(1)

Community policies on Better Regulation, in particular the Communications from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions entitled‘A strategic review of Better Regulation in the European Union’ ║ and ║ ‘Action Programme for Reducing Administrative Burdens in the European Union’ ║, stress the importance of reducing the administrative burdens imposed on enterprises by existing legislation as a crucial element for improving their competitiveness and for achieving the objectives of the Lisbon agenda.

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(2)

Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs  (4) requires that all food business operators put in place, implement and maintain a procedure based on the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles.

(3)

Experience has shown that in certain food businesses, food hygiene can be ensured by the correct implementation of the food hygiene requirements laid down in Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 without having recourse to the HACCP system. The businesses concerned are in particular small businesses predominantly selling their products directly to the final consumer, such as bakeries, butchers, grocery shops, market stalls, restaurants, and bars, which are micro-enterprises within the meaning of Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (5).

(4)

It is appropriate therefore to provide an exemption to those businesses from the requirements of Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, it being understood that they must comply with all the other requirements of that Regulation,

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(1)

In Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, the following new recital shall be inserted:

(2)

In Article 5(3) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, the following sentences shall be added:

‘Without prejudice to the other requirements of this Regulation, food business operators may be exempted from the requirement to put in place, implement and maintain a permanent procedure or procedures based on the HACCP principles. This exemption shall apply only to enterprises, particularly micro-enterprises, within the meaning of ║ Recommendation 2003/361/EC ║ and the activities of which consist predominantly of the direct sale of food to the final consumer, and provided that the competent authority considers, on the basis of a regular hazard analysis, either that there are no hazards that must be prevented, eliminated or reduced to acceptable levels, or that identified hazards are sufficiently and regularly controlled through the implementation of general and specific food hygiene requirements laid down in Article 4(2) to (6) of this Regulation. In requiring evidence of compliance with the requirements laid down in Article 4(2) to (6), the competent authority shall take due account of the nature and size of the food business operator.’