What is it necessary to know about trade and its organization in markets and other public trade places?

It is allowed to trade in the markets and in other public trading places, but the merchants must organize the flows of visitors, so that jams could be avoided and create conditions for appropriate personal hygiene of the employees and customers. We kindly remind you that all the food traders must also follow the guidelines of the order of Director of the State Food and Veterinary Service “On Approval of the Description of the Procedure for Approval of Food Processing Entities and Registration Procedure” (2008 October 15, Order no. B1-527), the order of the Director of the State Food and Veterinary Service  “On the Approval of the Description of the Procedure for Approval and Registration of Animal Food Management Entities” (2005 December 30, Order no. B1-738)  and the  order of the Director of the State Food and Veterinary Service "On the approval of food handling requirements for small quantities and the supply to the final consumer" (2019 September 4, Order no. B1-649).

We also remind you that the premises where the trading takes place must have a separate direct entrance from the outside. The flow of visitors must also be limited by ensuring at least 10 sq. meters of retail space per customer or at the same time serving no more than one customer.

Recommendations for vendors:

• The ready-to use non-prepacked food products (products that will not be washed, thermally processed, peeled, hulled, etc. before consumption) have to be sold in such a way that the buyer would not be able to touch or contaminate these food products otherwise (the shelving protected from contamination, films and other measures should be used).

• The equipment, tools and means used in the trade place (table tops, trays, scales, knives, etc.) have to be cleaned, washed and/or disinfected more often than usually, depending on the selling duration and flows of visitors.

• The vendors must comply with good personal hygiene practice and obligatory food handling requirements, and have appropriate hygienic (cleaning and/or disinfection) and other necessary means (appropriate work clothes, etc.) in the trade places.

• The vendors have to wash their hands regularly (at least every 2 hours) and thoroughly by warm running water and liquid soap and/or disinfect the hands by special hand sanitizers. The vendors handling non-prepacked food have to disinfect their hands at least every 2 hours, or more frequently, if needed.

• The hands to be washed especially often, when products of animal origin, fresh meat or non-prepacked meat products are touched. The vendors have to wash their hands before starting the work, before handling thermally processed or ready-to-use food, while handling fresh meat, fish or other thermally unprocessed food, before putting on, changing or taking off any gloves, after disposal of waste, after cleaning and disinfection works, after having used WC, after eating, smoking, sneezing, blowing the nose, or after handling money.

• The vendors should avoid touching their face, eyes, nose, mouth, etc. by hands, should observe etiquette of coughing and sneezing (they should cough or sneeze having their mouth covered by disposable tissue or into the internal side of bent elbow).

• If thermally unprocessed (raw) and thermally processed (boiled, smoked) products of animal origin are sold, protective measures should be used (robes, gloves, aprons). Disposable protective measures should be changed each time when they are contaminated by materials of animal origin (meat, fats, blood, etc.). when other non-prepacked products (weighed cookies, etc.) are sold, protective measures should be also worn.

• The protective clothes of multiple use should be washed every day after work. Besides, stricter than ordinary hygienic measures should be applied in all the stages of transportation, distribution, trade and supply to the market.

Recommendations for persons, who organize trade in food products in markets and other public trade places:

It is recommended daily:

• to restrict flows of buyers and other visitors (hereinafter – visitors) with regard to the marketplace’s area, so that jams could be avoided;

• to prohibit a group of more than 2 persons to go shopping; the family members have to shop alone;

• to present information to the visitors by the entrance about necessity to observe personal hygiene (hand hygiene, etiquette of coughing and sneezing, etc.);

• to encourage the visitors to keep safe distance of at least 1 metre in the queue: to present information in the place well visible to the buyers, e.g. on the showcases, such as “Please keep a distance of 1 meter from each other, while waiting in the queue” “.

• to create conditions for appropriate hand hygiene of the visitors (it is recommended to hand sanitizers for the marketplace’s customers in well visible places by entry/exit to the marketplace);

• to create conditions for the vendors to use WC and to wash and disinfect their hands. Liquid soap and hand sanitizer must be available by all the basins;

• to clean and disinfect thoroughly premises of the marketplace and other surfaces after the trade. When trade is especially intensive and many buyers are present in the marketplace at the same time, the premises should be cleaned and disinfected during the work as frequently as possible. To ventilate the closed premises often;

• to monitor that only healthy vendors, who do not have upper respiratory tract diseases, acute intestinal infections and signs of other diseases (e.g., coryza, cough, sneezing, difficult breathing, diarrhoea, vomiting, etc.), would be engaged in the trade;

• to monitor that no vendors, who do not guarantee appropriate hygiene (cleaning and/or disinfection means) and who do not have other compulsory means, would be selling;

• to keep safe distance of at least 2 meters between the vendors.