The food you handle must be safe to eat. In Sweden the rules are based on EU regulations that apply directly and on Swedish laws and regulations that supplement them. Here is an overview of what applies and who is responsible for what.
The most important rules
- Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 is the EU's general food law. Food that is not safe must not be sold (article 14). The food business operator is responsible for compliance in their business (article 17). The business must also be able to show where the goods came from and where they went. This is called traceability (article 18).
- Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 deals with food hygiene. Annex II contains the general hygiene requirements for premises, equipment, waste, personal hygiene, handling of food and training.
- Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 has extra rules for food of animal origin, for example meat, fish, milk and eggs.
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 covers information to consumers, including on allergens.
- Regulation (EU) 2017/625 covers official controls.
- The Food Act (livsmedelslagen, 2006:804) and the Food Ordinance (livsmedelsförordningen, 2006:813) are the basic Swedish rules. The Swedish Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket) issues supplementary regulations, called LIVSFS.
Who is a food business operator?
A food business operator is whoever runs a business where food is handled with some continuity and organisation. This includes restaurants, cafés, shops, catering kitchens in schools, nurseries and care, food trucks and many others. Even an association can be a food business operator. If you are an employee you are not the operator, but you are the one who does the work in practice. That is why you need to know the rules for your part.
Notification before starting
A food establishment must be notified in writing for registration with the municipality's inspection authority before the business starts. Registration is not an assessment of whether the business is good enough, but without notification the company can be charged a sanction fee. For most companies the fee is one per cent of annual turnover, but at least SEK 5,000 and at most SEK 75,000. When ownership changes, the new owner must also notify.
What does the law require about staff knowledge?
Annex II, chapter XII of Regulation 852/2004 says that people who handle food must be supervised and given instruction and/or training in food hygiene appropriate to their tasks. Whoever is responsible for the company's HACCP-based procedures must also have sufficient knowledge of them.
The Swedish Food Agency explains this as follows in its guidance:
- There is no requirement to have taken a particular course in order to handle food. There is no government hygiene card.
- Instructions and supervision at the workplace may be enough. A new colleague can, for example, work alongside an experienced one.
- What counts is that the staff are able to do their job so that the food is safe.
- People other than cooks may also need instructions, for example someone who serves food in a nursery or delivers school meals.
What the business must do itself
A course like this one only gives the basics. The operator must still:
- Find out what knowledge different tasks require and who needs what.
- Instruct each person on this particular business's procedures, premises, equipment and self-checks.
- Give new and temporary staff an induction and see that they are supervised until they know the work.
- Be able to show the inspectors how staff gain knowledge, for example through notes on inductions, briefings and certificates of completed courses.
- Make sure staff know the procedures and instructions that exist, and follow up that they are used.
About this certificate
The certificate shows that you have completed the course and passed the test. It is not a regulated or government-issued qualification. The employer decides whether the training is enough for your duties. The certificate can be part of the company's records of staff knowledge, but it does not replace the workplace's own induction.