation 3(8) start when the person in charge changes, not when someone notices.
• Training the staff but not themselves. The duty in regulation 10(1)(a) sits with the person in charge first.

Questions owners ask me

Can the seller sign the certificate over to me? No. Regulation 3(9)(a) rules that out. The new certificate is issued by the local authority in your name.

Which course do my staff need? See who needs the Person in Charge course and who needs food handler training.

Does my manager or I need the training? Whoever is the person in charge named on the certificate. Many owners train both, so that the business is not stuck when one of them leaves.

How long does the course take? The ASC Person in Charge course is about 16 hours of self paced learning, so most people finish it in a few evenings or over a weekend.

Start the Persons in Charge course today, and have your certificate ready before you write to the municipality.