Online food sales: obligations under Reg. (EC) 852/2004

Updated 2026-09-13 · Reviewed by: ce85204 editorial team — AI-assisted editorial review (2026-09-13)

A business that sells food online is a food business operator: it must register under Art. 6 of Reg. (EC) 852/2004 and apply HACCP-based procedures under Art. 5 to storage, handling and dispatch. The warehouse follows Annex II (Chapters I, V, VIII, IX) and the cold chain must be maintained all the way to delivery. No certificate exists.

Selling food online — food e-commerce, dark stores, home delivery of loose or pre-packed products — is an activity of storing, handling and dispatching food downstream of primary production. Whoever runs it is a food business operator (FBO) and takes on the full hygiene obligations of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. Distance selling does not relax those obligations: this page sets out which apply and how.

What kind of activity this is

Online food sales are distance retail: the absence of a physical shop open to the public does not change the nature of the activity. Whoever holds, selects, packs for the order and dispatches food is an FBO and must register the activity under Article 6 Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. Both the operator and each set of premises where food is handled must be registered: warehouse, cold store, packing room, dispatch area. In Italy registration is made through the health SCIA notification: see registration and SCIA in Italy.

Which 852 obligations apply, and how

HACCP for storage, handling and dispatch (Art. 5)

The Article 5 obligation remains full Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, with procedures proportionate to the nature and size of the business Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. Hazard analysis must cover at least: receipt and storage, temperature control in the cold store, order preparation (picking), packing for dispatch, transit time and delivery. For perishables the typical control point is maintaining the cold chain from the warehouse to the consumer. Documentation must be kept for an appropriate period and updated whenever the range or the process changes Article 5(4) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004; the design of the procedures is set out in the food safety management manual.

Annex II requirements

When packing for dispatch, food must be protected against any source of contamination likely to render it unfit for human consumption Annex II, Chapter IX, point 9 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004: intact packaging, separation of incompatible products, materials suitable for food contact.

The cold chain in dispatch

In our view distance selling in no way relaxes hygiene duties: the most critical leg is precisely the dispatch of perishables, where the food leaves the operator's direct control yet remains its responsibility. Keeping food at a safe temperature is an Annex II obligation Annex II, Chapter IX, point 5 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 and must be secured with insulated packaging, coolants and transit times sized to the product — not handed off to the carrier as though it were a neutral logistics matter. This is an editorial opinion, anchored to the obligation of result the Regulation places on the FBO.

Registration and training

Registration under Art. 6 is the administrative precondition Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004; training of food handlers is regulated at regional level in Italy: see HACCP training in Italy. An operator who also runs a restaurant with online sales additionally applies the obligations proper to preparation and catering.