When you work with food in Denmark, common hygiene rules apply. Here you can see which rules they are, who is responsible, and what happened to the old hygiene certificate (hygiejnebevis).
Which rules apply?
- The General Food Law Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 178/2002) says that unsafe food must not be sold. Food is unsafe if it is injurious to health or unfit for human consumption (Article 14).
- The Hygiene Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 852/2004) applies to food businesses throughout the EU. Annex II sets requirements for premises, equipment, personal hygiene, the handling of food and the training of staff.
- The Hygiene Executive Order (hygiejnebekendtgørelsen) is the Danish executive order on food hygiene. Among other things, it contains the Danish temperature requirements for chilling and hot holding.
- The Hygiene Guidance (hygiejnevejledningen) from the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration (Fødevarestyrelsen) explains the rules in practice. Guidance is not law. But it shows how Fødevarestyrelsen reads the rules when it carries out an inspection.
Who is responsible?
It is the business and its manager who are responsible for the food being safe. The manager must be able to show that the layout and the working procedures meet the rules (General Food Law Regulation, Article 17, and Hygiene Guidance, section 2).
But you have a responsibility too. The rules are only followed if everyone who touches the food does the right thing every day. That applies to the cook, the baker's assistant, the waiter and the person who unpacks deliveries.
Fødevarestyrelsen inspects the businesses. Inspection visits are in principle unannounced (Official Controls Regulation (EU) 2017/625, Article 9). The result is made public at findsmiley.dk (see the last lesson).
What happened to the hygiene certificate?
In the past, the rules required employees to take a hygiene course and receive a certificate. That requirement has been removed. The old executive order on training in food hygiene (no. 123 of 2008) was repealed on 1 November 2014 (executive order no. 1139 of 2014). A course certificate from us is therefore not a statutory hygiene certificate.
Today the requirement is in Annex II, Chapter XII of the Hygiene Regulation:
- Everyone who handles and sells food must be instructed or trained in correct food handling, in personal hygiene and in the business's own-checks (egenkontrol).
- The instruction or training must suit the work that the individual does.
In section 23 of the Hygiene Guidance, Fødevarestyrelsen writes that there is no requirement for special hygiene courses. Often it is enough to learn from a colleague on the job, to use material from trade organisations or Fødevarestyrelsen, and to be instructed in the business's own working procedures.
What must the employer still do?
A course from us cannot replace the business's own responsibility. The employer must still:
- instruct you in the business's own rules and working procedures, for example where you wash your hands, how cleaning is done, and what you do if the fridge is too warm
- make sure you know the business's own-checks, as far as you need to for your work
- train those responsible for the own-checks in HACCP (Hygiene Guidance, section 23.1)
- follow up on an ongoing basis, so that you keep making the right choices. Fødevarestyrelsen writes that it is a good idea to instruct or train employees continuously
It is the employer who decides whether this course is enough for your tasks. The course is a good foundation. It is not the whole instruction.
Remember
- The General Food Law Regulation and the Hygiene Regulation are EU rules. The Hygiene Executive Order is the Danish part.
- The business is responsible. You have a duty to follow the rules and to report if something is wrong.
- There is no legal requirement for a particular hygiene certificate, but there is a requirement for instruction or training.