Food hygiene in Cyprus: implementing Reg. (EC) 852/2004

This page is the hub for Cyprus' implementation of Reg. (EC) 852/2004. It gives the overall picture and links to the detail pages and the other jurisdictions covered in the countries pillar.

The division of powers

The feature that most sharply sets the Cypriot case apart is split competence. Food safety for most foodstuffs and for catering falls to the Public Health Services of the Ministry of Health; products of animal origin instead fall to the Veterinary Services of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment. In our view this is what most marks the difference from the Dutch model: whereas in the Netherlands the business deals with a single national authority, the NVWA, in Cyprus the counterpart depends on the nature of the product. As in Spain and Italy, the operator must therefore correctly identify the competent authority before any compliance step.

Registration and approval

Reg. 852/2004 requires every food business operator to notify each establishment to the competent authority for registration Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. In Cyprus most businesses — bars, restaurants, retail shops — are subject only to registration with the Public Health Services. Establishments handling products of animal origin (slaughterhouses, cutting plants, dairies, fishery-product establishments) may instead be subject to approval under Reg. (EC) 853/2004 Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004: an express decision, issued in Cyprus by the Veterinary Services, that verifies the requirements before start-up. The difference between the two is explained in the concept registration vs approval.

Self-checking, training and guides to good practice

Every food business must put in place self-checking procedures based on HACCP principles Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 and ensure the training of staff who handle food Annex II, Chapter XII, point 1 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. The regulation encourages the development of national guides to good hygiene practice Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 and allows them to be used to apply the hygiene requirements and HACCP principles with the flexibility it permits Article 5(5) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004: in Cyprus such sector-oriented guides help the business translate its obligations into operational practice. They remain voluntary support tools: they do not replace the business's responsibility. The operational picture for training is covered in HACCP training in Cyprus.

Official controls and competent authorities

Official controls are organised under Reg. (EU) 2017/625 Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, which repealed the earlier Reg. (EC) 854/2004 and 882/2004. In Cyprus enforcement follows the division of powers: the Public Health Services for foodstuffs in general and catering, the Veterinary Services for products of animal origin. Measures against breaches are administrative in nature and are organised by the State within its national implementation of the regulation Article 1(1) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. For a comparison between the Cypriot split-competence model and a single-authority one, see the countries pages and the country-comparison tool.