Food Safety Records in Serbia: Laws, Inspections and Sanitary Books

Serbian food safety records: the law, veterinary and sanitary inspections, sanitary book, allergens, common failures and how digital records help.

2026-10-31 · Chef Hygiene

Do food businesses in Serbia need food safety records? Yes. The Law on Food Safety (ZBH) requires a food safety system based on HACCP in every food object. Two inspectorates check food businesses: the Veterinary Inspection and the Sanitary Inspection. Serbia has no public hygiene rating, but inspectors can order faults fixed, ban the use of premises and seal them. Every worker who handles food also needs a sanitary book, a health check renewed every 6 months. This page explains the Serbian rules, what inspectors look for, where businesses go wrong, and how digital records help.

Download on the App Store

Get it on Google Play

Get it from Microsoft

Use it in your browser

Every fact below comes from an official text, linked in the text and at the end. Serbian law is often silent on numbers. Where a number comes from a guide and not from the law, we say so. Where we could not confirm something, we say that too, and you should ask your inspectorate. The app works in Serbian (Latin script) and in 39 other languages.

## Contents

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

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

The main laws. The Law on Food Safety (Zakon o bezbednosti hrane, ZBH) and the Law on Sanitary Supervision (Zakon o sanitarnom nadzoru, ZSN). The hygiene rules are in Pravilnik 73/2010, and the staff health checks in Pravilnik 3/2017 (Law on Food Safety, Paragraf).
Register before you open. Only a company or entrepreneur that is in the business register (APR) and whose food object is entered in the Central Register of Objects may produce or sell food. You cannot start before the object is registered. Objects are either "approved" or "registered" (ZBH, art. 15). The Central Register is kept by the Ministry and is public.
A HACCP-based system. Every food object, apart from primary production, must run a system based on HACCP principles (ZBH, art. 47).
Temperatures: the law is narrow. Serbian law sets temperatures for meat, not for every dish in a kitchen. Under Pravilnik 50/2019, minced packaged chilled meat is kept at 0 to +2°C, and minced poultry and meat semi-products such as pljeskavice and ćevapi at 0 to +4°C. Frozen meat is kept at -18°C or colder, and quick-frozen food also at -18°C or colder (Pravilnik 63/2015). For other food, the law gives no general number. The numbers below come from the HACCP guide and are guidance, not law:
Cooking: 75°C at the core, or 70°C held.
Hot holding: 60 to 65°C or more.
Cooling: to 10°C or colder within about 2 hours, then to 4°C or colder.
Reheating: 75°C at the core.
Staff hygiene knowledge. People who handle food need basic knowledge of food hygiene and personal hygiene, and work clothes (ZBH, art. 45). Food handlers must be instructed and trained for their job, and the staff responsible for HACCP must be trained in HACCP (Pravilnik 73/2010, art. 29). The law sets no hours and no renewal period.
The sanitary book. Everyone who makes, sells or serves food, or touches food or packaging, needs a health check before starting and then every 6 months. It includes a doctor's exam, a throat and nose swab, and stool tests. The sanitary book (sanitarna knjižica) must be kept and shown on request (Pravilnik 3/2017).
Staff who are ill. No one with a food-transmissible disease or carrier state, infected wounds, skin lesions or diarrhoea may do food work. Workers must report illness (Pravilnik 73/2010, art. 23).
Allergens. The 14 allergens of the EU list must be declared. Catering businesses must display the information on allergen and intolerance ingredients before consumption (Pravilnik 19/2017, art. 7). For loose food, the allergen ingredients must be shown clearly at the point of sale or on its container (art. 14). For distance sales, the information must be available before purchase and at delivery (art. 13) (Pravilnik 19/2017, Paragraf). We could not confirm whether oral information is allowed, so a written list is the safe choice.
Fire safety. Extinguishers, fire alarms, fixed suppression and hydrants must be checked every 6 months by an authorised company, and staff get fire training within 30 days of starting, re-checked every 3 years (Fire Protection Law, art. 44 and 53).

## 2. Who inspects you, and how often

Veterinary Inspection. Part of the Ministry of Agriculture. It checks food safety and is the main inspector for a normal restaurant.
Sanitary Inspection. Part of the Ministry of Health. It checks premises, water and staff health (ZBH, art. 12; ZSN, art. 2 to 4 and 27).
Unannounced and risk-based. Visits depend on risk and are not announced. We could not find an official fixed time between visits, so we do not give one.
After a visit. The inspector writes a record (zapisnik) and a decision (rešenje) with a deadline to put things right.
What can happen. The inspector can ban the use of the premises and seal them, and order unsafe food to be withdrawn or destroyed (ZBH, art. 74; ZSN, art. 27 and 31).
Fines. Both laws set fines for companies and entrepreneurs, in dinars. Ask the inspectorate for the current amounts.

## 3. No public rating

No rating. Serbia has no public hygiene rating, smiley, sticker or score. Nothing has to be displayed in your window.
What matters. The aim is an inspection with no faults, no deadline notices and no ban. A sealed premises or a decision with a deadline is what a bad visit looks like.
What this means for you. There is no score to improve, so your records are the proof. Good records show an inspector that your HACCP system works every day.

## 4. The records inspectors ask for

The law requires a working HACCP-based system. It does not list each form, so what you keep depends on your business. In practice, inspectors expect to see:

Fridge and freezer temperature checks. Especially for meat, where the law sets numbers.
Delivery checks. What came in, from whom, and at what temperature.
Cooking, cooling and reheating records, against your own HACCP limits.
Cleaning records.
Sanitary books for every worker, in date (renewed every 6 months).
Training records. Instruction on hygiene and HACCP for staff.
Allergen information for every dish, ready to show.
Supplier records for traceability.
Pest control reports, if you use a contractor. We found no legal visit interval.
Your HACCP plan, reviewed when your menu or process changes.

How long to keep them. We could not confirm an official retention period in the law text. A commercial site mentions a period, but we could not find the official rulebook text, so we do not give one. Ask your inspectorate.

## 5. Where businesses go wrong

Out-of-date sanitary books. A book that is older than 6 months for even one worker.
Gaps. Days with no checks written down.
No action recorded. A meat reading above the limit with nothing written about what was done.
A plan that doesn't match the kitchen. A HACCP system on paper that staff do not follow.
Lost or damaged pages. Paper gets wet, greasy or thrown away.
Training not shown. Staff were trained, but nothing proves it.
Allergens only by word of mouth. The rule says to display the information, so keep it written.
Opening before registration. The object must be in the Central Register of Objects first.

## 6. By type of business

The same food law applies to every food business. What you keep depends on what you do.

Restaurant: daily temperature checks, cooking and hot-holding records, cleaning, and allergen information displayed for every dish.
Takeaway: the same as a restaurant, plus allergen information before purchase and at delivery for phone and app orders.
Café: fridges and displays, cleaning, and allergen information for sandwiches, cakes and salads.
Bakery: allergen information for every product, and the net quantity shown for bakery items sold by the piece (Pravilnik 19/2017, art. 14).
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, and sanitary books for staff who serve food.
Community hall / venue: register the object if you serve food as a business; keep temperature and cleaning records for each event.
Corner shop / grocery: fridge and freezer checks, delivery checks, and allergen information for food sold loose.
School / nursery kitchen: temperature and cleaning records, sanitary books, and careful allergen records for every child.
Caterer / food van: keep temperatures during transport and at the event, and keep your records with you. We could not confirm separate registration steps for vans, so ask your inspectorate.
Home kitchen business: we found no separate rule in the texts we read. The registration and HACCP rules in the law apply to any food business, so ask your inspectorate how they apply to you.

We found no official difference between business types beyond "catering" (ugostiteljstvo), so the list above is how the general rules apply in practice.

## 7. Why digital records help in Serbia

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.
Sanitary books stay in date. Keep a date for each worker's health check and see when the 6 months run out.
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.
Are digital records accepted? We found no Serbian rule that forbids them, and the law asks only for a working system. We could not find an official statement on digital records, so ask your inspectorate if you are unsure.

## 8. How Chef Hygiene helps

Chef Hygiene follows the Serbian rules. Where the law gives no number, the app says so. 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 meat temperatures from Pravilnik 50/2019.
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 inspector.
Practice inspection. A free walk round of about 10 minutes, with questions for your type of business and a "Put it right" list. Serbia has no rating, so it shows the likely result in the terms of the inspection: no action, a deadline notice, or a ban.
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 date of each worker's sanitary book check.
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 Serbian in Latin script.

## 9. A fair price, on purpose

Chef Hygiene costs about €2.99 a month per site (about €1.99 for bakeries, dessert shops and corner shops), shown in your local currency 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 Serbia?

Yes. Every food object must run a system based on HACCP principles (ZBH, art. 47). The law does not list each form, so keep records that prove the system works.

### Who inspects restaurants in Serbia?

The Veterinary Inspection (Ministry of Agriculture) checks food safety and is the main inspector for a normal restaurant. The Sanitary Inspection (Ministry of Health) checks premises, water and staff health.

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

Yes. The business must be in the business register (APR) and the food object in the Central Register of Objects. You cannot start before it is registered (ZBH, art. 15).

### Are inspections announced?

No. Visits are risk-based and unannounced. We found no official fixed time between visits.

### Is there a hygiene rating in Serbia?

No. There is no public rating, smiley, sticker or score, and nothing has to be displayed.

### What can an inspector do after a visit?

Write a record and a decision with a deadline, ban the use of the premises and seal them, and order unsafe food to be withdrawn or destroyed.

### What is a sanitary book?

A health check for food workers, called sanitarna knjižica. It includes a doctor's exam, a throat and nose swab, and stool tests. It is needed before starting and renewed every 6 months, and must be shown on request.

### Who needs a sanitary book?

Everyone who makes, sells or serves food, or touches food or packaging (Pravilnik 3/2017).

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

The law asks for basic food and personal hygiene knowledge (ZBH, art. 45) and for staff to be instructed and trained for their job. It sets no hours and no renewal period. Keep a training log.

### Can staff work when they are ill?

Not with a food-transmissible disease, infected wounds, skin lesions or diarrhoea. Workers must report illness (Pravilnik 73/2010, art. 23).

### What temperature must my fridge be?

For minced packaged chilled meat, 0 to +2°C. For minced poultry and meat semi-products such as pljeskavice and ćevapi, 0 to +4°C. For other food, Serbian law gives no general number.

### What temperature should I cook food to?

The law gives no number. The HACCP guide advises 75°C at the core, or 70°C held. That is guidance, not law.

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

The law gives no number. The HACCP guide advises 60 to 65°C or more. That is guidance, not law.

### What allergen information do I need?

The 14 EU allergens must be declared. Catering businesses must display allergen information before consumption (Pravilnik 19/2017, art. 7). We could not confirm if oral information is allowed, so keep a written list.

### Does the allergen rule apply to phone and app orders?

Yes, for distance sales the information must be available before purchase and at delivery (art. 13).

### How long must I keep my records?

We could not confirm an official period in the law text. Ask your inspectorate.

### Are digital food safety records accepted?

We found no rule that forbids them, but also no official statement. Ask your inspectorate if you are unsure.

### What are the fines?

Both the Law on Food Safety and the Law on Sanitary Supervision set fines in dinars for companies and entrepreneurs. Ask the inspectorate for the current amounts.

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

About €2.99 a month per site (about €1.99 for bakeries, dessert shops and corner shops), shown in your local currency in your app store; unlimited staff, no contract, 14-day free trial.

### Does the app work in Serbian?

Yes, in Latin script, and in 39 other languages.

## 12. Official sources

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

Download on the App Store

Get it on Google Play

Get it from Microsoft

Use it in your browser