You may only commence the activity requiring approval after approval has been granted. The procedure is application-based. We will conduct an on-site inspection to check whether the food law requirements are met.
There are some complicated exceptions to the licensing requirement (e.g., primary production, retail trade in certain cases). It is therefore advisable to check with the relevant city or district administrative authority.
The licensing decision does not affect any other necessary permits, such as building permits, immission control permits, etc. This depends on the specific individual case. Please check with the competent authority.
The following food businesses require EU approval, regardless of whether they operate only domestically or also within the EU:
Meat establishments/poultry meat establishments
- All businesses with their own slaughter facilities
- Businesses that sell more than one-third of their production volume to other businesses
Dairy businesses
- Milk collection centers
- Standardization centers
- Milk processing and milk treatment facilities
Other businesses
Other establishments handling products of animal origin, such as direct marketing.
Approval number
Upon approval, the establishment also receives the approval number required for intra-Community trade.
Since January 1, 2006, you must affix a so-called identity mark to treated products of animal origin in approved food establishments. An exception is the health mark on carcasses. The identity mark consists of two letters for the member state and country code (e.g., DE), the approval number for the respective establishment, and the abbreviation for the European Economic Community (EEC). The identity mark is an important prerequisite for the traceability of products.
The following exceptions to the approval requirement apply:
- Primary production and the sale of small quantities of primary products to end customers or local retail businesses do not require approval.
- You do not need approval if you, as a producing company or hunter, sell small quantities of meat, poultry, and lagomorphs or game and game meat to end customers and local retail businesses.
- Businesses that handle, process, and store food of animal origin at the point of sale or delivery to end customers (retail) and do not sell more than one-third of their products of animal origin to other local retail businesses do not require approval. Retail businesses also include restaurants and eateries.
In this context, branches are to be regarded as independent retail businesses. It is advisable to check with the competent authority. Butchers and restaurants that slaughter their own meat always require a license for slaughtering. The regulations allow for flexible implementation, so that licensing does not represent an insurmountable hurdle for the businesses concerned.
