Why lighting matters in food production
Food sites face lighting risks that ordinary industrial premises do not:
- Missed contamination and residue after cleaning, especially on stainless steel, in corners and under conveyors.
- Inspection errors on sorting, trimming and quality control lines where colour and surface defects must be judged.
- Glass and brittle plastic risk from unprotected lamps and diffusers over open product.
- Harsh environments: washdown, steam, cold stores and flour dust all shorten luminaire life and cloud diffusers, so light output falls faster than in a dry warehouse.
- Wet floors and knives, where poor visibility adds to slip and cut risks.
The legal and audit framework
Retained food hygiene law (Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 as it applies in the UK) requires food premises to have adequate natural or artificial lighting. Alongside that, regulation 8 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and HSE guidance HSG38 cover lighting as a worker safety issue. Neither sets a specific number, so BS EN 12464-1:2021 is the recognised benchmark for showing that lighting is adequate.
| Food industry task (BS EN 12464-1:2021) | Maintained illuminance |
|---|---|
| Washing, filling, cleaning, sieving, peeling; cooking in preserve and chocolate factories; fermentation cellars | 200 lx |
| Sorting and washing of products, milling, mixing, packing | 300 lx |
| Cutting and sorting of fruit and vegetables | 300 lx |
| Critical zones in slaughterhouses, butchers, dairies and mills | 500 lx |
| Delicatessen manufacture; kitchen work | 500 lx |
| Inspection of glasses and bottles, product control, trimming, sorting, decoration | 500 lx |
| Laboratories | 500 lx |
| Colour inspection | 1000 lx |
Food tasks generally call for colour rendering of Ra 80 or better, and colour inspection requires higher colour rendering still. Warehousing, dispatch and cold store areas follow the storage values in our warehouse standards page.
Who asks about food factory lighting
Environmental health officers and the FSA
Local authority EHOs inspect most food manufacturers, and the Food Standards Agency oversees approved meat establishments. Inadequate lighting in production or cleaning areas can be raised as a hygiene contravention and can affect how the business is assessed.
BRCGS, SALSA and retailer audits
Third-party certification schemes such as the BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety expect lighting in production and storage areas to be adequate for the work, and require lamps and diffusers to be protected where breakage could contaminate product. Retailer technical audits often look at inspection-station lighting closely. A dated lux survey is straightforward evidence to put in front of an auditor.
HSE and insurers
HSE remains responsible for worker safety in food manufacturing, where slips, knife injuries and workplace transport are leading causes of harm. Insurers may ask for lighting evidence after a claim.
What we measure on a food production survey
- Illuminance at the working height of each line, including sorting belts, trimming tables and packing stations.
- Readings at fixed inspection points and checkweigher or metal detector reject stations.
- Average and uniformity in cleaning-critical areas, including under and behind equipment where practical.
- Light levels in cold stores, chillers and ambient stores, where low temperatures and condensation can affect fittings.
- Luminaire condition: missing or cracked diffusers, unprotected lamps and clouded covers, noted for your glass and brittle plastics register.
- Emergency escape lighting along routes out of production halls.
We work to your site hygiene rules, including protective clothing, hand washing and no-glass policies, and can schedule visits around production and deep-clean windows.
Fixing the common failures
The most frequent cause of low readings in food sites is not poor design but degraded output: yellowed polycarbonate diffusers, dirt, steam damage and failed LED modules. Cleaning or replacing covers can recover a surprising amount of light. Where the layout is the issue, typically after a line move, targeted task lighting over inspection points is often the most cost-effective fix. See common lighting failures for more.
Book a food production lighting survey
We carry out food factory surveys across London and the South East, including Kent, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. Our factory lux survey service covers production, inspection, storage and dispatch, with industrial surveys from £320 and the price confirmed before booking. Book a survey ahead of your next audit.
Frequently asked questions
What lux level is required in a food factory?
UK food hygiene law requires adequate lighting without giving a number, so BS EN 12464-1:2021 is used as the benchmark. It recommends 300 lux for sorting, mixing and packing, 500 lux for critical zones in dairies and butchers and for product inspection, and 1000 lux for colour inspection.
Will a BRCGS auditor check lighting?
Auditors look at whether lighting is adequate for production and inspection and whether lamps are protected against breakage over product. A recent lux survey and a glass and brittle plastics register help demonstrate both.
Can you survey during production?
Yes. We follow your hygiene and protective clothing rules and can work around production runs, or visit during changeovers or deep-clean windows if access to lines is restricted.