Goods and labelling · EU · AT · DE

Traceability

Traceability means you can tell the authority on request who supplied each food and ingredient and which businesses you supplied yourself. Sales to your guests as final consumers are excluded. The obligation is in Article 18 of EU Regulation 178/2002. In Austria the form is free; Germany requires that the data can be sent electronically.

Legal basis

EU — applies in Austria and Germany: Reg. (EC) 178/2002 Art. 18: be able to identify every person from whom you received a food and every business you supplied, with systems that make this information available to the authority on demand. Art. 19: withdrawal and recall.12
EU — applies in Austria and Germany: For food of animal origin, Implementing Reg. (EU) 931/2011 lists the details, such as quantity, batch, supplier and date; they must be updated daily.3
AT — Austria: § 22 LMSVG refers to Art. 18 of Reg. 178/2002. According to the WKO handbook, supplies to guests are excluded and the form is free, by inventory system or by hand (guidance).45
DE — Germany: § 44 (3) LFGB: the data must be capable of being sent to the authority in structured, machine-readable, electronic form no later than 24 hours after a request.6
Retention: For food of animal origin: keep available until it can be assumed that the food has been consumed.3

What the inspector wants to see

Who supplied this ingredient, and when?15
Which businesses have you supplied, for example for catering?1
Germany: can you send the data electronically within 24 hours?6
Is traceability organised in the business in a way that can be followed?7

Common mistakes

Delivery notes not kept or not matched to any goods.Practice
In Germany, only paper that cannot be sent in machine-readable form within 24 hours.6
A supplier recall does not reach the kitchen because nobody knows which batch was used where.25

Practise, read, print

The guide is in German for now.

Practise · 5 minCold chain & deliveries GuideHACCP-Checkliste für die Gastronomie

Sources

We read every source in the original on the date shown and checked it against the text: EU law in its German-language version, the links lead to the English one. All sources and what has changed (in German)

1Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 (General Food Law), Art. 18(1)–(3) · checked 23 September 2026
2Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 (General Food Law), Art. 19 · checked 23 September 2026
3Implementing Regulation (EU) No 931/2011 (traceability of food of animal origin), Art. 3(1) and (3), recital 3 · checked 23 September 2026
4AT — applies in AustriaLebensmittelsicherheits- und Verbraucherschutzgesetz (LMSVG), the Food Safety and Consumer Protection Act, Austria, § 22 · in German, checked 23 September 2026
5AT — applies in AustriaAustrian Economic Chamber (WKO), handbook on hygiene in hospitality (as of July 2025), Austria, p. 24 (traceability) · in German, checked 23 September 2026
6DE — applies in GermanyLebensmittel- und Futtermittelgesetzbuch (LFGB), the Food and Feed Code, Germany, § 44 (3) · in German, checked 23 September 2026
7Regulation (EU) 2017/625 on official controls, Art. 14(a)–(d) · checked 23 September 2026

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