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

This page is the hub for Latvia'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

Latvia's distinctive trait is that competence is concentrated in a single integrated authority: the PVD (Pārtikas un veterinārais dienests — Food and Veterinary Service) brings together, in one body, food safety and the veterinary control of products of animal origin. The PVD handles registration, approval and official controls across the whole territory. In our view this is what sets the Latvian case apart: whereas the Netherlands also has a single authority but one that is primarily food-focused, Latvia integrates the veterinary side into the same service; and whereas in Spain the actual counterpart depends on the Autonomous Community and in Italy on the regional health authorities, in Latvia the business deals with a single national body of integrated competence.

Registration and approval with the PVD

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 Latvia this notification is made to the PVD. 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 the PVD that verifies the requirements before start-up. The difference between the two is explained in the concept registration vs approval.

Self-checking, training and good-practice guides

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 guides to good hygiene practice to help businesses apply the hygiene requirements and HACCP principles with the flexibility it permits Article 5(5) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 and itself encourages the development of such guides at national level Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. They remain voluntary support tools: they do not replace the business's responsibility. The operational picture for training is covered in HACCP training in Latvia.

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 Latvia enforcement falls entirely to the PVD, which schedules inspections and verifications on a risk basis, on both the food and the veterinary sides. For a comparison between the centralised Latvian model and a decentralised one, see the countries pages and the country-comparison tool.