Food Safety Records in Lithuania: Laws and Inspections

Lithuania food safety records explained: HN 15:2021, VMVT inspections, no rating, the records inspectors ask for and how digital records help.

2026-10-31 · Chef Hygiene

Do food businesses in Lithuania need food safety records? Yes. Every food business must run a food safety system based on HACCP principles (EU Regulation 852/2004), and Lithuania adds its own Hygiene Norm HN 15:2021 "Maisto higiena", which puts real kitchen temperatures into law. The State Food and Veterinary Service (VMVT) inspects, usually without warning, and can ask to see your records. Lithuania has no public hygiene rating or sticker. This page explains the Lithuanian rules, what inspectors look for, where businesses go wrong, and how digital records help.

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Every fact below comes from an official source. Where we could not confirm something, we say so; ask the VMVT. Official Lithuanian sites sometimes block automatic reading, so some points rest on our earlier reading of the texts. We say which.

## Contents

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

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

The main laws. EU Regulation 852/2004 on food hygiene, the Lithuanian Food Law (Maisto įstatymas), and Hygiene Norm HN 15:2021 "Maisto higiena", issued by the Ministry of Health (SAM). The norm is read from the consolidated text on the Seimas legal database (HN 15:2021, e-seimas).
Register with the VMVT first. A food business may not handle or supply food to final consumers until its activity is registered. A normal restaurant, café, bar or takeaway applies to the territorial office of the VMVT for its area and receives a registration (identification) number. Registration is free. This comes from our earlier reading of the VMVT guidance (VMVT); we could not confirm the current timescale, so check it with your VMVT office.
Approval is for some only. An approval certificate is needed only for premises handling certain animal-origin foods (Regulation 853/2004). A normal restaurant, café or takeaway registers instead.
A HACCP-based system. HN 15:2021 (item 4) says a food business applies its own HACCP system (RVASVT in Lithuanian) or the approved good hygiene practice rules for its sector. This is backed by Regulation 852/2004, Article 5. The norm (items 5 and 6) lets some small or low-risk businesses skip the full system, for example kiosks, market stalls, drinks-only bars, places that only reheat prepacked food, and small shops under 300 m². Ask the VMVT whether you are covered.
Temperatures are law. Unlike many EU countries, Lithuania sets numbers in HN 15:2021:
Frozen food: -18°C or colder (item 29).
Cooking: core at 75°C or more. One value for all foods. A dish may use another temperature for culinary reasons if safety is not affected (item 30).
Hot holding: not below 63°C, and the food is eaten the day it is made. Hot food moved from equipment that does not hold 63°C must reach the customer within 2 hours (item 30).
Cooling: heat-treated food must be cooled in no more than 4 hours (item 31).
Cooled hot food: stored in the fridge at 4°C or colder for no more than 24 hours (item 32).
Reheating: core at 75°C, then serve within 2 hours (items 30 and 32).
Dishwasher: 60°C or more (item 17). Frying fat: free fatty acids must not exceed 2.2% (item 34).
Fridges: the norm gives no plain fridge number. Follow the maker's stated temperature.
Thermometers: where a temperature regime is needed, control thermometers must be metrologically verified (item 24).
Staff health knowledge. Food staff must hold the health knowledge and skills attestation (Sveikatos žinių ir įgūdžių atestavimo pažymėjimas) under Ministry of Health order V-69 of 2008, through licensed training providers supervised by the National Public Health Centre (NVSC). We could not confirm the renewal period: it sits in an appendix we could not read, and commercial sites contradict each other. Ask your NVSC office.
Medical booklet. Food workers need a medical booklet (Asmens medicininė knygelė, form 048/a or E048) before starting work, and a tuberculosis check every year. Other checks are only done when needed (Government Resolution No. 544 of 1999; Ministry of Health order No. 301 of 2000).
Staff who are ill. Anyone who has or may have a disease that can pass through food must not work in food areas (Regulation 852/2004, Annex II; HN 15:2021, item 12). The Lithuanian texts we read do not give a return-to-work rule such as a doctor's note, so ask your authority.
Pests. You must monitor for pests and exterminate at any sign (HN 15:2021, item 26). The law sets no visit frequency.
Allergens. The 14 EU allergens must be given for food that is not prepacked (Regulation 1169/2011, Article 44). Member States may choose the means: written, electronic or oral. We could not find a Lithuanian national rule that sets the means, so we do not state one. The information is given in Lithuanian.
Traceability. One step back and one step forward (Regulation 178/2002, Article 18).

## 2. Who inspects you, and how often

The VMVT. The State Food and Veterinary Service (Valstybinė maisto ir veterinarijos tarnyba) is the one national food inspector. It works through territorial offices (VMVT).
Risk-based and unannounced. The VMVT groups businesses by risk; higher-risk businesses are visited more often. Visits are normally not announced.
How often. We could not confirm a published number of months for each risk group, so we do not give one.
What can happen after a visit. For small faults the VMVT gives an instruction and time to fix them. For serious faults it can issue orders and administrative fines under the Code of Administrative Offences. If there is a real health risk it can suspend the activity or close all or part of the business. We did not read the fine amounts on an official page, so we do not give them.
Other bodies. The National Public Health Centre (NVSC) supervises hygiene training (NVSC).

## 3. No public rating

No rating. We found no national hygiene rating, smiley, sticker or score in Lithuania, and no duty to display a result.
What is published. The VMVT publishes plans, statistics and recall notices, not scores for each restaurant.
What this means for you. There is no score to raise. The aim is a visit with no faults. Complete, dated records show an inspector that your system works every day.

## 4. The records inspectors ask for

HN 15:2021 names things you must keep or be able to show:

Supplier and traceability documents. HN 15:2021, item 28:
6 months for fast-perishable, short-life unpacked food.
Until the end of shelf life plus 6 months for longer-life food.
5 years for long-keeping foods such as wine and sugar.
Your self-control plan (HACCP or the sector's good hygiene practice rules). Keep it at the premises and show it to the inspector.
Temperature records for the regimes above: freezing, cooking, hot holding, cooling, cooled storage and reheating. The law sets no retention period for these sheets that we could find, so ask your VMVT office how long to keep them.
Thermometer checks, logged in your self-control documents (item 24).
Pest plan with monitoring and any extermination (item 26).
Laboratory self-control of food and the environment (item 38).
Staff health papers and allergen information for every dish that is not prepacked.
Fire safety papers. A general fire-safety instruction and a staff fire action plan are required under the general fire-safety rules (BGST). We read these rules through summaries only, so check them with the Fire and Rescue Department (VPGT).

## 5. Where businesses go wrong

Common record problems are easy to picture:

Gaps. Days with no temperature checks written down.
Cooling or reheating not recorded. The law has exact times, but nothing proves them.
No action recorded. A hot-holding reading below 63°C with nothing about what was done.
Unverified thermometers. The norm asks for verified control thermometers.
Supplier papers thrown away early.
No pest plan, or no monitoring record.
Staff papers out of order. A missing medical booklet or attestation.
Not registered. Starting to serve food before the VMVT registration is complete.
Allergens only by word of mouth. We found no confirmed Lithuanian rule on oral information.
Lost or damaged pages. Paper gets wet, greasy or thrown away.

## 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: temperature records for cooking, hot holding, cooling and reheating, deliveries, cleaning, pests, and allergens for every dish.
Takeaway: the same as a restaurant, plus the 2-hour rule for hot food that leaves your premises in equipment that does not hold 63°C, and allergen information before the order is completed.
Café: fridge and display checks, cleaning, and allergen information for sandwiches, cakes and salads. A café that only reheats prepacked food may be exempt (HN 15:2021); ask the VMVT.
Bakery / cake shop: allergen records for every product, fridge checks for cream and filled cakes, and supplier documents.
Dessert shop: fridge and freezer temperatures, and allergens for toppings and sauces.
Pub / bar / club: the same records as a restaurant for the food you serve. A drinks-only bar may be exempt from the full HACCP system (item 5); check with the VMVT.
Community hall / venue: if you serve food as a business, register with the VMVT; keep temperature and cleaning records for each event.
Corner shop / grocery: fridge and freezer checks, delivery checks and supplier documents. Small shops under 300 m² may be exempt from the full system (item 5).
School / nursery kitchen: the same temperature and cleaning rules apply. The 2-hour delivery rule for hot food does not apply to contracted supply to schools and health or social-care institutions (item 30). Keep careful allergen records for every child.
Caterer / food van: register with the VMVT; keep temperatures during transport and at the event, and keep your records with you.
Home kitchen business: our earlier reading of the VMVT guidance is that a home kitchen may be used for baking and ready meals if household food and business food are handled at different times. Register with the VMVT and keep the same records as any other food business. Confirm with the VMVT before you start.

## 7. Why digital records help in Lithuania

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 found no VMVT page that says so; ask your VMVT office.
Exact times are easy to prove. Cooling in 4 hours and serving within 2 hours of reheating need a time stamp.
No gaps go unnoticed. A missed check shows up the same day.
Problems come with their fix. An out-of-range reading can ask what you did about it.
Nothing is lost. No wet, greasy or missing pages.
Ready for the inspector. Show everything at once.
Everyone can take part, on a phone or tablet, in their own language.

## 8. How Chef Hygiene helps

Chef Hygiene follows the Lithuanian rules, including HN 15:2021. 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 the HN 15:2021 numbers for cooking, hot holding, cooling, freezing and reheating.
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. It shows the likely result for Lithuania, where there is no rating, as a visit with or without faults.
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.

Language note. The app works in Lithuanian, so your team and your inspector can read the same records. Staff who speak another language 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 inspections.

## 10. Less paper

One daily sheet per kitchen is 365 sheets a year, before delivery forms, cleaning rotas and training records. Digital records mean no record books to buy and fewer printed forms to throw away.

## 11. FAQ

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

Yes. You need a system based on HACCP principles (Regulation 852/2004, Article 5; HN 15:2021, item 4). Some small businesses are exempt (items 5 and 6); ask the VMVT.

### Who inspects restaurants in Lithuania?

The State Food and Veterinary Service (VMVT), the one national food inspector, through its territorial offices.

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

Yes. You may not handle or supply food to final consumers until your activity is registered with the territorial VMVT. A normal restaurant, café or takeaway registers and receives an identification number.

### Are inspections announced?

Normally not.

### Is there a hygiene rating in Lithuania?

We found none. There is no public rating, sticker or score, and no duty to display a result.

### What can the VMVT do after an inspection?

Give time to fix small faults, issue orders and fines for serious ones, and suspend or close a business if there is a health risk.

### Are the temperatures law or guidance?

Law. HN 15:2021 sets them: -18°C frozen, 75°C core cooking, 63°C hot holding, cooling within 4 hours.

### What temperature must my fridge be?

The norm gives no plain number. Follow the maker's stated temperature. Cooled hot food must be stored at 4°C or colder for no more than 24 hours.

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

Not below 63°C, and the food must be eaten the day it is made.

### How long must I keep supplier documents?

6 months for short-life unpacked food, shelf life plus 6 months for longer-life food, and 5 years for long-keeping food such as wine and sugar (HN 15:2021, item 28).

### How long must I keep temperature sheets?

The law sets no period that we could find. Ask your VMVT office.

### Are digital food safety records accepted?

EU guidance supports records in a form that suits the business. Ask your VMVT office if unsure.

### Do my staff need a hygiene certificate?

Yes: the health knowledge and skills attestation (order V-69) and a medical booklet. We could not confirm the renewal period.

### Can staff work when they are ill?

Not if they have or may have a disease that can pass through food (Regulation 852/2004, Annex II). We found no Lithuanian return-to-work rule, so ask your authority.

### What allergen information do I need?

The 14 EU allergens for food that is not prepacked, in Lithuanian (Regulation 1169/2011, Article 44). We found no national rule on written or oral.

### Can I run a food business from my home kitchen?

Our earlier reading of the VMVT guidance is yes for baking and ready meals, if household and business food are handled at different times. You still register and keep records. Confirm with the VMVT.

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

€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 Lithuanian food safety records ready for every inspection:

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