About this service
Food safety in Georgia is regulated by the Code on Food, Veterinary and Plant Safety, and control over the field is exercised by the Agency, whose authorised persons both examine administrative-offence cases and impose sanctions. This page brings together the basic obligations of a business operator — from registration and recognition to traceability, labelling and a system based on hazard analysis — and sets out the exact scale of fines established by the Code.
Food safety requirements
Food placed on the market must satisfy the food safety requirements determined by the legislation of Georgia, and the placing of harmful food on the market is impermissible. Food is considered harmful if it endangers human life or health or is unfit for human consumption; in determining safety, not only the immediate but also the short-term and long-term influence on the consumer must be considered, together with the effect on subsequent generations, the possible toxic cumulative effect and the level of influence on the health of special categories of consumers. If food is harmful, the entire batch is considered harmful unless a detailed inspection confirms that the remaining part of the batch satisfies the safety requirements — and the costs of that inspection are reimbursed by the business operator.
Obligations of the business operator
A business operator must register its activity in the Register of Economic Activities — in case of changes, by applying to the National Agency of the Public Registry; activity without registration is prohibited. For activities connected with the production and processing of food of animal origin and a number of other designated activities, recognition by the Agency based on the results of inspection is mandatory, and activity subject to recognition without recognition is prohibited. Traceability must be ensured at the stages of production, processing and distribution — the operator must hold the relevant information, documentation and records. A food business operator must implement food safety procedures based on the principles of a system of hazard analysis and critical control points — an obligation that does not extend only to primary production. Labelling follows the established rules, and indicating on the label any combination of the terms „biological“, „ecological“, „eco“, „bio“ or „organic“ is impermissible unless it complies with the rules of bio-production and that compliance is confirmed by an appropriate certificate.
The rules of conduct after discovering non-conformity are particularly important: where a business operator has a justified doubt that food it imported, produced or placed on the market does not meet the requirements, it must immediately take measures to prevent its placing or to withdraw it from the market, effectively provide the consumer with complete information about the reasons for withdrawal, and, if the measures taken are insufficient for the protection of health, recall the food supplied to the consumer; the Agency must be notified in writing, immediately, of the measures taken.
The rules of liability
Liability for violations of the requirements in this field is determined by this Code, by the Code of Administrative Offences and by the law on the labelling of genetically modified products. The right to examine a case and to impose an administrative sanction belongs to the authorised person of the Agency, who draws up a fine ticket that is simultaneously the protocol of the administrative offence. Where a person committed several offences examined at the same time by one and the same authorised person, the sanction is imposed within the limits of the sanction providing the larger fine; an offence is considered repeated if the same act was committed within 12 months of the detection of the previous offence, though violations committed on one and the same day at territorially separate facilities are not considered repeated. Where signs of a crime are found in the act, the materials are immediately sent to the investigative body; and if criminal prosecution is terminated, an administrative sanction may still be imposed — no later than 1 month from the relevant decision.
The scale of fines
The fines are divided by the level of risk. For a low-risk non-conformity — one whose reduction or elimination is possible without a temporary suspension of the production process — failure to comply with the instruction of the authorised person fines an operator with small-business status by 200 GEL and any other operator by 500 GEL; failure to comply within a new reasonable term entails 1,000 GEL and suspension of the process. A high-risk non-conformity — one that cannot be eliminated without a temporary suspension — entails 1,000 GEL and suspension of the specific production process until elimination, and its repetition 5,000 GEL; failure to comply with an Agency instruction connected with suspension, withdrawal, removal or destruction likewise brings 5,000 GEL. Violation of the rule on providing information to the consumer costs a small business 200 GEL and others 500 GEL, and its repetition 1,000 GEL; information about special-diet food or baby-food products capable of creating a misleading impression costs 1,000 GEL for a small business and 3,000 GEL for others, and its repetition — 5,000 GEL together with suspension of the activity. Violation of the labelling rules for animal feed is assessed at 200 to 500 GEL, and failure to send the mandatory written notification to the Agency about a withdrawal — at 200 GEL.
How we help on Legal.ge
Our team covers the full cycle of food-safety disputes: we analyse the inspection report and the requirements applied, determine the correct classification of the risk level and of the size of the business, and prepare positions and appeals. If your facility has undergone an inspection or a fine has already been imposed, contact us — at the first consultation we will assess the prospects of the dispute. Legal.ge — reliable legal support throughout Georgia.