HACCP training in Germany: EU obligation and Belehrung under §43 IfSG

The EU obligation and the referral to Member States

The root of the training obligation is single and supranational. Annex II, Chapter XII of Reg. (EC) 852/2004 requires the food business operator to ensure that food handlers are supervised, instructed or trained in food hygiene in line with their work activity Annex II, Chapter XII, point 1 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, and that those responsible for developing and maintaining the self-checking procedure have received adequate training in the application of HACCP principles Annex II, Chapter XII, point 2 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. The regulation adds an explicit referral to national law: any national-law training requirements for people working in certain food sectors must be complied with Annex II, Chapter XII, point 3 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. Training is also an integral part of the self-checking required by Article 5 Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004: an HACCP plan handled by untrained staff is a plan with no implementation.

Hygiene training: the business's responsibility

On the food-hygiene side, the German model follows the scheme of the regulation: responsibility lies with the food business, which must ensure training appropriate to the type of activity and the tasks performed and keep records of it. The regulation sets no minimum hours, predefined syllabus or mandatory refresher frequency Annex II, Chapter XII, point 3 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004: it is for the business to identify the relevant content (personal hygiene, contamination, cold chain, allergens, self-checking procedures) and to keep proof that training has taken place. National hygiene implementation is supplemented by the Lebensmittelhygiene-Verordnung (LMHV).

The Belehrung under §43 IfSG: a distinct obligation

Alongside the operator's hygiene training, Germany has a distinct health-instruction obligation. Anyone who, on starting the activity, handles certain foods (or is intended to do so) must receive an instruction (Belehrung) from the Gesundheitsamt under §43 of the Infektionsschutzgesetz (IfSG), before starting and then periodically at the employer. In our view the two obligations must be kept clearly distinct: the Belehrung is an individual health measure linked to the risk of communicable diseases, while the hygiene training under Annex II Chapter XII of Reg. 852/2004 is a business obligation about food hygiene proper Annex II, Chapter XII, point 1 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. Neither replaces the other. The German legal reference is the IfSG; the practical arrangements must be checked with the territorially competent Gesundheitsamt.

Controls and the value of the certificate

During official controls, the competent authority of the Land verifies the adequacy of staff training within the framework of Reg. (EU) 2017/625 Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625. Since enforcement is with the Länder, individual Länder may have adopted their own guidance or operational notes: the reference must be sought from the authority with territorial competence. There is no legally guaranteed national or EU-wide validity for a training certificate: training is not a title tradeable in the abstract but the discharge of a business obligation, and the Belehrung is an individual health measure. Anyone selling courses promising a "European certificate", a title "recognised everywhere" or a non-existent European certification is communicating in a potentially misleading way Article 6 of Directive 2005/29/EC; on the difference between training and certification, see why no certificate exists under Reg. 852/2004. The overall picture of the German system is in the Germany page. For a comparison with a regional-competence model, see HACCP training in Italy.