Food Safety Records in Bulgaria: Laws, BFSA Inspections and Records

Bulgarian food safety records explained: the Food Act, BFSA inspections, the records inspectors ask for, common failures and how digital records help.

2026-10-31 · Chef Hygiene

Do food businesses in Bulgaria need food safety records? Yes. Under the Food Act, a food business must run permanent procedures based on HACCP principles, and keep documentation for the food it makes. The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA, БАБХ) does the official food control, through its regional directorates. Bulgaria has no public hygiene rating, but inspectors can write a binding prescription, issue a fine, or suspend a site. This page explains the Bulgarian rules, what inspectors look for, where businesses go wrong, and how digital records help.

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This page covers Bulgaria. Every fact below comes from an official source, linked in the text and at the end. Where the law sets no number and a number comes from official advice, we say so. Where we could not confirm something on an official page, we say that too.

## Contents

The law: what every Bulgarian food business must do
Who inspects you, and how often
No public rating
The records inspectors ask for
Where businesses go wrong
By type of business
Why digital records help in Bulgaria
How Chef Hygiene helps
A fair price, on purpose
Less paper
FAQ
Official sources

## 1. The law: what every Bulgarian food business must do

The main law. The Food Act (Закон за храните, State Gazette 52/2020, with later amendments), together with EU Regulation 852/2004 on food hygiene. The Food Act applies the EU rules in Bulgaria and adds national ones. The text we read is the consolidated copy on lex.bg. The Ministry of Health also hosts an older copy.
Register or get approval first. Food production, processing and distribution may only start after registration or approval (Food Act, art. 23(1)). For registration under Regulation 852/2004, the competent body is the director of the regional food-safety directorate (ОДБХ) where the site is (art. 23(2)). You apply with a form approved by the BFSA executive director, plus documents listed in art. 26. If you suspend work, you must notify the same body within 7 days (art. 29). Registration can be struck off for gross or systematic breaches of the law (art. 27).
HACCP-based permanent procedures. Business operators must introduce, apply and maintain permanent procedures under Article 5 of Regulation 852/2004, plus technological documentation for the foods they make and/or national, approved or trade standards (Food Act, art. 8 and 10). Failing to apply these procedures is a fineable breach (art. 131(1), item 4).
Technological documentation. Ordinance No. 14 of 2021 on food hygiene (art. 16) deals with the documentation of each food made. We could not confirm from an official page whether inspectors expect the full register from every restaurant, so ask your regional directorate.
Temperatures: the law and the advice. Bulgarian law sets one fixed number that applies to restaurants: quick-frozen food at -18°C in all parts, with a rise of up to 3°C allowed only in transport and shop display (quick-frozen food ordinance, art. 5). For chilled meat, fish, dairy and offal, BFSA advice is 0 to 4°C, and the temperature on the label wins. We found no official Bulgarian number for cooking, hot holding, cooling or reheating. The EU rule is only to cool as quickly as possible.
Staff health: the personal health book. Everyone who works in a food site needs a personal health book (лична здравна книжка), kept at the site and shown to inspectors (Ordinance No. 15 of 2006, art. 2). Before starting work, a worker has a doctor's exam, worm and protozoa tests, a TB skin test and carrier tests. Every year the skin exam, worm tests and carrier tests are repeated (art. 3 to 5). The Food Act itself requires staff to have preliminary and periodic medical exams (art. 12).
Staff who are ill. Workers with an acute infection, diarrhoea, a purulent skin disease or similar must tell the manager at once and are removed from work. They return only with the doctor's entry "допуска се на работа" in the health book (Ordinance No. 15, art. 7 to 9).
Staff training. We found no national hygiene certificate, set course hours or renewal period. The EU rule applies: food handlers must be supervised and instructed or trained for their work, and whoever runs the HACCP procedures must be trained for it (Regulation 852/2004, Annex II). The Food Act also asks that a food production site has at least one employee with a food-industry qualification, unless the owner has one (art. 13). We could not confirm whether a restaurant kitchen counts as a production site.
Allergens. Bulgaria follows the EU rule: food that is not prepacked must show the 14 allergens (Regulation 1169/2011). A breach of that regulation is a fineable offence under the Food Act (art. 131(1), item 1). We could not confirm on an official page the exact national rule for loose food, such as how and when a restaurant gives the information, so do not assume it from this page. Bulgarian consumer law also asks that written consumer information be in Bulgarian (Consumer Protection Act, art. 5(1)).
Traceability. Keep records of what you buy and sell (Regulation 178/2002, art. 18). Breaking the traceability rules is a fineable breach (Food Act, art. 131(1), item 5).

## 2. Who inspects you, and how often

BFSA. The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency carries out official control of food at all stages of production, processing and distribution (Food Act, art. 109). It works through 28 regional food-safety directorates, one per province.
Others. Regional health inspectorates check staff health books. The consumer protection commission checks restaurant star categories under tourism law.
Style. Checks are normally not announced.
How often. We could not confirm an official visit schedule for restaurants, so we do not give one.
What can happen. After a check, the inspector writes a prescription (предписание) with a deadline, or a fine report. The control body can suspend a site. Registration can be struck off for gross or systematic breaches (Food Act, art. 27).

## 3. No public rating

No rating. We found no national hygiene rating, window sticker or duty to display a result in Bulgaria.
Stars are not hygiene. The star categories for restaurants (1 to 5) come from tourism law. They are not a hygiene score.
Fines. The Food Act sets fines for breaches such as no HACCP-based procedures, breaking the food-information rules, or breaking traceability rules (art. 131(1)). The text we read prints the amounts in lev, and Bulgaria joined the euro area in 2026, so we do not quote a figure. Check the current text, or ask your regional directorate.
What this means for you. There is no score to raise, but a prescription, a fine or a suspension is a real cost. Good records show an inspector that your system works every day.

## 4. The records inspectors ask for

The law asks for procedures and documents that fit your business. In practice, the papers it names are:

HACCP papers. Your permanent procedures and what you do at each control point.
Technological documentation for the foods you make.
Traceability records for what you buy and sell.
Every worker's personal health book, kept at the site.
Pest-control protocols from your pest-control firm.
Cleaning records, and what you did when something was wrong.
Temperature checks that support your procedures (frozen food at -18°C is the only fixed legal number).
Allergen information for every dish.
Staff instruction and training records, to show staff are trained for their work.

How long to keep them. EU law says records are kept for an appropriate period (Regulation 852/2004, Article 5). We found no Bulgarian number of years for HACCP records.

## 5. Where businesses go wrong

Gaps. Days with no checks written down.
A plan that doesn't match the kitchen. A system on paper that staff do not follow.
No action recorded. A freezer above -18°C or a fridge too warm, with nothing written about what was done.
Out-of-date health books. The yearly tests are missed, or the book is not at the site.
Lost or damaged pages. Paper gets wet, greasy or thrown away.
Missing traceability. Not knowing who supplied a product.
Training not shown. Staff were trained, but nothing proves it.
Allergens only by word of mouth. Staff cannot say which of the 14 allergens a dish contains.
Not registered. Food production and distribution need registration before work starts (Food Act, art. 23).

## 6. By type of business

The rules are the same for every food business, but the records you keep depend on what you do.

Restaurant: daily checks, cooking and hot-holding temperatures, cooling, deliveries, cleaning, health books and allergen information for every dish.
Takeaway: the same as a restaurant, plus allergen information for food that is delivered. We could not confirm the exact Bulgarian delivery rule, so ask your authority.
Café: fridges and displays, cleaning, health books, and allergen information for sandwiches, cakes and salads.
Bakery / cake shop: allergen records for every product, display temperatures for cream cakes, and labels for goods you pack.
Dessert shop: freezer checks (-18°C for frozen desserts) and allergens for toppings and sauces.
Pub / bar / club: the same records as a restaurant for the food you serve. Drinks-only sites should ask their regional directorate what applies.
Community hall / venue: register if you prepare or distribute food as a business, and keep temperature and cleaning records for each event.
Corner shop / grocery: freezer and fridge checks, delivery checks, and allergen information for food you pack yourself.
School / nursery kitchen: the same food law applies. We could not confirm any extra national rule for school or nursery kitchens, so ask your authority. Keep careful allergen records for every child.
Caterer / food van: distribution sites need registration. We could not confirm a special route for vehicles and stalls, so ask your regional directorate. Keep temperatures and records with you.
Home kitchen business: food production and distribution need registration (Food Act, art. 23). We could not confirm a separate home-kitchen rule.

## 7. Why digital records help in Bulgaria

Accepted in the EU. The European Commission's guidance on HACCP flexibility (notice 2022/C 355/01) supports records in the form that suits the business. We could not find a separate Bulgarian page that says the same, so ask your regional directorate if you are unsure.
No gaps go unnoticed. A missed check shows up the same day, not at the next inspection.
Problems come with their fix. When a reading is out of range, the record asks what you did about it.
Nothing is lost. No wet, greasy or missing pages.
Ready for the inspector. You can show everything at once, instead of looking for folders.
Every staff member can take part. Staff can record checks on a phone or tablet, in their own language.

## 8. How Chef Hygiene helps

Chef Hygiene follows the Bulgarian rules described on this page. What it does:

Daily checks for fridges, freezers, cooking, hot holding, cooling, cleaning and deliveries, with the time, the staff member's name and photos. Saved records cannot be changed; corrections are added as new records.
Your country's rules built in, such as -18°C for frozen food.
Food safety plan ("safe methods"). About 20 minutes: answer questions, check each method, sign it, set a review date and print it. Earlier versions are kept.
Ready for inspection? Checks your last 4 weeks of records the way an inspector would and shows how many are ready.
Inspector's visits log. Write down each visit: date, type and officer.
Practice inspection. A free walk round of about 10 minutes, with questions for your type of business, showing the likely result under Bulgaria's own approach (no rating, so a prescription, fine or suspension), and a "Put it right" list.
Allergen chart and labels. Every dish against the 14 allergens, a staff view on the kitchen tablet, and labels for food prepacked for direct sale, with allergens in bold.
Staff training records.
Inspector pack. Print all your records as one pack, or share them by secure link.
40 languages. Staff can use the app in their own language, including Bulgarian.

## 9. A fair price, on purpose

Chef Hygiene costs €2.99 a month per site (€1.99 for bakeries, dessert shops and corner shops). The exact price is shown in your app store. Staff are unlimited, there is no contract, and there is a 14-day free trial.

We keep the price low on purpose. We want as many food businesses as possible, from a single food van to a busy restaurant, to keep good records and pass inspections.

## 10. Less paper

A paper diary means printed sheets every day. One daily sheet per kitchen is 365 sheets a year, before you count delivery forms, cleaning rotas and training records. Digital records mean no record books to buy and fewer printed forms to throw away. That is less paper and less waste, and nothing to store in a back office.

## 11. FAQ

### Do I legally need food safety records in Bulgaria?

Yes. The Food Act requires permanent procedures based on HACCP principles and technological documentation for the foods you make (art. 8 and 10, with Regulation 852/2004, Article 5).

### Who inspects restaurants in Bulgaria?

The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA, БАБХ), through its 28 regional food-safety directorates (Food Act, art. 109).

### Do I have to register before I open?

Yes. Food production, processing and distribution may only start after registration or approval (Food Act, art. 23). The regional food-safety directorate registers.

### Are inspections announced?

Normally not. We could not confirm an official visit schedule.

### Is there a hygiene rating in Bulgaria?

No. We found no national hygiene rating, sticker or duty to display a result. The star categories for restaurants come from tourism law and are not a hygiene score.

### What happens after an inspection?

The inspector can write a prescription (предписание) with a deadline, or a fine report. The control body can suspend a site, and registration can be struck off for gross or systematic breaches.

### How much are the fines?

The Food Act sets fines in art. 131(1), but the text we read prints the amounts in lev, and Bulgaria is now in the euro area. We do not quote a figure. Check the current text or ask your regional directorate.

### Are digital food safety records accepted?

EU guidance supports records in a form that suits the business. We could not find a Bulgarian page that says so directly, so ask your regional directorate if you are unsure.

### How long must I keep my records?

EU law says "an appropriate period" (Regulation 852/2004, Article 5). We found no Bulgarian number of years for HACCP records.

### What temperature must my freezer be?

-18°C in all parts. Up to 3°C more is allowed only in transport and shop display (quick-frozen food ordinance, art. 5).

### What temperature must my fridge be?

Bulgarian law sets no number for fridges. BFSA advice is 0 to 4°C for chilled meat, fish, dairy and offal, and the label's temperature wins.

### What temperature should I cook food to?

We found no official Bulgarian number for cooking, hot holding, cooling or reheating.

### Do my staff need a food hygiene certificate?

We found no national certificate. Staff must be supervised and instructed or trained for their work (Regulation 852/2004, Annex II).

### What is the personal health book?

The лична здравна книжка. Every worker needs one, kept at the site, with medical exams and tests before starting and every year (Ordinance No. 15 of 2006).

### Can staff work when they are ill?

Not if they have an acute infection, diarrhoea or a purulent skin disease. They tell the manager at once and return only with the doctor's "допуска се на работа" entry in the book.

### What allergen information do I need?

The 14 EU allergens for food that is not prepacked (Regulation 1169/2011). We could not confirm the exact national rule on how a restaurant gives it, so ask your authority. Written consumer information must be in Bulgarian.

### Do I need to register a food van or home business?

Food production and distribution need registration (Food Act, art. 23). We could not confirm a separate route for vans or home kitchens, so ask your regional directorate.

### How much does Chef Hygiene cost in Bulgaria?

€2.99 a month per site (€1.99 for bakeries, dessert shops and corner shops). The exact price is shown in your app store. Unlimited staff, no contract, 14-day free trial.

## 12. Official sources

Chef Hygiene keeps your Bulgarian food safety records ready for every inspection:

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