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

This page is the hub for Slovakia'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

What most sharply sets the Slovak case apart is its integrated veterinary-and-food administration: at the top of food control sits the ŠVPS (State Veterinary and Food Administration of the Slovak Republic), which combines veterinary and food competences in a single body and operates across the territory through the RVPS (regionálna veterinárna a potravinová správa), the regional veterinary and food administrations. Alongside it, the Public Health Authority (Úrad verejného zdravotníctva SR, ÚVZ) also has a role for certain public-health aspects linked to communal catering. In our view it is precisely this integration of the veterinary and food strands that characterises the model: whereas in the Netherlands competence is concentrated in a single food-focused authority, and in other States it is split by product type, in Slovakia the business deals with the competent RVPS within a single veterinary-and-food administration. In Spain the actual counterpart depends on the Autonomous Community and in Italy on the regional health authorities.

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 Slovakia this notification is made to the territorially competent RVPS, under the ŠVPS. 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 competent authority 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 the necessary 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 Slovakia such guides give the business an operational reference for its sector. They remain voluntary support tools: they do not replace the business's responsibility. The operational picture for training is covered in HACCP training in Slovakia.

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 Slovakia enforcement falls to the ŠVPS, which operates through the RVPS and schedules inspections and verifications on a risk basis. The State also organises its own penalty regime Article 1(1) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004: administrative penalties are set by the Slovak Act on foodstuffs (zákon o potravinách). For a comparison between the integrated Slovak model and other arrangements, see the countries pages and the country-comparison tool.