Christmas 2015
Christmas, feast of love, is coming. This time of the year more people are likely to help than on those grey days. All of us give what we can. There are people who can make nice cookies so they help people by cookies and make happiness to his/her neighbourhood.
But it is allowed to charity with cookie (food) as a private person?
Applicable rules provide the following:
TRADING
Offering cookies for free, so as charity, does not qualify trading activity. However the maker of the cookie is liable for the cookie as food. It is such when you organise a children birthday party, you will also prepare the food responsibly and properly.
A food if it is not safe may not be traded. Food is not safe if
a) unhealthy;
b) unfit for human consumption
[article 14 of 178/2002/EC].
If a private person prepares cookies and the cookies are not unhealthy and not unfit for human consumption then he/she may trade it, including free of charge.
Such cookies must be prepared, such as in the case of self-consumption, in line with food safety rules. Consumers must be notified about the ingredients, also the allergen content. The maker of the cookie has to label and inform consumers on durability date and ‘use by’ date. This is important since there is a food health risk if consumers were not properly informed how long a cookie may be consumed. So one has to tell consumers if a cookie has to be kept in the refrigerator or must be eaten within three days.
SELF-PROTECTION TIP
Cookie maker should have a little booklet  listing the names, the ingredients, the consumption and storing proposals. This booklet should be signed and dated by the organiser of the market.
FOOD HYGIENE AND FOOD SAFETY
All EU regulations are directly applicable for the Member States. Food related regulation determine the principle of tradition and flexibility. According to the two main food hygiene regulations these are in article pf 3 (2) of 178/2002/EC and point 3.6. of the Guideline related 852/2004/EC and says: “Somebody who handles, prepares, stores or serves food occasionally and on a small scale (e.g. a church, school or village fair and other situations such as organised charities comprising individual volunteers where the food is prepared occasionally) cannot be considered as an “undertaking” and is therefore not subject to the requirements of Community hygiene legislation.”Hungarian execution Rural Development Minister Decree No. 62/2011(VI.30.) on food hygiene of the production and trading of catering industry products determines that the decree does not apply to
a) food prepared for household and self-consumption;
b) occasional treatment, preparation, storing and serving of food by private persons on such occasions, like church, educational institution, family and local events;
The exemptions are, certainly, apply only to private persons in the case he/she made the cookie and he/she offers to the consumers on occasions, such as kindergarten feasts or school carnivals, village days.
So if cookies offered (traded) by civil organisations (and their members) or companies, if the registered activity of the civil organisation or company includes such activity.
Here is an easy-to-read manual on hygiene rules (HACCP) of the home-made food preparation issued by NÉBIH  and Food Chain Knowledge for Primary School Students 2013 TIP: As to save our position (if any ill-wisher would denounce or if any of the cookie byer would get sick one may prove that sickness is not from the cookie) the bills of the ingredients should be kept and to run a spraying register about our products (for example apple to the apple pie) when and how much spraying was made.
Offering:Cookies may only be offered, presented if you are not sick. You also have the provide waste bin, proper adjusting utensils in order not to touch the cookies. Cookies have to be served either into the contained brought by the consumer, or into your proper packaging (paper or plastic bag or tray). It is useful if display of the cookies is also covered.
PRICE AND VALUESelling does not mean trading! According to the Trade Act and Value Added Tax trading is such a business activity which is conducted within an independent permanent business operation for the purposes of or resulting consideration (remuneration).
So any such cookie fair which is organised occasionally (annually twice or three times at church, school or in local community), offered for donation or free does not qualify as business activity.Certainly these are not apply for those cake and cookie makers whose business is this activity.
GOOD to KNOW:In the case food hygiene authority receives any notification it must proceed according its administrative rules so it is very useful to let hygiene authority know about the proposed programme with selling food in advance and ask their advice.  Actually the organiser of the programme has to notify the authority in any case. Authorities are likely to support such event. We have good examples! And carry on to find more. Kislépték even founded an award to honour and recognise such assistance of the authority. MORE  Presently Kislépték and Fatosz  working together with NÉBIH  for the Good Hygiene Practice Manual which is based on tradition and flexibility.

Kislépték Association is not yet eligible to receive 1 % tax support for 2016. Should you agree to support our work please do so by any donation or joining our association as supporting members with annual membership fee of HUF 2000 (7 euro). We are expecting payment to the bank account No: HU20 1090 0011 0000 0013 0971 0009.

This article is general information. In any specific matter you have to ask specifically the position of the actual authority. In the case of sanctions from any administrative body you have the right ask legal explanation with specific reference to the specifically applied regulation!