The activity requiring authorization may only be commenced after authorization has been granted. The procedure is subject to an application. A site inspection is carried out to check whether the requirements under food law have been met.

There are some complicated exceptions to the authorization requirement (e.g. primary production, retail in certain cases). It is therefore advisable to enquire with the responsible licensing authority or the district administrative authority.

The approval decision does not affect any other permits that may be required, such as building permits, permits under immission control law, etc. This depends on the specific individual case and should be requested from the responsible licensing authority - usually the district administrative authority (district administration office or district-free city).

The following food businesses require EU approval, regardless of whether they only operate within Germany or also within the EU:

Meat plants/poultry meat plants

• All businesses with their own slaughtering
• Businesses that sell more than a third of their production volume to other businesses

Dairy farms

All businesses that treat or process milk from other businesses require an approval and an approval number:

• Milk collection centers
• Standardization bodies
• Milk treatment and processing plants

Other businesses

Other businesses that handle products of animal origin, such as direct marketers.

Approval number

With the approval, the establishment also receives the approval number required for intra-Community trade.

With the exception of the health mark for carcasses, the approved food business has been required to affix a so-called identification mark to treated products of animal origin since January 1, 2006. The identification mark consists of two letters for the member state and country code (e.g. DE) and the approval number for the respective company as well as the abbreviation for the European Economic Community (EC) or European Union (EU). The identification mark is an important prerequisite for the traceability of products.

The following exceptions to the approval requirement exist:

There are some complicated exceptions to the authorization requirement:

• Primary production, as well as the supply of small quantities of primary products to end consumers or local retailers, do not require approval.
• Approval is also not required for the supply of small quantities of meat from poultry and lagomorphs by the producer or for the supply of small quantities of game or game meat by the hunter to end consumers and local retailers.
• Businesses that handle, process and store food of animal origin at the point of sale or supply to the final consumer (retail) and do not supply more than one third of their products of animal origin to other local retail businesses do not require approval. Retail businesses also include pubs and restaurants.

Branches are to be regarded as independent retail businesses in this context.

It is advisable to check with the relevant licensing authority or the district administrative authority.

Self-slaughtering butchers and self-slaughtering restaurants always require a permit for slaughtering.

The regulations allow for flexible implementation, so that approval is not an insurmountable hurdle for the businesses concerned.