Question 1

Does my shop count as open or packaged goods?

Accepted Answer

What matters is what you actually handle. Bread from the basket, sausage from the roll, loose salad or olives from the container are open goods - for those you need the Belehrung (instruction) under §§ 42, 43 IfSG. Pre-packaged goods in a bag, tin or film do not count, as long as the packaging stays closed. As soon as you regularly slice, fill or decant, the duty applies.

Question 2

I work at the meat, cheese or bakery counter - do I need the Belehrung?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the service counter is the clearest case in retail. You slice, weigh, reach into the display with the tongs and hand the goods straight over. The same applies to a stall at the weekly market and to the delicatessen counter. The certificate has to be in place before your first shift at the counter, not at some point afterwards.

Question 3

I only sit at the till and scan packaged goods - do I still need a Belehrung?

Accepted Answer

Usually not. If you only scan and bag sealed goods, you have no contact with open food and are therefore not covered by the instruction requirement. In everyday work the line is crossed quickly though: if you also bag rolls now and then, help out at the counter or restock bakery-shop goods, it looks different. If your employer requires the proof for till staff as well, you can always check with the responsible public health office (Gesundheitsamt).

Question 4

In the bakery I only sell - and sometimes fill rolls. What applies?

Accepted Answer

As soon as you fill, slice or portion, you are working with open food and need the Belehrung. That is exactly the normal case in bakery sales: taking rolls out of the basket, cutting cake, putting snacks together. Only if you really do nothing but hand pre-packaged goods across the counter does the duty fall away - and in practice that is rare.

Question 5

I am only helping out in sales over Christmas - do I really need this?

Accepted Answer

The duty attaches to the work, not to the length of your contract. Even as a temporary helper in the Christmas or seasonal trade you need the Belehrung from your first day at the counter or the sweets stall. The Erstbelehrung (initial instruction) then has no expiry date and will already be in your files for the next seasonal job. Just keep an eye on the three-month window between the Belehrung and the start of the work.

Question 6

I am moving to a different store - do I need a new Belehrung?

Accepted Answer

No. The certificate belongs to you as a person, not to the store or the chain. Whether you switch stores within the same company, move from the bakery to the supermarket or start in another city - you show the same PDF again. Your new store management then just adds you to the two-year cycle of Folgebelehrungen (follow-up instructions).

Question 7

Can I register my whole store at once?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Before a new opening, or when several counter staff start at the same time, the store or branch management registers the team for the online Belehrung in one go. The certificates then come back to you centrally, so you do not have to collect them one by one for the personnel files. Each person still has to go through the course themselves, because the certificate is issued in their own name.

Question 8

Who takes care of the two-yearly refresher in retail?

Accepted Answer

That is your employer's job. Under § 43 Abs. 4 IfSG the business has to instruct its sales staff again at least every two years and document it - in larger chains this is usually handled by the store management or the HR department. Your Erstbelehrung (initial instruction) from us is unaffected by that and does not expire. So you do not have to buy anything on top, you just take part in the internal refresher.

Health certificate for retail - fast, online, usable nationwide as proof.

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Health certificate in retail - what you need to know