In accordance with Part 1 of Article 20 of the Law of Ukraine «On Basic Principles and Requirements for the Safety and Quality of Food Products» No. 771/97 (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 771/97) market operators are responsible for compliance with the requirements of legislation on safety and certain quality indicators of food products within the scope of the activities they carry out.
According to part eight of Article 20 of Law No. 771/97 market operators are prohibited from trading in food products, obtained from facilities that have not passed state registration or have not received an operating permit in accordance with this Law, and/or use such food products in the production of other food products.
In addition, in accordance with part one of Article 23 of Law No. 771/97, market operators carrying out activities related to the production and/or storage of food products of animal origin, must obtain an operating permit, which is issued by the territorial body of the competent authority for each individual capacity before the start of its operation. According to paragraph 55 of part one of Article 1 of Law No. 771/97, a food market operator is a business entity that carries out activities with or without the aim of making a profit and manages facilities where primary production, production, sale and/or circulation of food products and/or other objects of sanitary measures are carried out, and which is responsible for fulfilling the requirements of this Law and legislation on safety and certain quality indicators of food products. Market operators include individuals if they carry out activities with or without the aim of making a profit and are engaged in the production and/or circulation of food products or other objects of sanitary measures.
In addition, in accordance with Part 12 of Article 41 of the Law of Ukraine "On State Control over Compliance with Legislation on Food Products, Feed, Animal By-Products, Animal Health and Welfare" (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 2042), market operators - residents of Ukraine who import (ship) cargoes with products to the customs territory of Ukraine must have an operating permit and/or a document on state registration of capacity.
In accordance with Article 25 of Law No. 771/97, facilities for the production and/or circulation of food products that do not require an operating permit are subject to state registration. A vehicle used by a market operator in connection with the operation of another registered facility belonging to it or a facility for which an operating permit has been issued is not subject to state registration as a separate facility. Vehicles used by a market operator exclusively for the transportation of food products that is not related to the operation of a registered facility belonging to it or a facility for which an operating permit has been issued are subject to cumulative state registration, for which one application is submitted (regardless of the number of relevant vehicles) and according to the results of which one personal registration number is assigned. A vehicle used as a facility for the sale of food products to end consumers is subject to state registration as a separate facility.
State registration of capacities is carried out by the competent authority by entering relevant information into the register free of charge in accordance with the order of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine dated February 15, 2024 No. 431 "On approval of the Procedure for state registration of capacities and the Procedure for maintaining the state register of market operators and their capacities.".
The procedure for issuing, refusing to issue, canceling, temporarily suspending, reissuing and renewing an operating permit for market operators engaged in activities related to the production and/or storage of food products of animal origin, as well as state registration of facilities for the production and/or circulation of food products for which an operating permit is not required, can be found on the official website of the Main Department of the State Service for the Protection and Promotion of Food Safety in the Kharkiv region in the "Services" section at by reference.