Health checks and hygiene training for food workers in Republika Srpska

The rules on health examinations and training for people who handle food are set by the Law on the Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases. They apply to people working in food production, processing and trade, for example in processing, bakeries, butchers, shops and kitchens. For hospitality businesses and farm households, check with the competent service (see below). The description reflects the position on 6 October 2026.

In short

• People working in food production, processing and trade are under sanitary supervision (Article 20, point 1).
• A sanitary examination (sanitarni pregled) is done on taking the job and every six months after that, and more often if there are epidemiological indications (Article 21).
• Special training with an exam (posebna edukacija) must be repeated every four years (Article 23).
• The employer pays for the examinations and the training.
• Fines for the employer go up to 10,000 KM for a legal entity (Article 61).

Who it applies to

• Everyone working in food production, processing and trade.
• Since the 2022 amendment, people employed in producing spirits, wine, vinegar and acetic acid are exempt, as are people in outlets that sell only original pre-packaged food, including transport of such food.
• The law does not list hospitality businesses, farm households or owners who work themselves by name. If you are unsure whether your case counts, ask the Hygiene and Epidemiology Service or the health inspection before deciding yourself.

What to do

1. Arrange a sanitary examination for each person who handles food right after the employment starts. It consists of a clinical examination (a doctor or an epidemiology specialist) and laboratory testing of biological material. The clinical part is done by the hygiene and epidemiology service of a health centre or by the Institute (Institut za javno zdravstvo Republike Srpske, the Public Health Institute of Republika Srpska); the laboratory part by the Institute (Article 21).
2. Repeat the examination every six months, or more often if epidemiological indications require it.
3. Arrange the special training on food and personal hygiene, with an exam organised by the Institute or a health centre. Everyone else follows the basic programme, while businesses with a HACCP system whose staff already took the training follow the extended programme (Article 23).
4. Repeat the training and exam every four years. A person who cannot sit the exam because of illness or another justified reason may postpone it by up to 60 days, and a failed exam may be retaken no later than 60 days after the first attempt.
5. If an examination finds an infectious disease or a carrier state, the health institution must inform the inspection and the employer within 24 hours. That person may not do the work until cured or until the carrier state has ended, if at that workplace the person poses a risk of infecting others (Article 22).

How long an examination stays valid, the list of laboratory tests and the content of the course are set by the Rulebook on the manner of conducting sanitary supervision and the Rulebook on the content and conduct of special training, so ask the institution carrying out the examination.

Deadlines and amounts

• Examination: on taking the job, then every six months.
• Training with exam: every four years.
• The employer pays for the examinations and the training (Articles 21 and 23). The law gives no prices, so ask the institution.
• Fines (Article 61, as amended by Decree with the force of law No. 42/20): if an employer does not arrange the examinations, keeps a sick person at work or does not arrange the special training, a legal entity pays 2,000 to 10,000 KM, and the responsible person in a legal entity and an entrepreneur each pay 1,000 to 3,000 KM.

Where to go

• JZU Institut za javno zdravstvo Republike Srpske (Public Health Institute of Republika Srpska), Regional Centre Trebinje: hygiene minimum courses, health supervision of people in food production and trade, laboratory analyses. According to the Institute's page (last updated 2019), sanitary booklets are issued at the Epidemiology Department on working days from 12:00 to 13:00; check by phone before you go. Epidemiology Department: 059 240 715, Hygiene Department: 059 240 714. Regional Centre Trebinje
• JZU Dom zdravlja Trebinje (Health Centre), Hygiene and Epidemiology Service: 059 240 693 (the service's contact number; check that it is the one for sanitary examinations). Hygiene and Epidemiology Service
• Inspektorat Republike Srpske (Inspectorate of Republika Srpska), Health Inspection, Trebinje regional office: 059 273 080, Bileća section: 059 371 880. Contact

Laws and sources

• Zakon o zaštiti stanovništva od zaraznih bolesti (Službeni glasnik RS br. 90/17, 42/20, 98/20 and 63/22), Articles 20 to 23 and 61
• Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona (Službeni glasnik RS br. 63/22), Article 5 amends Article 20
• Pravilnik o načinu sprovođenja sanitarnog nadzora (Službeni glasnik RS br. 6/18)
• Pravilnik o sadržaju i načinu sprovođenja posebne edukacije (Službeni glasnik RS br. 94/18 i 41/19)