Knowledge base · Hygiene
HACCP training for your team.
From the binder to the floor.
Half past eleven. The last table has left and everyone wants to go home. They skip the ice machine and the slicer: the morning shift will do it. The morning shift thinks the same. The rules are in the hygiene code in the office. Here you read which rules your team needs every shift, what the NVWA finds and how to make it stick.
In short. HACCP is mandatory in Dutch hospitality. If you work with the Hygiene Code for hospitality, you comply. A diploma is not required, instruction for your staff is. Start with what comes back every shift: cleaning, cooling, cooling down and hands.
Try it yourself
Do you know what belongs on your cleaning list?
This is how your team trains with CuliQuiz: three minutes a day on the phone. Play five about HACCP and see where you stand per topic.
Play it yourself on the phone on the rightPlay it yourself on the phone below
- 96 of 154busy summer locations had a violation in the NVWA summer inspection roundNVWA, September 2026
- 29%of those locations had a violation in hygiene and cleaningNVWA, September 2026
- 47%of those locations: here the NVWA found fliesNVWA, September 2026
01 · The lawWhat must you arrange by law?
Anyone who prepares or sells food in the Netherlands must work according to HACCP. You don't need to write your own plan for that. You arrange it in three steps.
- Hygiene code or own planIf you work with the approved Hygiene Code for hospitality, you meet the HACCP obligation. Your own food safety plan is also allowed.NVWA
- Instruction for your teamEveryone who works with food gets hygiene instruction and supervision that fits their work. A course or diploma is not mandatory. What it should cover is below.Regulation (EC) 852/2004, KVK
- Register through MijnNVWARegister each location separately through MijnNVWA, with your KvK registration and eHerkenning. Since March 2026 this must be done again, even if you were already registered. After that you confirm your details every year.KHN, March 2026
The NVWA, the Dutch food safety authority, visits unannounced. The inspector checks whether your registration is correct, whether you work with the hygiene code or your own plan and how you follow the rules, including in your record sheets.
02 · The instructionWhat should hygiene instruction for your team cover?
The law doesn't say exactly how you give instruction. It does say what belongs in it. The NVWA's requirements for a hospitality hygiene code list four topics in which staff must be well trained.
- HygienePersonal hygiene and a clean workplace. Think of washing hands, clean clothes and covering cuts.NVWA
- Food handlingHow you receive, store, prepare and serve food according to your venue's code.NVWA, hygiene code criteria 2024
- Cross-contaminationPreventing bacteria from reaching a product via hands, equipment or other food.NVWA, hygiene code criteria 2024
- TemperatureDuring storage and preparation: cooling, keeping warm, heating and cooling down.NVWA
Whoever carries out checks, such as measuring temperatures and keeping record sheets, must also know the HACCP principles. That is what the European hygiene regulation says.
Record who received which instruction and who supervises. The NVWA names documentation of training and supervision as part of a good food safety culture. A simple list with name, date and topic that the employee signs makes it visible.
How often? The rules set no fixed frequency. Give the instruction in the first shift and again with a new menu, a new working method or new equipment.
03 · On the floorWhich HACCP rules does your team need to know?
The hygiene code is thick. On the floor the same rules come back every shift, in the kitchen and behind the bar. Everyone should know them without the binder. How often you clean what is in the cleaning plan of your hygiene code.
| What | The rule |
|---|---|
| Cooling | Unpackaged food at 7°C or lower, in the kitchen and behind the bar |
| Opened packaging | The date on a carton of milk, cream or juice only applies while it is closed |
| Freezing | -18°C or lower |
| Heating | Chicken and minced meat to 75°C or higher |
| Keeping warm | In a warming cabinet or bain-marie at 60°C or higher |
| Reheating | To 60°C or higher |
| Cooling down | Below 7°C within 5 hours |
| Cleaning the kitchen | Rooms where you prepare or store food are clean and well maintained. Including the walk-in fridge, the rubber seals of the fridges and the slicer |
| Cleaning the bar | Ice machine, tap, bar mats and the tray of lemon slices and garnish. Everything that goes into the guest's glass |
| Storing | A sticker with the preparation date on unpackaged perishable food |
According to the NVWA pages "Schoon en veilig werken" and the summer 2026 inspection results (Dutch).
Then there are the rules for yourself. Wash hands with soap and warm water, especially after using the toilet, sneezing or cutting meat. Clean clothes and closed shoes. Hair away from the food, nails short and unpolished. Cover a cut with a blue, waterproof plaster.
04 · The barWhat do you watch for behind the bar?
What happens behind the bar usually reaches the guest without heating: ice, garnish, milk and whipped cream. There is no pan to catch anything. That is why the same instruction applies behind the bar as in the kitchen.
Ice is food
In its summer round the NVWA found dirty ice machines. Put the machine and the ice scoop on the cleaning list.
Garnish
Sliced lemon, lime and mint are unpackaged and perishable. Store at 7°C or lower with a sticker showing the date you cut them.
Milk and whipped cream
The date on the carton only applies while it is closed. Straight back in the fridge after use.
Tap and bar mats
On the closing list, like the fridges. How often you clean the tap is in the cleaning plan of your hygiene code.
Hands
With soap and warm water, behind the bar too. Especially after using the toilet and sneezing.
05 · The figuresHow often do NVWA inspections find problems?
In July and August 2026 the NVWA inspected 154 hospitality locations that are busy on warm days: at the seaside, by recreational lakes, at campsites, playgrounds and outdoor pools. It found one or more violations at 96, a serious one at 8. 58 locations were fully in order. This is not a sample of all hospitality, but it is a picture of a busy shift.
Summer locations with a violation, July and August 2026
NVWA, inspection results hospitality locations summer 2026 (154 locations).
In hygiene the problems were dirty floors, fridges, walk-in fridges, slicers and ice machines, dirty with grease, food residue, mould or droppings from mice and flies. Walls and ceilings were also poorly maintained. In food handling it was food kept too warm, for example in a salad bar or on a refrigerated counter. At 25 locations preparing and cooling down went wrong.
The rules are in the binder. The mistakes happen on the floor.
It matters. The RIVM, the Dutch public health institute, estimates the medical costs of infections from contaminated food in the Netherlands at 202 million euros in 2025. That estimate covers all food, at home and eating out, not only hospitality.
06 · Easy winsWhere do you gain the fastest?
Many violations from the summer round are about things that come back every shift: temperature, cooling down, cleaning and flies. That is where you start, with one fixed action per moment.
- Thermometer at the startWhoever opens the shift reads every fridge, including the one behind the bar, and writes it on the list. Above 7°C? Report it to the manager.Rule: 7°C or lower
- A timer when cooling downWhen a pan of soup or sauce goes into the fridge, set a timer. After 5 hours it must be below 7°C.Rule: within 5 hours
- A fixed closing roundKitchen and bar on one list: floor, walk-in fridge, seals, slicer, ice machine, tap and bar mats. Whoever closes walks it and signs.Rule: clean and well maintained
Put the fly screen on that list too. Flies were seen at almost half of the locations in the summer round. And every tub of mise en place gets a sticker with the preparation date.
07 · RememberingWhy doesn't one HACCP course stick?
A course gives knowledge. On a busy Friday someone decides in a few seconds whether the sauce goes in the fridge. Then what counts is what is ready to hand.
You see it at the NVWA. The rules are in the hygiene code and the temperatures are on the NVWA website. Still, in the summer round something went wrong at 96 of the 154 locations, often with things that come back every shift: cleaning, cooling down and keeping food at temperature.
So practise on the floor. Let a new colleague read the fridge, walk the closing round and stick the label. Correct it straight away if it goes wrong.
Questions work better than rereading. A review of 222 studies with almost 50,000 learners shows that those who test themselves clearly perform better than those who read the material again. That argues for short questions instead of the binder one more time.
08 · Your teamHow do you get your team on board?
The bar is part of it
Front of house and bar also work with food: ice, garnish, milk, whipped cream and the plates they serve. Give them the same instruction as the kitchen, with their own examples.
Start with the newcomers
15 to 24 is the largest age group in Dutch hospitality. Many of them have just started. Give the rules in the first shift, not after a month.
One rule per briefing
Cooling down today, keeping warm tomorrow. Ask about it again the next shift.
Let them do it
Give the new colleague the thermometer and the list. Whoever measures remembers the number.
Say why
The rules protect your guests. And an NVWA violation means a warning or a fine.
Short and often
Better three minutes every day than one afternoon a year. That fits how knowledge sticks.
Frequently asked questions
Is HACCP mandatory in hospitality?
Yes. Anyone who prepares or sells food in the Netherlands must work according to HACCP. If you work with the approved Hygiene Code for hospitality, you comply. You can also write your own food safety plan.
Does HACCP also apply to front of house and the bar?
Yes. Everyone who works with food gets instruction that fits their work. Behind the bar that means ice, garnish, milk and whipped cream, and cleaning the tap, bar mats and ice machine.
Is a HACCP diploma mandatory for hospitality staff?
No. A course, certificate or diploma is not mandatory. Your staff must receive hygiene instruction that fits the work they do. You may give that instruction yourself.
What is the Hygiene Code for hospitality?
A ready-made HACCP plan by KHN, the Dutch hospitality association, approved by the government. Working according to the code means you meet the HACCP requirements. The NVWA checks whether you use it and how you follow the rules.
How quickly must food be cooled down?
It must be below 7°C within 5 hours. During an NVWA summer inspection round in 2026, 25 of the 154 locations got preparing and cooling down wrong.
What temperature should a hospitality fridge be?
7°C or lower for unpackaged food. The freezer is at -18°C or lower. Keep hot food at 60°C or higher.
What should hygiene instruction for hospitality staff cover?
Hygiene, food handling, cross-contamination and temperature during storage and preparation. Whoever carries out checks must also know the HACCP principles. Record who received which instruction.
How do you register a hospitality business with the NVWA?
Through MijnNVWA, per location, with your Chamber of Commerce (KvK) registration and eHerkenning. Since March 2026, businesses that were already registered must register again. After that you confirm your details every year.
How often should staff be trained in hygiene?
The rules set no fixed frequency. Give instruction at the start and with every new working method or menu. After that, repeat briefly and often so the rules stick on the floor.
How CuliQuiz does it
Send us your menu and your working methods. We turn them into questions about cooling, cooling down, keeping warm, hygiene and allergens. You check them. Your team plays three minutes a day and you see per topic where knowledge falls short. Try free for 30 days, no payment details.
Sources (12)
- NVWA: inspection results hospitality locations summer 2026 (September 2026, Dutch)
- NVWA: working clean and safe, HACCP rules in the kitchen (Dutch)
- NVWA: food safety plan or hygiene code for hospitality (Dutch)
- KVK: food safety and hygiene, all about HACCP
- Regulation (EC) 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs, article 5 and annex II, chapter XII
- NVWA: criteria for drawing up a hygiene code, version 1.0 (April 2024, Dutch)
- KHN: working with food? Register (again) through MijnNVWA (March 2026, Dutch)
- Business.gov.nl / Ondernemersplein: registration and approval by the NVWA (Dutch)
- KHN: is a food hygiene course or diploma mandatory? (Dutch)
- KHN: over half a million employees in hospitality (2024, Dutch)
- RIVM: food-related and other enteric infections in the Netherlands, annual report 2025 (July 2026, Dutch)
- Yang et al.: Testing (quizzing) boosts classroom learning, Psychological Bulletin (2021)
This page is a practical summary, not legal advice. Check the current rules with the NVWA and in the Hygiene Code for hospitality.