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

This page is the hub for Denmark'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 and the Smiley scheme

Like the Netherlands, Denmark follows a centralised model: competence for food safety rests with a single national authority, Fødevarestyrelsen (the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration), operating under the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries and handling registration, approval and official controls through its regional control units. In our view, however, what most sharply sets the Danish case apart is not the structure but the transparency: Denmark layers onto the official-controls framework the Smiley scheme, under which a business displays to the public the outcome of its latest control as a "smiley", and businesses with a long clean record can earn an "Elite-smiley". Whereas in Spain the counterpart depends on the Autonomous Community and in Italy on the regional health authorities, in Denmark — as in the Netherlands — the business deals with a single national body, but here the outcomes are also published systematically.

Registration and approval with Fødevarestyrelsen

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 Denmark this notification is made to Fødevarestyrelsen. Most businesses — bars, restaurants, retail shops — are subject only to registration; some activities instead require prior authorisation. Establishments handling products of animal origin (slaughterhouses, cutting plants, dairies, fishery-product establishments) may be subject to approval under Reg. (EC) 853/2004 Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004: an express decision by Fødevarestyrelsen that verifies the requirements before start-up. The difference between the two is explained in the concept registration vs approval.

Self-checking and staff training

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 HACCP principles to be applied with flexibility appropriate to the size of the activity Article 5(5) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 and encourages the development of national guides to good practice Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. Denmark additionally requires, for staff in certain businesses handling non-prepacked food, national hygiene training: the business must ensure that staff in the relevant activities have the required training. The current scope and specifics should be checked with Fødevarestyrelsen. The operational picture for training is covered in HACCP training in Denmark.

Official controls and transparency

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 Denmark enforcement falls to Fødevarestyrelsen, which schedules inspections and verifications on a risk basis; onto this framework the Smiley scheme is grafted, a national transparency mechanism that publishes the results of controls without replacing any EU obligation. For a comparison between national models, see the countries pages and the country-comparison tool.