Food hygiene maturity · Regulation (EC) No 852/2004
Your food hygiene obligations, measured site by site and turned into a costed action plan.
10 themes, a 5-level scale. And the action that moves each level to the next.
The framework’s 10 themes, already written from L1 to L5. One company, one business unit, or 300 at once.
Food hygiene maturity · Regulation (EC) No 852/2004
10 themes, 5-level scale.
Nordhavn Industries
53 / 100
They measure their maturity with Datamensio
An example
This could be your situation.
Take one company as an example: three sites, three spreadsheets, no shared answer.
Nobody can consolidate.
Nordhavn Industries, 2,400 people in Hamburg, Lyon and Porto. A client asks where the group stands. Each site answers in its own spreadsheet, with its own scales.
Three weeks, a single base.
One Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs assessment launched across all three sites at once, from the managers’ interview notes. The framework was already written, its 10 themes and levels L1 to L5 too.
Two costs avoided before being committed.
A score of 53 out of 100, with the gap concentrated on three themes. The AI companion spotted that two actions duplicated those of another audit. The committee report took one sentence to request.
What it saved them
- 3sites measured on the same base, instead of three questionnaires to reconcile
- 2duplicate actions caught before the spend
- 1committee report, with no manual rework
These figures are an example. They could be yours.
The standard imposes processes. Datamensio says where you stand.
01
The framework is already written
Themes, questions and levels L1 to L5, all written. You do not start from an empty spreadsheet.
02
The score lands the same day
Online, by self-assessment link or in interview. Theme by theme, comparable over time.
03
The gap becomes a costed plan
Every step up carries its action. The AI prioritises on expected effect, not on the order of the standard.
04
Progress can be demonstrated
Campaign after campaign, against your target and against your own past. That is what your board asks for.
The maturity scale
One level, the next, and the action that links the two.
It is this mechanism (one level, the level above, and the action linking the two) that turns an observation into a trajectory.
Is the cleaning and disinfection plan defined, applied and checked for effectiveness?
- N1
No written plan. Cleaning is carried out according to each team’s habits, with no defined frequency or method.
- N2
A plan exists and specifies the zones and products, but its application is not recorded and no efficacy check is carried out.
- N3
The plan covers all zones and equipment, operations are recorded and surface checks are carried out periodically.
- N4
Check results are used, gaps trigger a tracked corrective action and the plan is adjusted accordingly.
- N5
The plan is revised based on check trends, process changes and microbiological results, with a documented revision history.
Action to move from L2 to L3
Introduce a signed record sheet for every cleaning operation and schedule a monthly surface check on high-risk zones, with results reviewed at the weekly quality meeting.
« With Datamensio, we meet our objectives far more efficiently. The ERDF inspection services and our supervising ministry particularly appreciated an approach that gives them reliable data. »
Director, CCI 94CCI Île-de-France
« We believe this is the most suitable solution to scale our transformation project and measure impact according to our needs. »
Maja SucekChief Operating Officer, Interreg Danube
Rarely on its own
Frameworks combine. Put several together to cover your business, or have the AI write yours.
Take your first measurement
What this framework covers
Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 is the cornerstone of the hygiene package. It applies to every stage of production, processing and distribution, and requires three things: compliance with the general hygiene rules set out in its annexes, permanent procedures based on HACCP principles for all activities other than primary production, and registration or approval of establishments with the competent authority. Annex I covers primary production, Annex II covers premises, equipment, waste, water, staff hygiene, transport and training.
In practice, the difficulty is not knowing the text but knowing where things actually stand, site by site. Are the prerequisites upheld by living procedures or by the experience of a few long-serving staff? Is the cleaning and disinfection plan checked, or only signed off? Do non-conformities raised during internal audits close with a root cause analysis, or recur from one round to the next? A multi-site group adds a further question: are the gaps between plants measured, or discovered during an inspection.
One frequent confusion is worth clearing up. Regulation 852/2004 is not a private certification scheme like IFS Food, BRCGS or FSSC 22000. It is a directly applicable regulatory obligation, checked by the competent authorities under Regulation (EU) 2017/625. Private schemes take up its requirements and go beyond them, but compliance with 852 remains due regardless of any certification. The flexibility provided for small businesses and the validated good hygiene practice guides do not exempt operators from demonstrating control.
Official inspection thinks in terms of compliant or non-compliant, on a given date. The maturity assessment answers a different question: at what level of control do your practices sit, and what specific action moves you up a level. A company can be formally compliant and fragile, because control rests on people rather than on a system. The five-level scale makes this fragility visible and measurable, before the inspection.
In Datamensio, the framework is ready to use and editable. The AI adjusts the themes, questions and levels to your activity, catering, meat processing, industrial bakery, chilled logistics, or builds a version from your own food safety plans and internal guides.
Reference standard: Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs
The themes assessed
Registration, approval and scope of activity
Declaration of establishments to the competent authority, approvals held, consistency between actual and declared activities, updates following any change.
Premises, design and flow
Design and upkeep of premises, separation of clean and dirty zones, forward flow, surfaces, ventilation, lighting, changing rooms and sanitary facilities.
Equipment and maintenance
Materials in contact with food, surface condition, preventive maintenance, foreign body control, calibration of measuring instruments.
Cleaning, disinfection and pest control
Documented cleaning plan, products and concentrations, efficacy checks, pest control plan and monitoring records.
Temperature control and the cold chain
Storage, transport and heat treatment temperatures, continuous recording, action in the event of a break, thawing and cooling.
Water supply and waste management
Quality of water used, networks and non-return valves, ice and steam, waste disposal and storage, by-products.
Staff hygiene and training
Uniforms and hygiene rules, fitness for work and exclusion of sick staff, visitor and temporary worker induction, training plan and verification of its effectiveness.
Procedures based on HACCP principles
Hazard analysis, determination of critical points, critical limits, monitoring, corrective actions, verification and associated documentation.
Traceability, withdrawal and recall
Identification of upstream and downstream batches, reconstitution time, traceability exercises, withdrawal and recall procedure, notification of authorities.
Verification, internal audits and improvement
Self-checking and sampling programme, internal audits, handling of non-conformities, root cause analysis, periodic review of the system.
A short version of the framework is available for the online self-assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Does Regulation 852/2004 lead to a certification?
No. It is a directly applicable regulatory obligation, checked by the competent authorities during official inspections. Private certifications such as IFS Food, BRCGS or FSSC 22000 take up its requirements and go further. The assessment measures your maturity and prepares you for these milestones, it does not issue any certificate.
What is the difference between this assessment and a standard hygiene audit?
An audit concludes with a gap or a compliance finding on a given date. The assessment places each practice on a five-level maturity scale and identifies the action that moves it up a level. The two complement each other: the assessment prepares for the inspection, the inspection validates it.
How long does the assessment take?
The short version is completed in a single session by the site quality manager. The full version, run collaboratively with production, maintenance and logistics, typically spans one to two weeks, with most of the time spent gathering supporting evidence.
Can the framework be adapted to our activity?
Yes. You can edit the questions, levels and themes, or start from a blank base. The AI builds a version from your food safety plan, your sector’s good hygiene practice guide or your internal procedures.
How do we compare several sites against each other?
The same framework is rolled out across all establishments, making scores comparable by theme. The benchmark places each site against the others and against its own past assessments. A cross-site roadmap consolidates actions common to several sites.
How does this assessment fit with HACCP and traceability?
Regulation 852/2004 requires procedures based on HACCP principles, and Regulation 178/2002 requires traceability. Dedicated frameworks allow each of these areas to be explored in depth. Actions from the different assessments are grouped into a single roadmap, with no duplication.
Where is the data hosted?
In France, at OVH, with backup at Scaleway. No transfer outside the European Union. The AI models used can be selected, including from European providers.