Does a Restaurant Licence Exist?
In Georgia a restaurant opens without a separate restaurant licence: the Code on food safety, veterinary and plant protection regulates the field through food safety requirements, through the implementation of a system based on hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP), and through the types and mechanisms of state control. The practical consequence is this: a business operator does not need a one-off permit — it must continuously comply with safety requirements along the entire production chain, and state control verifies that compliance.
Food Safety Requirements and Harmful Food
Food placed on the market must satisfy the food safety requirements determined by Georgian legislation, and the placing of harmful food on the market is impermissible. Food is considered harmful if it endangers human life or health, or if it is unfit for human consumption. In determining safety, account must be taken of conformity with the requirements governing production, processing, distribution and primary production; the possibility of use by the final consumer in accordance with its intended purpose; any information supplied to the consumer, including information on the label; not only the possible immediate, short-term and long-term effects of the food on the consumer but also its effect on subsequent generations; possible toxic cumulative effects; and, where the food is intended for a special category of consumers, the level of its impact on their health.
Where food is harmful, the entire batch is deemed harmful unless a detailed inspection confirms that the remaining part of the batch satisfies the food safety requirements — and the costs of that inspection are reimbursed by the business operator. Moreover, conformity with the requirements does not prevent the Agency from taking appropriate measures to restrict or prohibit the placing of the food on the market, or to withdraw it from the market, where a justified suspicion exists that the food, despite its formal conformity, is not safe. For a restaurant this means that even a formally compliant product can, once doubt arises, put the entire chain at risk.
The HACCP System — Principles and Exemptions
A food business operator must have food safety procedures implemented in accordance with the principles of the hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) system. These principles include: identifying any hazard with a view to its prevention, elimination or reduction to an acceptable level; determining the critical control points at the stages where control is essential; establishing critical limits at those points; introducing and carrying out effective monitoring; defining corrective actions for cases where monitoring shows that a critical limit has been exceeded; developing procedures to verify regularly the actions taken; and producing records concerning all of these actions.
Whenever any change occurs in the food or at any stage or process of its production, the operator must make the corresponding changes in the HACCP-based system. The system, however, is not mandatory for an operator carrying out primary production, while the types of production and processing for which implementation of the system is mandatory are determined by a government decree. For a restaurant with a hot kitchen, HACCP-based self-control is, as a rule, precisely the central object of state inspection.
Types and Mechanisms of State Control
The types of state control are food safety control — including the establishment of conformity with labelling requirements and with the requirements for supplying information to the consumer — together with veterinary control and phytosanitary control. The mechanisms for carrying out these controls are: inspection, monitoring, supervision, document checks, sampling and audit. Together, the six mechanisms form the toolkit by which the Agency oversees both the product and the operator's self-control system.
The Agency may delegate the performance of individual state-control tasks to one or more controlling bodies, provided the tasks are precisely described and the controlling body is impartial and free from conflicts of interest in relation to the delegated tasks. A controlling body must be accredited by the competent body of Georgia or of a member country of the European Union or of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development — which secures an international standard for the quality of control.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a restaurant need a separate licence?
No, a separate restaurant licence does not exist in law; the field is governed by food safety requirements and state control.
What is HACCP and who must implement it?
It is the hazard analysis and critical control points system, which food business operators must implement; an operator carrying out primary production is not subject to it.
What counts as harmful food?
Food that endangers human life or health or is unfit for consumption; the whole batch of harmful food is deemed harmful unless a specific inspection proves otherwise.
How is state control exercised?
Through inspection, monitoring, supervision, document checks, sampling and audit; individual tasks may be delegated to accredited controlling bodies.
Who reimburses the costs of batch inspection?
The costs of a detailed inspection are reimbursed by the business operator.
How We Help on Legal.ge
Opening a restaurant lawfully requires an integrated understanding of food safety requirements, the HACCP system and state control. We assist with the documentary framework of your self-control system, with assessing the results of inspections, and with structuring your relations with the Agency correctly. We will plan the compliance steps so that your kitchen remains consistently compatible with the requirements. Contact us on Legal.ge.