Smaller food companies selling direct to the public may be exempted from European Union (EU) rules insisting on hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) procedures.

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Under the EU’s Better Regulation strategy of reducing burdensome red-tape, the European Commission has proposed exempting smaller food businesses from the HACCP element of regulation EC/852/2004 on foodstuff hygiene.


Enterprises with less than ten employees and annual turnovers below EUR2m (US$2.63m) would be covered, including “bakeries, butchers, grocery shops, market stalls, restaurants, and bars”.

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