Health approval and declaration of handling of animal foodstuffs
Verified 18 November 2020 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
In order to be able to carry out an activity of production, processing or handling of products of animal origin or foodstuffs containing them intended for human consumption, certain actions are mandatory. For operators who place them on the market without direct delivery to the consumer, approval is required. For those who are in contact with the final customer, a declaration of handling of food of animal origin must be made.
Sale to professionals
Community health approval is required before any activity to place on the market products of animal origin or foodstuffs containing such products (e.g. meat, cold cuts, cooked meat dishes) can start without direct delivery to the consumer.
This concerns traders who prepare, process, handle or store products of animal origin or foodstuffs containing them and who market these products to other professional establishments :
- slaughterhouse or cutting plant, except for on-farm slaughter of poultry and lagomorphs (rabbits);
- cheese manufacturer or milk processing establishment;
- manufacturer of minced meat, meat products or preserved products of animal origin;
- freezer vessel and factory vessel, including a crustacean and mollusk cooking vessel;
- auction market or tidal market;
- wholesale or wholesaler of food products containing products of animal origin;
- fresh product packer: milk collection center, egg packing center in particular;
- a food establishment that sells cooked meals to intermediaries.
It is possible to consult the online list of EC approved establishments on health security.
Health approval is not required for the following activities:
- primary production (cultivation/rearing): rearing of animals until slaughter, hunting, production of honey, eggs until packaging, milk on the farm without packaging for example;
- transport of animals or products of animal origin;
- manufacture of products consisting of products (e.g. pizza, quiche, sandwich, paella) of plant-based products (e.g. bread, meal, vegetables) and previously processed animal-based products (e.g. ham, smoked salmon, cheese);
- retail sale or direct delivery to consumers (subject to the obligation to declare food of animal origin).
The application must be submitted at least 2 months before the start of the activity.
The health approval is issued by the prefecture to an establishment for a given activity. If the company has several activities, several approvals must be requested.
Approval shall be granted after a visit by an inspector of the Department of Agriculture, who shall check the premises, the equipment, the proper functioning of the site and the application of sanitary control plan (good hygiene practices, withdrawal/recall procedures in the event of a health alert, traceability system in particular).
In the absence of a reply within 2 months, the approval shall be deemed to have been refused.
By mail
Application for health approval
In mainland France:
Who shall I contact
Overseas:
Who shall I contact
The application for approval shall be renewed in the event of:
- handling of a category of products or for an activity not included in the original list;
- major alteration of premises, layout, equipment, assignment or level of activity.
In the event of non-compliance with infrastructure, equipment or operational requirements, or of non-conformity of a product endangering the health of the consumer, the approval may be temporarily suspended or withdrawn.
Following a withdrawal or suspension of the health approval, the establishment may no longer manufacture or place its products on the market.
All products of animal origin from an approved establishment must be identifiable by identification mark.
The oval-shaped card shall mention:
- the country code;
- the department number;
- the number of the municipality;
- the order number in the municipality granted to the establishment;
- the abbreviation EC indicating that the country in question is an EU countryEU: titleContent.
This brand is:
- said health mark on carcases, half-carcases and quarters in slaughterhouses of slaughtered animals for slaughter;
- said sanitary stamp on other products.
If the approved establishment produces both approved and non-approved foodstuffs, it may affix the same identification mark to both types of foodstuffs.
A retail operator supplying food of animal origin to another local retail establishment (e.g. a caterer) may apply for an exemption from health approval if it transfers certain categories of products in reduced quantities).
Product Category | Maximum quantity that can be disposed of (per week) | |
|---|---|---|
if less than 30% of the total output of the establishment | if it represents more than 30% of the total output of the establishment | |
Heat-treated milks | 800 liters | 250 liters |
Dairy products | 250 kg | 100 kg |
Fresh meat from slaughter * | 800 kg | 250 kg |
Meat products, prepared meals, meat preparations, fresh meat of other species than butchery * | 250 kg | 100 kg |
Products based on shell eggs and/or raw milk which have undergone a sanitizing treatment other than dairy products | 250 kg | 100 kg |
Unprocessed fishery products (chilled or frozen, prepared or whole) | 250 kg | 100 kg |
Processed fishery products (salted, smoked, cooked) | 250 kg | 100 kg |
Snails (whole, prepared or processed) | 100 kg | 30 kg |
* except minced meat
The quantities indicated are cumulative between products belonging to different categories (e.g. possible delivery of 800 kg of beef + 250 kg of cold cuts).
The distance as the crow flies between the establishment of the beneficiary of the derogation and the supplied retail trade must not exceed 80 km (distance may be increased up to 200 km by prefectural decision, due to particular geographical constraints).
Please note
until 16 march 2021, the exemption from the authorization shall be granted to establishments located within 80 km of the supplied retail outlet. The conditions relating to the maximum quantity which may be transferred are no longer necessary.
By mail
Derogation from the health approval requirement: declaration form
In mainland France:
Who shall I contact
Overseas:
Who shall I contact
Processing establishments and aquaculture holdings must obtain an animal health approval in order to be authorized to place aquaculture animals on the market.
A separate application must be submitted for each site on an aquaculture holding (farm or mollusk farming area).
The person responsible for the aquaculture operation and the mollusk farming areas must:
- keep a register of all movements into and out of aquaculture animals, indicating their origin, destination, number or weight and size;
- record the mortality recorded in each epidemiological segment in relation to the type of production;
- implement good animal health practices to prevent the introduction and spread of diseases;
- collects the results of the animal health surveillance plan approved by the prefect, which makes it possible, on the basis of the analysis of the animal health risks for each type of production, to detect any unexplained and significant increase in mortality.
Application for animal health approval (aquaculture)
Who shall I contact
Sale to consumers
The operator of an establishment producing, handling or storing food of animal origin or containing ingredients of animal origin (meat, dairy products, fishery products, eggs, honey) intended for human consumption shall be exempt from health approval but shall be subject to the obligation to declare, before starting the declared activity:
- restaurant;
- food trade: butcher's shop, delicatessen, cheese shop, fish shop, caterer for example;
- large-scale food distribution;
- trader in an open-air market;
- farm producer, including slaughter on the farm of poultry and lagomorphs (rabbits);
- animal or animal product transporter;
- delivery of food products or carrying of meals at home (caterer);
- activities carried out free of charge, in particular food distribution charities.
Please note
until March 16, 2021, the non-approved slaughter establishment may dispose of carcasses from animals slaughtered at the home of customers who have placed an order directly with the producer. However, they must be refrigerated at a temperature below 4° C. This is not the case for the slaughter establishment for poultry and lagomorphs which must be approved.
The declaration does not concern:
- primary production (rearing animals until slaughter, hunting, egg production until packaging, production of milk on the farm without packaging in particular).
- activities carried out in the domestic setting (preparation of meals for family and friends);
- activities carried out under the European health approval.
Producers of raw milk returned to the final consumer in the unprocessed state must apply for authorization.
Until March 16, 2021, a derogation allows the producer of raw milk to place it on the market as such to the final consumer without authorization. However, he will have to send the prefect of the department in which the farm is located a declaration attesting to his compliance with certain conditions.
A reporting template must be followed.
Declaration - Producer of raw milk during temporary measures
Conditions concerning the animal from which the milk is derived
It shall:
- Be in good health and show no symptoms of contagious diseases communicable to humans through milk
- Have no signs of illness that could lead to contamination (e.g. genital tract infection with discharge, enteritis with diarrhea with fever or visible inflammation of the udder)
- Do not have a udder injury that can spoil milk
- Not having ingested an unauthorized substance or product or having been subjected to unlawful treatment (Directive 96/23/EC)
- Have ingested authorized substances or products within the withdrawal period prescribed for those substances or products.
- Be a cow or buffalo belonging to a herd which is free from brucellosis and officially tuberculosis-free
- Be a sheep or goat belonging to a brucellosis-free holding
- Be an animal susceptible to tuberculosis that is officially tuberculosis-free
- Be a goat kept with cows that has been inspected and tested for tuberculosis
Animals which do not meet these criteria may be used with the authorization of the competent authority in cases where:
- The cow or buffalo shall be negative for tuberculosis or brucellosis and shall not show symptoms of these diseases after having undergone heat treatment.
- A sheep or goat that is negative for or has been vaccinated against brucellosis and has no symptoms.
- The female animal of another species belonging to an infected herd but negative for tuberculosis or brucellosis and has no symptoms
Please note
in the case of ewes or goats, either for the manufacture of cheeses with a maturation period of at least two months; or (ii) after having undergone a heat treatment such that it shows a negative reaction to the phosphatase test
Conditions concerning premises and equipment
Milking premises in which milk is stored, handled or cooled must be located and constructed in such a way as to limit the risk of contamination of the milk.
The milk storage room must be protected from vermin and kept well separated from the rooms in which the animals are kept and must have appropriate refrigeration equipment.
The surface of equipment intended to come into contact with milk (utensils, containers, tanks, etc.) must be easy to clean and disinfect and must be well maintained. This requires the use of smooth, washable and non-toxic materials.
After use, these surfaces must be cleaned and disinfected at least once a day and before re-use
Milking must be hygienic, teats, udder and adjacent parts of the animal clean. The milk should be checked for organoleptic or physico-chemical characteristics.
Teat dip or spray treatment must only be used if approved by the competent authority and must be carried out in a way that does not leave unacceptable residue levels in the milk.
Conditions concerning the person milking
- The person involved in milking and/or handling raw milk must wear appropriate, clean clothing
- It must respect a high level of personal cleanliness
- They must have access to facilities for washing hands and arms near the place of milking
Conditions concerning raw milk
Raw milk
Raw milk must have been checked on a representative number of samples of raw milk collected from milk production holdings and taken by random sampling.
It must not contain antibiotic residues in excess of the authorized levels, nor must the total residues present exceed a maximum authorized value.
It must be stored in a clean place and equipped to prevent contamination immediately after milking. It should be stored at or below 8°C when collected daily and at 6°C when collected every 3 days.
During transport, the cold chain must be maintained and the temperature of the milk must not exceed 10°C on arrival at the establishment of destination.
The milk content required differs according to the animal species from which it comes:
- If it comes from a cow, the germ content at 30°C must be less than or equal to 100 000 per milliliter. The somatic cell content must be less than or equal to 400 000 per milliliter.
- If it is of another species, the germ content at 30°C must be less than or equal to 1 500 000 per milliliter.
Raw milk treated within 2 hours of milking
Raw milk must have been checked on a representative number of samples of raw milk collected from milk production holdings and taken by random sampling.
It must not contain antibiotic residues in excess of the authorized levels, nor must the total residues present exceed a maximum authorized value.
The milk content required differs according to the animal species from which it comes:
- If it comes from a cow, the germ content at 30°C must be less than or equal to 100 000 per milliliter. The somatic cell content must be less than or equal to 400 000 per milliliter.
- If it is of another species, the germ content at 30°C must be less than or equal to 1 500 000 per milliliter.
Raw milk for the manufacture of heat-augmented dairy products
Raw milk must have been checked on a representative number of samples of raw milk collected from milk production holdings and taken by random sampling.
It must not contain antibiotic residues in excess of the authorized levels, nor must the total residues present exceed a maximum authorized value.
The milk content required differs according to the animal species from which it comes:
- If it comes from a cow, the germ content at 30°C must be less than or equal to 100 000 per milliliter. The somatic cell content must be less than or equal to 400 000 per milliliter.
- If it is of another species, the germ content at 30°C must be less than or equal to 1 500 000 per milliliter.
Raw milk for the manufacture of dairy products without heat treatment
Raw milk must have been checked on a representative number of samples of raw milk collected from milk production holdings and taken by random sampling.
It must not contain antibiotic residues in excess of the authorized levels, nor must the total residues present exceed a maximum authorized value.
It must be stored in a clean place and equipped to prevent contamination immediately after milking. It should be stored at or below 8°C when collected daily and at 6°C when collected every 3 days.
During transport, the cold chain must be maintained and the temperature of the milk must not exceed 10°C on arrival at the establishment of destination.
The plate count at 30°C for raw milk must be less than or equal to 500 000 per milliliter.
Health approval requirement
Conditions for the health approval and the declaration of food handling
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