The State Sanitary Inspectorate, commonly referred to as sanepid, is an institution dealing with the supervision of hygienic conditions in many areas. Enterprises directly and indirectly related to food and catering, in order to operate legally, must obtain an entry in the register of establishments subject to the control of the Sanitary Inspectorate.

The possibility of inspection of the plant by the Sanepid is determined by the Regulation of the European Parliament of 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs. The legislation covers issues relating to premises for food production. There are several categories of establishments that require notification to the Sanitary Inspectorate in order to be inspected for compliance with the guidelines resulting from this regulation. These include:

• Establishments producing or selling food which is not of animal origin
• Establishments selling products of animal origin not subject to veterinary checks
• Establishments operating on the market for products intended to come into contact with food
• Establishments producing or selling food containing food products of both animal and non-animal origin

However, before the notification to the Sanepid takes place, it is worth making sure that it is necessary, because some enterprises and plants are exempt from such an obligation, and their list is quite long. There are, among others, plants using food vending machines, enterprises trading on a small scale at the market or in a local store, agritourism farms, herbal shops or selling food with a long shelf life. The obligation to report to the Sanepid also does not apply to food trucks, if they have obtained a similar permit in another European Union country. However, when planning to open a restaurant, bar or other gastronomic point, you should take into account the need to report to the Sanepid.

The notification to the Sanepid should be made at least 14 days before the planned date of commencement of activity. The application can be submitted in three ways – by visiting the office, by letter or electronically. Applications to the Sanepid are accepted by the district and border sanitary and epidemiological stations. The latter case concerns only areas at border crossing points, airports and seaports. Once the application has been submitted, it shall be assessed by the Office. If he has formal deficiencies, the entrepreneur has 7 days to supplement them.

After submitting the notification to the Sanepid in the plant, an inspection carried out by the office takes place. Verification is subject to, among others, the technical condition of the premises, the method of storing products, as well as the training of staff and the possession of the required certificates by employees. The application to the Sanepid is successful if the plant meets all the requirements. The entrepreneur then receives an unconditional approval to the register of establishments subject to the control of the Sanepid. It happens that the inspectors find minor deficiencies in the plant, but the plant meets all the requirements for equipment and conditions. In this case, the entrepreneur obtains conditional approval of the plant, which is valid for three months. During this time, you can submit another application to the Sanepid, and within three months another inspection will take place.

On the other hand, approval of an establishment shall be refused if the inspectors find serious irregularities in it. An entrepreneur who has successfully passed the inspection receives an appropriate certificate of entry of the plant in the register. It is issued within 14 days. It is worth remembering about unconditional compliance with the regulations, because in the future the Sanepid may carry out announced and unannounced inspections at the plant.

Reporting to the Sanepid is a free service, but only if the inspectors do not notice any irregularities. Otherwise, the entrepreneur incurs fees of PLN 52 for starting the inspection and PLN 17 for each hour of its duration.

Compliance with the guidelines of the State Sanitary Inspectorate should be motivated not only by fidelity to mandatory requirements, but also by the desire to provide the highest quality services with care for the consumer.

Source: https://www.seka.pl/zgloszenie-do-sanepidu/

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