Production of Food for Sale
A “food producer” must obtain a license from the Food and Drug Administration in accordance with section 14 of the Food Act, B.E. 2522 (1979) which provides that “no one may produce food for sale except receiving a license from the authority. Application for license and the granting of licenses shall be in accordance with the rules, procedures or conditions prescribed in the Ministerial Regulation.”
A “food producer” must be a person or a juristic person with a commercial registration certificate who has a place for food production business located in Thailand. The food to be produced for sale must be within the scope permitted by the FDA.
A “food production premises” must be prepared in accordance with the criteria of GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) or under the Notification of the Ministry of Public Health (No. 420), B.E. 2563 (2020) which provides basic criteria or requirements necessary for the production, especially to prevent and eliminate risks that may cause food poisoning, harm or unsafe conditions. Every premises that produces food for sale must comply with the GMP criteria. In case of a production premises of certain fresh vegetables or fruits, the Notification of the Ministry of Public Health (No. 386), B.E. 2560 (2017) (for certain fresh vegetables or fruits) must also be complied with
Type of Premises | Horsepower Equivalence of Equipment, Utensils and Machines | Number of Workers | Application Form | Registration evidence | License Fee |
1. Food production premises recognized as a factory | Equal to or exceeding 50 horsepower | 50 people or more | Application Form for Food Production Factory (Form Orr. 1) | Food Production License (Form Orr. 2) | Per the Ministerial Regulation No.5 |
2. Food production premises not recognized as a factory | Less than 50 horsepower | Fewer than 50 people | Application form for the number of food production premises not recognized as a factory (Form Sorbor. 1) | Certificate of the number of food production premises not recognized as a factory (Form Sorbor. 1/1) | Exempt from the license fee |
Application for Food Production License
A food producer must have a commercial registration certificate and prepare the food production premises to ensure compliance with the standards under the GMP guidelines before submitting the application. You may learn more details from the link https://www.fda.moph.go.th/sites/food/SitePages/GMP420.aspx. In case of certain fresh vegetables or fruits, you may learn more details at https://www.fda.moph.go.th/sites/food/SitePages/GMP386.aspx.
The application for a food production premises license, for both food production premises recognized as a factory and not recognized as a factory, will follow the procedure as follows:
Step 1. Apply for an OPEN ID account at the Digital Government Development Agency website: https://www.egov.go.th/, and submit a document to sign up for an account to use the Food System together with documents specified in the public manual. You may learn the details from the link https://food.fda.moph.go.th/ESub/pages/register.php and submit the documents and evidence at:
- Where the food production premises is in Bangkok, please contact One Stop Service Center (OSSC) on the 4th Floor, Building 6, FDA Building.
- Where the food production premises is in another province, please contact the Provincial Public Health Office.
Step 2. Apply for an inspection of the food production premises and storage through the e-Submission System to obtain an audit report from the FDA or the Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO), as the case requires, or contact an inspection and certification body registered with the FDA and obtain an audit report form the agency. You may learn the details on the audit from the public manual website at the link https://www.fda.moph.go.th/sites/food/manual/opdc/0.pdf.
Step 3. Submit the application for a food production premises license through the e-Submission System together with the evidence specified in the public manual. You may learn the details from the link: https://www.fda.moph.go.th/sites/food/manual/opdc/2.1.pdf if the premises is categorized as a factory, or https://www.fda.moph.go.th/sites/food/manual/opdc/1.1.pdf if the premises is not categorized as a factory.
Step 4. Pay the application fee and track the application status from the System. In the case where the FDA official requires further explanation or information, please provide the explanation and information to the FDA official within the specified period.
Step 5. Pay the license fee once the license is approved (applicable only to a food production premises is categorized as a factory) ) and obtain the License for Food Production (Form Orr.2) in case of food production premises is categorized as a factory, or the Certificate of the number of food production premises not recognized as a factory (Form SorBor. 1/1) in case of food production premises is not categorized as a factory. For further information on the application of premises licenses, please contact the Pre-marketing Group, Food Division, Food and Drug Administration at tel. 0-2590-7320 or 0-2590-7033.