Kebab Shops and Sanepid: 7 Non-Compliances

A Sanepid (the State Sanitary Inspection) inspection of a kebab shop covers the same areas as in other food businesses (hygiene, processes, HACCP procedures, documents - Art. 14 of Regulation 2017/625), but a kebab shop has its own characteristic risk points: the spit, salads, sauces, the slicer and hand hygiene. Below are seven areas worth checking yourself before an inspection. This list is based on our own risk assessment of this process, not on inspection statistics - we do not have such data.

We describe how an inspection works in general in the article Sanepid inspection step by step. Here we focus on what is specific to a kebab shop.

The key points in brief

• The inspector looks at the process, not at cleanliness "for show" - what matters is whether the meat, salads and sauces are safe, not just whether the floor shines (an inspection includes an assessment of HACCP procedures, GHP (Good Hygiene Practice) and documents - Art. 14(c)-(e) of Regulation 2017/625).
• The typical risk areas are predictable - meat temperature, sauces kept outside the fridge, a single sink, empty registers (this is our assessment of the process, not statistical data from inspections).
• A thermometer and well-kept registers (records) let you show that you control the process.
• A short daily check of your own control points (for example a dozen or so minutes - this is an estimate and depends on the business) helps you spot deficiencies earlier.

1. Meat from the spit at the wrong temperature

This is the first area. The inspector may ask you to measure the temperature of freshly cut meat or ask how you control the cooking. If you carve "in advance" and the meat sits in a container, or you reheat without checking that the meat reaches the limit set in your documentation (for example at least 75°C in the centre - this is a value from practice, not from the regulations), that is a deficiency against your own HACCP system (Art. 5(2)(c)-(d) of Regulation 852/2004).

How to avoid it: carve the outer, fully cooked layer to order, keep a probe thermometer and take CCP (critical control point) measurements. We cover this in detail in the article HACCP for kebab: the spit, temperatures and critical points.

2. Sauces and salads outside the fridge

Garlic or mayonnaise sauce standing on the counter all day is a classic. Salads topped up "fresh onto old" in the same container are the same problem. Bacteria multiply fastest in the warmth.

How to avoid it: keep sauces and salads cold, below 5°C, mark the opening or preparation date, do not mix a new batch with an old one and throw them away after a set time.

3. One sink "for everything"

In a fixed premises (Annex II, Chapter I, point 4 of Regulation 852/2004) hand-washing basins must have hot and cold running water and materials for washing and hygienically drying hands, and where necessary, facilities for washing food are to be separate from the hand-washing basins. A soap dispenser and disposable towels are typical ways of meeting this requirement. If staff wash their hands in the sink used for products, or there is no hot water, the inspector may record this as a deficiency.

How to avoid it: a dedicated hand-washing basin, always stocked, with working hot water. This is a requirement under the regulations (for a fixed premises), not a cosmetic matter.

4. A dirty slicer and spit

The meat slicer and the area around the spit collect fat and residue. Dried-on deposit is one of the first signs that cleaning and disinfection happen only "once in a blue moon".

How to avoid it: a cleaning and disinfection schedule broken down by equipment, with a register kept. We show how to build a procedure that really works in the article cleaning and disinfection - a procedure that works.

5. Empty or "made up" registers

You have the documentation, but the temperature register has been empty for three weeks - or filled in all at once with the same pen. The inspector treats this as having no system, even if the papers look perfect.

How to avoid it: one real entry a day instead of ten invented ones. A register should be a habit, not a task for the end of the week.

6. Gaps in the cold chain at delivery

Meat accepted at too high a temperature, no measurement at delivery, products past their date in the fridge - these are typical deficiencies that show up as soon as the cold room is opened (the cold chain - Annex II, Chapter IX, point 5 of Regulation 852/2004).

How to avoid it: measure the temperature of the meat on receipt, record it, check use-by dates and apply the "first in, first out" rule.

7. No examinations and staff hygiene

No medical certificate for sanitary-epidemiological purposes for a person working with food (Art. 59(2) of the Act on Food and Nutrition Safety (25 August 2006) - this applies to you and to an employee taken on "in a hurry"), no clean work clothing (Annex II, Chapter VIII, point 1 of Regulation 852/2004) or jewellery worn when working with food (this is a GHP rule, not a direct legal provision) - an inspector may check all of this.

How to avoid it: keep track of the validity of the whole team's examinations, have clean work clothing and clear personal hygiene rules written down in a workstation instruction.

What you risk for non-compliances

Not every non-compliance ends in a penalty. Post-inspection recommendations are entered in the inspection book (Art. 31(1) of the Act on the State Sanitary Inspection). Where hygiene and health requirements are breached, the inspector orders by decision that the deficiencies be removed within a set time (Art. 27(1)), and where the breach has caused a direct threat to life or health, the inspector orders the closure of the establishment or part of it or the withdrawal of food from the market, with immediate enforceability (Art. 27(2)). Failing to implement HACCP procedures, failing to observe hygiene requirements and employing people without medical certificates are petty offences (Art. 100(1)(8) and (11) of the Act on Food and Nutrition Safety): an officer of the State Sanitary Inspection (PIS) may impose a fine (mandate fine) of up to PLN 500 (Art. 96 § 1 of the Code of Procedure in Petty Offence Cases) or refer the case to court (a fine of PLN 20 to 5,000, Art. 24 § 1 of the Code of Petty Offences). Separately, by decision of the Voivodeship Sanitary Inspector, administrative fines are imposed, among other things, for running a business without applying for entry in the register of establishments (PLN 1,000-5,000 - Art. 103(1)(4) and (2)(2)) and for obstructing an inspection (up to thirty times the average salary - Art. 103(1)(7) and (1) in fine). We describe what the penalties actually amount to and how to appeal in the article Sanepid fines - amounts and appeals.

A quick self-check before an inspection

Before the inspector walks in, go through these points yourself. We have collected a full "right now" list in the article a 30-minute pre-inspection checklist. For a kebab shop the minimum is: meat and fridge temperatures, sauces and salads kept cold, the hand-washing basin stocked, the slicer clean, registers filled in, examinations valid.

FAQ - frequently asked questions

What does Sanepid check most often in a kebab shop?

An inspection may cover, among other things, the temperature and method of cooking the meat from the spit, the storage of sauces and salads, hand hygiene (a separate sink, hot water), the cleanliness of the slicer and the spit, and the keeping of registers. This is our assessment of the risk areas in a kebab shop, not inspection statistics; preparing these points helps you show that you control the process.

Can the inspector measure the temperature of my meat?

Yes - inspections include, among other things, checking goods and processes and verifying the measurements taken by the business (Art. 14(b), (g) and (j) of Regulation 2017/625), so the inspector may ask for a measurement or measure the temperature personally. That is why your own probe thermometer and regular CCP measurements are the foundation - they show that you control the process.

Is a kebab shop inspection announced in advance?

Official controls as a rule take place without prior notice (Art. 9(4) of Regulation 2017/625; no notification of the intention to carry out an inspection is made where the inspection is based directly on EU law - Art. 48(11)(1) of the Entrepreneurs' Law). That is why there is no point in "cleaning up for the inspection" - the system should work every day. The best strategy is a short, daily self-check of your own critical points.

Ready-made documentation for a kebab shop

Some deficiencies come from the lack of a coherent system - who checks what, and when. The Foundation package from GastroReady gives you ready-made HACCP, GHP and GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) procedures plus registers adapted to the spit, salads and sauces, to make it easier to show that you control the process.

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Legal status as of: 8 November 2026
Legal basis: Act of 14 March 1985 on the State Sanitary Inspection (consolidated text Journal of Laws (Dz.U.) 2024, item 416, amended by Dz.U. 2026, item 605): Art. 27(1)-(2), Art. 31(1); Act of 25 August 2006 on Food and Nutrition Safety (consolidated text Dz.U. 2026, item 1399): Art. 59(2), Art. 100(1)(8) and (11), Art. 103(1)(4) and (7) and (2), Art. 104; Regulation of the Prime Minister of 17 October 2002 on mandate fines imposed by the State Sanitary Inspection (consolidated text Dz.U. 2020, item 1364) § 2(7); Code of Procedure in Petty Offence Cases Art. 96 § 1; Code of Petty Offences Art. 24 § 1; Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 (consolidated text of 24.03.2021): Art. 5, Annex II Chapter I point 4, VIII point 1, IX point 5; Regulation (EU) 2017/625: Art. 9(4), Art. 14; Act - Entrepreneurs' Law (consolidated text Dz.U. 2025, item 1480): Art. 48(11)(1). The list of "seven areas" is our risk assessment, not inspection statistics. Not checked: requirements for a kebab kiosk or stall (where Chapter III applies instead of Chapter I), requirements for spit producers, or Regulation 853/2004 (as a rule it does not apply to retail), the appeal procedure (described in a separate article). The review of 8 November 2026 covered the Act on Food and Nutrition Safety (consolidated text Dz.U. 2026, item 1399, status as of 28.09.2026), the Code of Petty Offences (consolidated text Dz.U. 2026, item 1372), the Code of Procedure in Petty Offence Cases (consolidated text Dz.U. 2026, item 1336) and the Act on the State Sanitary Inspection (consolidated text Dz.U. 2024, item 416, amended by Dz.U. 2026, item 605); we checked the cited articles in these texts and found no changes to their meaning compared with the previous consolidated texts (in the Act on the State Sanitary Inspection, Dz.U. 2026, item 605 changed only Art. 27(2) (the word "obiektu" was replaced with "budynku"), the other cited articles are unchanged). We have not rechecked the remaining acts on this list since the review of 4 October 2026.
Last review: 8 November 2026