Food Safety Records in Kosovo: Law, AUV Inspections and Fines

Kosovo food safety records explained: Law on Food 08/L-120, AUV inspections, HACCP self-control, fines, records inspectors ask for and digital records.

2026-10-31 · Chef Hygiene

Do food businesses in Kosovo need food safety records? Yes. Kosovo's Law on Food No. 08/L-120 (2022) says every food business, except primary production, must run regular self-control of its hygiene conditions, using preventive procedures built on HACCP principles. The Food and Veterinary Agency (AUV) inspects, and inspections are unannounced. Kosovo has no public hygiene rating. This page explains the Kosovo rules, what inspectors look for, where businesses go wrong, and how digital records help.

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This page covers Kosovo. Every fact below comes from an official source, linked in the text and at the end. Some details sit in older sub-legal acts, so where we could not confirm a detail, we say so and suggest you ask the AUV. The app works in Albanian and Serbian, the two languages of Kosovo's official bodies, and in 40 languages in all.

## Contents

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

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

The main law. Law No. 08/L-120 on Food, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Kosovo No. 23 on 12 August 2022. It repeals the older Law No. 03/L-016 on Food (Article 44). Existing sub-legal acts stay in use unless they conflict with the new law, until new ones are adopted (Article 42).
Approval and registration. Article 26 says food business operators must be approved and registered with the Agency (AUV). The criteria depend on the type and amount of food and on risk assessment, and the Ministry sets the procedure by a sub-legal act. The business itself is also registered with the business registry (ARBK) before opening (AUV, ARBK). We could not confirm the current step-by-step AUV procedure, so ask the AUV before you open.
Self-control based on HACCP. Article 27 says a food business operator (except at the level of primary production) must set up and keep regular self-control of the hygiene conditions of production in each of its premises. It must apply preventive self-control procedures developed under the principles of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). The Ministry sets detailed rules by a sub-legal act.
Permanent HACCP procedures and records. Regulation No. 11/2011 on the hygiene of foodstuffs, article 5, asks operators to keep permanent procedures based on HACCP principles. Article 5.2 says documents describing the procedures must be up to date at all times. Article 5.3 says to keep other documents and records "for an appropriate period" under the law in force. This regulation was issued under the older Law 03/L-016, so it may have been updated. Check its status with the AUV.
Traceability. Article 21 of the Law on Food requires information for tracing food at all stages of production, processing and distribution. Not having it is an offence with a fine (Article 40).
Food information. Article 28 says food placed on the market must carry the information the consumer needs. Labelling and food declarations are set by the Law on Consumer Protection and its sub-legal acts, not by the Law on Food itself.
Temperatures. We found no kitchen temperature numbers in Kosovo's food law. Chef Hygiene therefore uses widely used good-practice limits and labels them as such. See section 8.
Staff training. Regulation 11/2011, chapter XII, says operators must make sure food handlers are supervised, instructed and trained in food hygiene in line with their work. Those responsible for the HACCP procedure must be trained in applying HACCP principles. Operators must provide training for all workers who deal with food. The Albanian text also says handlers must hold a valid health booklet (libreza sanitare). The English column of the same document does not repeat that, so check it with the AUV.
Staff who are ill. Under the same regulation, nobody who has a disease that can pass through food, or has infected wounds, skin infections, sores or diarrhoea, may handle food or enter a food handling area if there is any likelihood of contamination. Anyone affected must tell the food business at once.
Allergens. We found no Kosovo instruction on how loose-food allergen information must be given. We could not confirm it, so ask your authority. Many businesses give written information on the 14 allergens used in the EU, but that is not a Kosovo rule we could confirm.

## 2. Who inspects you, and how often

The AUV. Article 30 says inspection supervision is carried out by AUV inspectors. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health set their duties and powers by a sub-legal act.
Unannounced. Article 29 says official controls are carried out without warning, except for audits where notice is needed.
Risk-based. The Agency makes sure official controls are done regularly, based on risk, and at a suitable frequency. We found no fixed number of visits per year, so we do not give one.
At every stage. Official control covers every stage of production, processing and distribution of food.
Annual programmes and reports. Article 31 requires periodic and yearly inspection programmes and reports, which include the measures taken when requirements are not met.
Do not obstruct. Preventing the competent inspector from doing their work is an offence under Article 40.

## 3. No public rating, but real penalties

No rating. We found no public hygiene rating, sticker or score for food businesses in Kosovo.
Fines. Article 40 of the Law on Food lists offences that include failing to meet the self-control requirements of Article 27, not holding traceability information, not keeping to the registration rules of Article 26, placing unsafe food on the market, and obstructing an inspector. The fines in the law are:
A legal person (a company): €500 to €20,000.
The responsible person of the company: also fined €30 to €500.
An individual running a sole business: €250 to €4,000.
A natural person, for most of the listed offences: €50 to €1,000.
Loss of approval. After a repeated offence, the Agency takes away the approval or registration of the person found guilty and bans a new one for 6 months up to 3 years (Article 40, paragraph 6).
Court orders. When a person is punished, the court must also order the materials and equipment used in the offence to be seized and destroyed, on expert advice.
What this means for you. Good records show an inspector that your self-control works every day, which is the point of Article 27.

## 4. The records inspectors ask for

Kosovo's law asks for a self-control system with HACCP procedures, but we found no official list of forms. The records below are what a HACCP-based system normally contains. They are not a Kosovo checklist:

Fridge and freezer temperature records and what you did when a reading was wrong.
Cooking, cooling, reheating and hot-holding records.
Deliveries: what arrived, from which supplier, and in what condition (needed for traceability, Article 21).
Cleaning records.
Pest control reports.
Staff training records, and health booklets where required.
Your written HACCP procedures, kept up to date (Regulation 11/2011, article 5.2).
Allergen information for your dishes.

How long to keep them. Regulation 11/2011 says "an appropriate period" and gives no number. We found no fixed number of years in the law.

Digital records. We found no Kosovo rule that requires paper or bans electronic records. The law asks for self-control and documents, not for a format. If you are unsure, ask your AUV inspector.

## 5. Where businesses go wrong

Common record problems are easy to picture:

Gaps. Days with no checks written down.
No action recorded. A fridge reading that is too warm with nothing written about what was done.
Out-of-date procedures. Regulation 11/2011 says procedure documents must be up to date at all times.
No traceability. Not knowing who supplied an item. This is an offence listed in Article 40.
Lost or damaged pages. Paper gets wet, greasy or thrown away.
Training not shown. Staff were trained, but nothing proves it.
Not registered. Not following the registration rules is an offence listed in Article 40.
Allergens only by word of mouth. We could not confirm a Kosovo allergen rule, but a customer who gets wrong information can be harmed.

## 6. By type of business

The law is the same for every food business. We found no rules by business type, so the notes below describe the kind of records that usually matter, not Kosovo requirements.

Restaurant: daily checks, cooking and hot-holding temperatures, cooling, deliveries, cleaning, and allergen information for every dish.
Takeaway: the same as a restaurant, plus a way to give allergen information before an order is placed by phone or app.
Café: fridges and displays, cleaning, and allergen information for sandwiches and cakes.
Bakery / cake shop: allergen records for every product, display temperatures for cream cakes, and labels for goods you pack.
Dessert shop: fridge and freezer temperatures for desserts and ice cream, and allergens for toppings and sauces.
Pub / bar / club: the same records as a restaurant for any food you serve.
Community hall / venue: if you serve food as a business, register with the AUV; keep temperature and cleaning records for each event.
Corner shop / grocery: fridge and freezer checks, delivery checks, and labels for food you pack yourself.
School / nursery kitchen: temperature and cleaning records, and careful allergen records for every child.
Caterer / food van: keep temperatures during transport and at the event; ask the AUV how your vehicle or stall is registered.
Home kitchen business: we could not confirm separate rules for home kitchens, so ask the AUV before you start.

## 7. Why digital records help in Kosovo

Self-control you can show. Article 27 asks for regular self-control. A dated record with a name and photo shows it was done.
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 can ask what you did about it.
Nothing is lost. No wet, greasy or missing pages.
Ready for the inspector. Inspections are unannounced (Article 29). Digital records are ready at any moment.
Every staff member can take part. Staff can record checks on a phone or tablet, in Albanian, Serbian or another language they know.

## 8. How Chef Hygiene helps

Chef Hygiene follows the Kosovo law and keeps every record in one place. 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.
Country rules built in. The app follows Kosovo's food law and hygiene regulation. The law sets no kitchen temperatures, so ask the AUV which limits your inspector expects.
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 and a "Put it right" list. Kosovo has no public rating, so it shows no rating card, only what to put right.
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, including Albanian and Serbian.

## 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; unlimited staff, no contract, 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 Kosovo?

Yes. Article 27 of Law No. 08/L-120 requires regular self-control using procedures developed under HACCP principles. Regulation 11/2011 asks you to keep records for an appropriate period.

### Who inspects restaurants in Kosovo?

AUV inspectors (Article 30 of the Law on Food).

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

Yes. Article 26 says food operators must be approved and registered with the AUV. You also register the business with the business registry (ARBK). Ask the AUV for the current steps.

### Are inspections announced?

No. Article 29 says official controls are done without warning, except audits where notice is needed.

### How often will I be inspected?

Controls are risk-based and at a suitable frequency (Article 29). We found no fixed number of visits.

### Is there a hygiene rating in Kosovo?

No. We found no public rating, sticker or score.

### What fines can I face?

Under Article 40: €500 to €20,000 for a company, €250 to €4,000 for an individual running a sole business, and €30 to €500 for the company's responsible person.

### Can my registration be taken away?

Yes, after a repeated offence. The Agency can withdraw approval or registration and refuse a new one for 6 months to 3 years (Article 40, paragraph 6).

### Are digital food safety records accepted?

We found no Kosovo rule that requires paper or bans electronic records. The law asks for self-control and documents, not a format. Ask your AUV inspector if you are unsure.

### How long must I keep my records?

Regulation 11/2011, article 5.3, says "an appropriate period" and gives no number. That regulation was issued under the older law, so check it with the AUV.

### What temperature must my fridge be?

We found no number in Kosovo's food law. Ask the AUV which limit your inspector expects.

### What temperature must hot food be kept at?

We found no number in Kosovo's food law. Ask the AUV which limit your inspector expects.

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

Staff must be supervised, instructed and trained in food hygiene for their work (Regulation 11/2011, chapter XII). The Albanian text also asks for a valid health booklet (libreza sanitare). Ask the AUV what proof it wants.

### Can staff work when they are ill?

Not if they have a disease that can pass through food, infected wounds, skin infections, sores or diarrhoea, and there is a likelihood of contamination. They must report it at once.

### What allergen information do I need?

We found no Kosovo allergen instruction for loose food, so we cannot say. Labelling and food declarations come under the Law on Consumer Protection. Ask your authority.

### Do I need a HACCP plan?

You need self-control procedures developed under HACCP principles (Article 27). We found no official simplified model for small businesses.

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

Article 26 covers all food operators, so ask the AUV how a vehicle or home kitchen is registered.

### Which language does the app use?

Albanian and Serbian, and 40 languages in all.

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

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

## 12. Official sources

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

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