Food Safety Records in Latvia: Laws, PVD Inspections and Rules

Latvia food safety records explained: the law, PVD registration and inspections, the self-control plan, training, allergens and how digital records help.

2026-10-31 · Chef Hygiene

Do food businesses in Latvia need food safety records? Yes. Every food business in Latvia must run a documented self-control plan (paškontrole) based on HACCP principles. The Food and Veterinary Service (Pārtikas un veterinārais dienests, PVD) is the one national authority that registers and inspects food businesses, and it can ask to see your records. Latvia has no public hygiene rating or sticker. This page explains the Latvian rules, what inspectors look for, where businesses go wrong, and how digital records help.

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This page covers Latvia. Every fact below comes from an official source, linked in the text and at the end. Where we could not confirm something on an official page, we say so and suggest you ask the PVD. The app works in Latvian, and consumer information such as menus must be available in Latvian.

The law: what every Latvian 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 Latvia
How Chef Hygiene helps
A fair price, on purpose
Less paper
FAQ
Official sources

1. The law: what every Latvian food business must do

The main laws. The Food Circulation Supervision Law (Pārtikas aprites uzraudzības likums) and EU Regulation 852/2004 on food hygiene (law on likumi.lv).
Register with the PVD before you start. A food business may trade only once it is approved or registered (Food Law, article 5). A normal restaurant, café, takeaway or caterer needs registration, not a special kitchen licence. Approval is for producing food of animal origin (EU Regulation 853/2004). The procedure is in Cabinet Regulation No. 104 (likumi.lv). In our notes, registration with the PVD is free, and the PVD arranges a check of the premises before it registers you. Home production for sale counts as retail and also needs PVD registration. Alcohol and tobacco need separate licences under other laws. Check the current steps on the PVD website.
A self-control plan. The law requires a documented set of measures (paškontrole) that keeps food and its handling safe (Food Law, article 8). EU Regulation 852/2004, article 5, makes it HACCP-based. If your own checks find a breach of a mandatory safety requirement, you must tell the PVD.
Temperatures. Latvian law sets no national fridge, cooking, hot-holding or cooling numbers for restaurants. The legal duty is not to keep food at a temperature that could harm health and to keep the cold chain (Regulation 852/2004, Annex II). You decide your own limits in your self-control plan. For quick-frozen food, EU Regulation 37/2005 names -18°C.
Staff hygiene training. New food handlers without a food qualification must complete the course "Minimālās higiēnas prasības pārtikas uzņēmumā" (Cabinet Regulation No. 545, likumi.lv):
The course is at least 3 hours.
The pass mark is 70% on a written test.
Staff retake the course every 3 years.
It also applies to staff with a food qualification who have not worked in food handling for more than 3 years.
Exemptions include staff who handle only sealed packaged food, and those who gained a relevant qualification in the 12 months before starting.
The course leader issues a certificate.
Staff health. Food-contact staff need a first health check before starting, with an opinion from the family doctor. Cabinet Regulation No. 447 of 2018 replaced the old rules. Our notes say there is no routine yearly repeat for food staff now and the old sanitary booklet is dropped. We did not read the periodic interval in the current annex, so ask the Disease Prevention and Control Centre (SPKC) if unsure.
Staff who are ill. Anyone with vomiting, diarrhoea or a food-borne illness must not handle food (Regulation 852/2004, Annex II). We could not find a Latvian clause on a doctor's note to return, so we do not give one.
Allergens. For food that is not prepacked, the allergen information must be given in writing, for example on the menu (Cabinet Regulation No. 595 of 2015, likumi.lv). The 14 EU allergens apply. Oral allergen information is allowed only in limited cases such as street trading and market stalls, not a sit-down restaurant. Allergens do not have to be listed separately if the dish name clearly names them. Catering businesses do not have to give shelf life, operator or origin, but allergens must still be shown in writing.
Language. Consumer information and safety notices must be in Latvian (State Language Law; Food Law, article 13).
Traceability. EU rules apply: keep records so you can trace food one step back to your supplier.

2. Who inspects you, and how often

The PVD. The Food and Veterinary Service organises and carries out food supervision and control across Latvia (Food Law, article 21).
Risk-based and unannounced. Visits follow a risk analysis and the PVD's yearly control programme. Checks are normally unannounced.
How often. We could not confirm an official number of visits per year for each risk class, so we do not give one.
What can happen after a visit. The PVD can give instructions with a deadline to fix small faults. It can start administrative proceedings and fine a business for breaches. Where food is a direct threat to health, it can stop or suspend the activity or withdraw the product.
Fines. The Food Law sets fines in fine units, and one unit is €5 (Administrative Liability Law). In the law text we read, the main offence in article 29 is up to 100 units (€500) for a person and 4 to 300 units (€20 to €1,500) for a company. Penalties for other breaches can differ, so check the current law on likumi.lv.

3. No public rating

No rating. Latvia has no hygiene rating, score or window sticker, and nothing has to be displayed.
A public register. The PVD publishes a register of registered and approved food businesses. It shows that a business exists and what it does, not a score.
What this means for you. There is no score to raise. The goal is a visit with no faults and no deadlines to fix problems. Good records show an inspector that your self-control plan works every day.

4. The records inspectors ask for

Latvian law requires a documented self-control plan but does not list the forms. The records usually come from your HACCP plan:

Your self-control plan, kept at the premises and shown to the PVD on request.
Temperature records for fridges, freezers, cooking and hot holding, if your plan sets those checks.
Cleaning records.
Delivery and supplier records for traceability.
Pest-control records. PVD guidance is to keep a pest-control plan, and if you use a pest firm, keep its contract and monitoring sheets. The law sets no visit frequency.
Staff training certificates from the hygiene course (every 3 years).
Staff health check opinions.
Allergen information for every dish that is not prepacked, in writing.

How long to keep them. We could not find a Latvian number in the law text we read. EU rules say records are kept for an appropriate period. Ask the PVD if you need an exact figure.

5. Where businesses go wrong

Common record problems are easy to picture:

No registration. Running without PVD registration is an offence that can be fined.
Gaps. Days with no checks written down.
A plan that doesn't match the kitchen. A self-control plan on paper that staff do not follow.
No action recorded. A fridge that was too warm with nothing written about what was done.
Lost or damaged pages. Paper gets wet, greasy or thrown away.
Training out of date. The 3-year hygiene course has lapsed, or nothing proves it was done.
Allergens by word of mouth only. In a sit-down restaurant the information must be in writing.
Menus not in Latvian. Consumer information must be available in Latvian.

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: your self-control plan, daily checks of fridges, cooking and cleaning, deliveries, and written allergen information for every dish.
Takeaway: the same as a restaurant, plus written allergen information for food ordered by phone or app. EU rules say the information must be available before purchase and at delivery.
Café: fridges and displays, cleaning, and written allergens for sandwiches, salads and cakes.
Bakery / cake shop: written allergen records for every product, display temperatures for cream cakes, and labels for goods you pack.
Dessert shop: fridge and freezer checks for desserts and ice cream, and allergens for toppings and sauces.
Pub / bar / club: the same records as a restaurant for the food you serve. Alcohol needs its own licence under other laws.
Community hall / venue: register with the PVD if you serve food as a business, and keep temperature and cleaning records for each event.
Corner shop / grocery: fridge and freezer checks, delivery checks, and allergen information for food you pack yourself.
School / nursery kitchen: temperature and cleaning records, careful allergen records for every child, and staff hygiene training.
Caterer / food van: register with the PVD, keep temperatures during transport and at the event, and keep your records with you. Street and market sales are one of the few cases where oral allergen information is allowed.
Home kitchen business: home production counts as retail and needs PVD registration. Keep the same kind of records as any food business.

7. Why digital records help in Latvia

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 did not find a separate PVD page on digital records, so ask the PVD 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 can ask 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 works in Latvian and follows the Latvian rules, including a self-control plan, written allergens and the 3-year hygiene course. 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, including the written allergen rule.
Food safety plan. 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. It shows a likely result in the Latvian scheme: no faults, faults to fix by a deadline, or activity stopped.
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, including the 3-year hygiene course.
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.

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 their 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 Latvia?

Yes. You need a documented self-control plan (paškontrole) based on HACCP principles (Food Law, article 8; Regulation 852/2004, article 5).

Who inspects restaurants in Latvia?

The Food and Veterinary Service (PVD), the one national authority for food supervision.

Do I need a licence to open a restaurant?

You need registration with the PVD, not a special kitchen licence. Alcohol and tobacco need separate licences.

Is PVD registration free?

In our notes, yes, registration is free. Check the current steps on the PVD website.

Are inspections announced?

Normally not. Visits are risk-based and follow the PVD's yearly control programme.

How often will the PVD visit?

We could not confirm an official number of visits per risk class, so we cannot give one.

Is there a hygiene rating in Latvia?

No. There is no rating, sticker or score. The PVD publishes only a register of businesses.

What happens if an inspector finds faults?

The PVD can set a deadline to fix small faults, fine the business, and stop or suspend the activity if food is a direct threat to health.

What temperature must my fridge be?

Latvian law sets no number for restaurants. You set the limits in your self-control plan. Quick-frozen food is named at -18°C in EU Regulation 37/2005.

Do my staff need a food hygiene certificate?

Yes, if they start food handling without a food qualification. The course is at least 3 hours, the pass mark is 70%, and staff retake it every 3 years (Cabinet Regulation No. 545).

Do staff need a health check?

A first check before starting, with the family doctor's opinion (Cabinet Regulation No. 447). Our notes say there is no routine yearly repeat now. Ask the SPKC if unsure.

What allergen information do I need?

Written information for food that is not prepacked, covering the 14 EU allergens (Cabinet Regulation No. 595). Oral information is allowed only in limited cases such as street or market sales.

Can I just tell customers about allergens?

Not in a sit-down restaurant. The information must be in writing.

Must my menu be in Latvian?

Consumer information and safety notices must be in Latvian (State Language Law).

How long must I keep my records?

We could not confirm a Latvian number. EU rules say an appropriate period. Ask the PVD for an exact figure.

Are digital food safety records accepted?

EU guidance supports records in a form that suits the business. We did not find a PVD page that says so directly, so ask the PVD if you are unsure.

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

Yes. Home production counts as retail and needs PVD registration, like any other food business.

How much does Chef Hygiene cost in Latvia?

€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 Latvian food safety records ready for every inspection: