Gingerbread and home-made food for sale: registration, trade licence, labelling

Gingerbread is food, not a souvenir

Although decorated honey gingerbread (medovník) often serves as a decoration, the law treats it as food. Anyone who makes and sells it is a food business operator — just like a bakery. Preparing it at home for your own consumption is a different matter: the Food Act does not apply to domestic preparation, handling and storage of food for private consumption in the household (Section 1(2)), but selling it is no longer private consumption.

1. Registration with the RVPS

Section 6(1) of Act No. 152/1995 Coll. requires the operator, before starting the activity, to apply to the competent official food control authority for registration of each establishment. Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 lays down the same obligation. Changes and closure must be notified within five working days.

The procedure according to the guide from the State Veterinary and Food Administration (Štátna veterinárna a potravinová správa, ŠVPS):

1. In the KVEPIS system, create an application “Registrácia prevádzkarne” (registration of an establishment) and fill in the address and activities.
2. Pay the administrative fee with an eKolok (e-stamp) and attach the receipt.
3. Submit the generated PDF via slovensko.sk (general agenda) to the competent Regional Veterinary and Food Administration.
4. The RVPS may carry out an official inspection and enters the establishment in the register.

2. Can it be a home kitchen?

Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, in Annex II, Chapter III, expressly also covers premises used primarily as a private dwelling-house but where foods are regularly prepared for placing on the market. Such premises must, so far as is reasonably practicable, be sited, designed and kept so as to avoid contamination, and must, where necessary, have:

• appropriate facilities for washing and drying hands,
• surfaces in contact with food in sound condition, easy to clean and disinfect,
• facilities for cleaning and disinfecting utensils,
• an adequate supply of hot and cold water,
• hygienic storage and disposal of waste,
• a way of maintaining and monitoring food temperatures.

So European law does not rule out home production. Whether your particular kitchen and range of products are suitable is for the RVPS to assess — so contact it before you apply.

3. Trade licence

Making bakery and confectionery products is a craft trade (remeselná živnosť) (Annex 1 to the Trade Licensing Act). You prove your professional competence with an apprenticeship certificate (výučný list) or another document under Sections 21 and 22; if you do not have one, you can appoint a responsible representative (zodpovedný zástupca) who does. Registering a craft trade online costs €11.

4. Labelling

Prepacked gingerbread (e.g. in a labelled bag) must be labelled in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 — name, list of ingredients with allergens emphasised, net quantity, best-before date, storage conditions and the producer’s details.

Non-prepacked gingerbread (at a stall) must have, in close proximity — on the price tag, next to it or otherwise clearly assigned — the particulars under Section 3 of Decree No. 243/2015 Coll., with substances causing allergies marked in a different typeface. For counter sales, a list of allergens must also be clearly visible.

Gingerbread commonly contains allergens such as cereals containing gluten, eggs, milk, nuts or sesame. Check the composition of every ingredient, including the icing and decoration.

5. Selling online and on social media

The ŠVPS points out that anyone selling food at a distance has the same obligations as businesses with a physical shop. The mandatory information (except the date of minimum durability) must be available before purchase — that is, in the offer on the website or in the post. The seller’s identification details must also be on the website.

Food that spoils quickly is excluded from the consumer’s right to withdraw from the contract within 14 days (Section 19(1)(d) of Act No. 108/2024 Coll.). For long-life gingerbread this exception does not apply automatically — allow for this in your terms and conditions.

6. VAT and eKasa

• If you are a VAT payer: from 1 January 2026, sweet bakery products including gingerbread (code 1905 20) moved from the reduced rate to 23%.
• If you sell at a stall, sales recording in eKasa and cashless payment above €1 apply — see eKasa for craftspeople.

What this page replaces

This address once had a page about making gingerbread in a catalogue of folk crafts. The craft itself has not changed over the years; the rules for selling have. This guide is about the latter.