Food hygiene in the Czech Republic: implementing Reg. (EC) 852/2004

This page is the hub for the Czech Republic's 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 Czech Republic follows a distinctive model: competence for food safety is split at national level between two authorities, according to product type. Foodstuffs of non-animal origin — retail, catering, manufacture — fall to the SZPI (Státní zemědělská a potravinářská inspekce, the Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority); products of animal origin fall to the SVS (Státní veterinární správa, the State Veterinary Administration). In some respects catering and communal meals also involve local public-health bodies, but the two named central authorities remain SZPI and SVS. In our view this is what most sharply sets the Czech case apart: whereas in the Netherlands the business deals with a single national authority, in Spain the counterpart depends on the Autonomous Community and in Italy on the regional health authorities, in the Czech Republic the competent authority is identified by product type.

Registration and approval with SZPI or SVS

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 the Czech Republic this notification is made to the authority competent for the product type: SZPI for foodstuffs of non-animal origin, SVS for products of animal origin. Most businesses — bars, restaurants, retail shops — are subject only to registration. 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 by SVS 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 allows the hygiene requirements and HACCP principles to be applied with flexibility Article 5(5) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 and encourages the development of national guides to good hygiene practice Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004: in the Czech Republic these sector guides help businesses apply the requirements. They remain voluntary support tools: they do not replace the business's responsibility. The operational picture for training is covered in HACCP training in the Czech Republic.

Official controls and penalties

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 the Czech Republic enforcement is split between SZPI and SVS according to product type, each competent for its own remit and scheduling on a risk basis. Administrative penalties are governed by Czech food law (zákon o potravinách a tabákových výrobcích, the Act on foodstuffs and tobacco products). For a comparison between the Czech two-authority model and a centralised or decentralised one, see the countries pages and the country-comparison tool.