Food Business Operator

Anyone who supplies honey is, under food law, a food business operator, even as a hobby beekeeper and even when the honey is only given away to acquaintances. This follows from European food law, which defines the term regardless of any intent to make a profit.

This results in registration with the local food safety authority, generally the veterinary and food inspection office. This registration is something different from the notification of bee-keeping to the veterinary office under the Bee Disease Ordinance (Germany). The two notifications do not replace each other.

Whether a purely small-scale beekeeper must register is handled differently by different authorities. Supplying small quantities directly to end consumers or to local retail businesses counts as primary production and is exempt from part of the hygiene regulations. Some districts conclude from this that no registration is needed, others require it of anyone who places honey on the market. Anyone going beyond small quantities, meaning supplying trade, shipping across regions, or bottling someone else's honey, is required to register in any case. When in doubt, the responsible authority provides information.

Requirements are placed on the rooms: a bright, easy-to-clean extracting room, a water-impermeable floor, insect screens on the windows, and a handwashing facility with warm water and drinking water. Instruction under the Infection Protection Act is not required for pure honey supply, because honey is not among the foods listed there.

Quellen (4)

• Verordnung (EG) Nr. 852/2004 über Lebensmittelhygiene, konsolidierte Fassung
• Lebensmittelhygiene-Verordnung, Paragraph 5, Abgabe kleiner Mengen
• Kreisverwaltung Kaiserslautern: Merkblatt Imker als Lebensmittelunternehmer
• Landesverband Westfälischer und Lippischer Imker: Registrierung als Lebensmittelunternehmen

Alle Begriffe im Überblick