Annex II, Chapter III of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 — Movable and temporary premises and vending machines

Rationale and origin

Chapter III solves an adaptability problem. Chapters I and II of Annex II describe fixed premises and preparation rooms with permanent walls, floors, ceilings and installations. A significant part of the food trade, however, takes place without such structures: street markets, fairs, festivals, temporary events, itinerant selling, vending machines. Applying the requirements of a manufacturing establishment to a market stall would be technically impossible and legally unreasonable. The legislator therefore provided a dedicated chapter with functional rather than structural requirements: not "washable walls up to a given height", but "surfaces in contact with food easy to clean"; not "changing rooms", but "facilities to maintain adequate personal hygiene".

The reading key is twofold. Paragraph 1 sets a general, unconditional duty, tempered only by the clause "so far as is reasonably practicable". Paragraph 2 lists specific requirements but subordinates them to "where necessary": it is for the operator, through hazard analysis, to determine which of the detailed requirements are relevant to the activity. A stall selling whole fruit and vegetables has different needs from a food truck that cooks and serves hot food. Commission Notice 2022/C 355/01 (see Sources) confirms that "where necessary" is to be read through a risk-analysis lens, not as unfettered discretion.

Who is covered

The chapter applies to three heterogeneous categories sharing the absence of a conventional fixed establishment, listed in the chapter heading itself Annex II, Chapter III, point 1 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004:

1. Movable and/or temporary premises: marquees and event structures, market stalls, mobile sales vehicles (so-called food trucks and fitted-out vans). Mobility or temporary installation is the distinguishing feature.
2. Premises used mainly as a private dwelling but where food is "regularly" prepared for placing on the market: home production intended for sale (for example baked goods or preserves made in a domestic kitchen and put on the market). The word "regularly" excludes occasional and purely domestic uses, which fall outside the scope of the Regulation Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004.
3. Vending machines for food and drink.

The general exclusions in Article 1 remain: primary production for private domestic use, the domestic preparation and storage of food for private domestic consumption, and the direct supply by the producer of small quantities of primary products to the final consumer or to local retail establishments Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. Anyone falling within Chapter III is a food business operator in full, with the attendant cross-cutting duties: registration of the establishment with the competent authority Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 and HACCP-based procedures Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004.

What is required

Paragraph 2 lists eight requirements "where necessary" Annex II, Chapter III, point 2 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004:

Two issues deserve attention. Point (b) mirrors Chapter V on equipment: food-contact surfaces, besides being washable, must comply with the rules on food-contact materials Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 and the good manufacturing practice applicable to their makers Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006. Point (g) links Chapter III to the cold chain: where perishable food is handled, facilities to maintain and monitor temperature are needed, consistently with the duty not to break the cold chain in Chapter IX Annex II, Chapter IX, point 5 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004.

Interaction with other rules

Chapter III does not stand alone. With Article 4: the Annex II requirements apply to all operators after primary production, and Chapter III specifies how to apply them to movable premises Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. With Chapter IV on transport: a food truck moving with food on board is, during the journey, also a means of transport, so Chapter IV is added to Chapter III Annex II, Chapter IV, point 1 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. With Chapter VII on water supply: the potable water in point (e) must meet water-quality requirements Annex II, Chapter VII, point 1 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. With Chapter VIII on personal hygiene and Chapter XII on training: point (a) presupposes trained staff with scrupulous personal hygiene Annex II, Chapter XII, point 1 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. With Chapter IX on foodstuffs: protection of food from cross-contamination applies at every stage Annex II, Chapter IX, point 3 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004.

Practice and interpretive knots

A food truck has a dual nature. When stationary and operating as a sales outlet, it is movable premises under Chapter III; when travelling with goods on board, it also applies Chapter IV. These are not alternatives: the two regimes stack. The practical consequence is that the food truck's hazard analysis must cover both the static phase of preparation and service and the dynamic phase of movement. See the food trucks sector page.

"Where necessary" does not mean "optional". In our view the most insidious error is to read "where necessary" as an exemption. It is not: the requirement becomes mandatory once the hazard analysis makes it relevant. A stall handling ready-to-eat food "needs" hot water and hand-washing facilities; a decision not to provide them must be justified and holds only where the risk is genuinely absent.

Vending machines. Vending is expressly within Chapter III Annex II, Chapter III, point 1 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. The operator running the machine is the responsible FBO: cleaning, maintenance and, for perishable food, internal temperature control must be ensured. Placing (point (h)) and protection from contaminants apply here too.

Penalties

Chapter III contains no penalties of its own: the power to penalise rests with the Member States, which must lay down effective, proportionate and dissuasive measures Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002. In Italy, breach of the general hygiene requirements of Annex II is subject to administrative penalties under Legislative Decree No 193/2007 Article 6 of Italian Legislative Decree No 193/2007. The national framework, with amounts and competent authorities, is on the Italy penalties page; the start-up steps on the registering a food business page.

As at the update date of this page, there is no Court of Justice of the European Union case-law specifically addressing Chapter III of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. The field is governed mainly by national courts dealing with the hygiene of markets, fairs and itinerant selling, applying the chapter's requirements through the lens of proportionality to risk.

Chapter III is directly applicable and requires no transposition. Member States act on points of detail (municipal market by-laws, street-trading authorisations, rules for temporary events) and on penalties Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002. For Italy: health registration through the SCIA notification (registration and SCIA notification), penalties under Legislative Decree No 193/2007 Article 6 of Italian Legislative Decree No 193/2007, general framework on the Italy page.