Horticulture Food Registration – Registering as a Food Business Operator (FBO)-What you need to know

• Regulation 178/2002 General Principles of Food Law
• Regulation 852/2004 Hygiene of Foodstuffs
• Regulation 2073/2005
• S.I.22of2020

• EU Guidance Document on Addressing Microbiological Risks

Q. What is primary production?

A. It means the production or growing of primary products including harvesting. It also includes the harvesting of wild products. Primary products include:

• grains, fruit, vegetables, herbs, mushrooms; and,
• mushrooms, berries etc. which are harvested in the wild.

Q. Why does a primary producer of edible plants and fungi (including fruit, vegetables, herbs or mushrooms) have to register?

A. EU regulations on food and food safety, commonly referred to as the Hygiene Package, came into effect on 1 January 2006 to revise and consolidate earlier legislation. The objectives of the Regulations include focusing controls on what is necessary for public health protection and clarifying that it is the primary responsibility of food business operators to produce food safely. A part of the requirements of these Regulations is that people involved in the production of primary products must be registered as food business operators and included in the Food Business Operator (FBO)/Primary Food Producers Register (‘Register’) that is maintained by The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

Q. What is a Food Business Operator?

A. This means the natural or legal persons responsible for ensuring the requirements of food law are met within the food business under their control.

Q. How does that affect a primary producer?

A. The ‘food business’ referred to above means any undertaking, whether for profit or not and whether public or private, carrying out any of the activities related to any stage of production, processing or distribution of food.

Q. What do I have to do to comply with the EU Regulations?

A. The requirements that are relevant to producers of edible plants and fungi (including fruit, vegetables, herbs and mushrooms) are set out in Regulation (EC) No. 852/2004. They are:

• to keep clean and, where necessary after cleaning, to disinfect, in an appropriate manner, facilities, equipment, containers, crates, vehicles and vessels;
• to ensure, where necessary, hygienic production, transport and storage conditions for, and the cleanliness of, plant products;
• to use potable water, or clean water, whenever necessary to prevent contamination; to ensure that staff handling foodstuffs are in good health and undergo
• training on health risks;
• as far as possible to prevent animals and pests from causing contamination; to store and handle waste and hazardous substances so as to prevent contamination;
• to take account of the results of any relevant analyses carried out on samples taken from plants or other samples that have importance to human health;
• to use plant protection products and biocides correctly, as required by the relevant legislation; and,

to keep records relating to the measures put in place to control hazards.

Food business operators producing or harvesting plant products are, in particular, to keep records on

• any use of plant protection products and biocides;
• any occurrence of pests or diseases that may affect the safety of products of plant origin; and;
• the results of any relevant analyses carried out on samples taken from plants or other samples that have importance for human health.

Q. What else do these requirements apply to?

A. As well as affecting primary producers, these requirements also apply to:

• the transport, storage, and handling of primary products at the place of production;
• the transport of products of plant origin; and,
• transport operations to deliver primary products from place of production to an establishment.

Q. How do I register?

A.Please complete the Food Business Operator - Horticulture Food Registration Form –here or alternatively contact registerfbo@agriculture.gov.ie if you have any further queries relating to registration.

Q. What happens if I don’t register?

A. You will not be able to sell your produce legally without this registration. The Regulations also form part of the cross compliance requirements under the Basic Payment Scheme.

Q. Where is this Register kept?

A. The Register is maintained by this Department. All registered FBOs on this Register are subject to regular unannounced inspections by DAFM to verify compliance with European Union (Food and Feed Hygiene Regulations) 2020 - SI No. 22 of 2020.