Labelling and Declaring Home-Made Food Products for Sale to Guests in East Herzegovina

When a guest at your estate in Trebinje, Bileća, Nevesinje, Gacko, Ljubinje, Berkovići or Istočni Mostar buys a jar of honey, a wheel of cheese, a bottle of home-made juice or a bag of dried fruit to take home, that product crosses the line from a hospitality service into placing food on the market. From that moment the same labelling rules apply to it as to any product on a shop shelf. A properly labelled product is not merely a legal obligation — it is also a marketing tool: it builds the guest's trust, lets them find you again, and turns a one-off sale into a lasting relationship with your household.

This guide explains what must appear on the label of a home-made food product intended for sale to guests, how to correctly state allergens and shelf life, when and how to indicate origin, and in which language and script the label must be written. The goal is to make your products compliant without losing the authenticity that makes them attractive in the first place.

The legal framework that applies to you

Food labelling in Bosnia and Herzegovina is regulated at the state level. The foundational act is the BiH Food Law, and the labelling detail is set out in the Regulation on the Provision of Food Information to Consumers, coordinated by the Food Safety Agency of BiH, headquartered in Mostar. These rules are aligned with the European approach to consumer information, so what you learn here will still serve you if one day you export or host foreign guests.

Alongside the state framework, producers from Republika Srpska should also note the entity-level authorities — chiefly the RS Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management and the RS Ministry of Trade and Tourism for matters of registering an activity, as well as the RS Administration for Inspection Affairs, which in practice checks labelling on the ground. Before you start selling, check with your municipality what status your production needs (a supplementary activity on the holding, a registered facility, or the sale of small quantities of primary products to the final consumer).

Key message: the moment a product leaves your estate in a guest's hand, it must carry a label. A verbal "this is our home-made cheese" is no substitute for the written mandatory information.

Mandatory information on the label

For a prepacked product (one you have packaged before the guest chooses it), the label as a rule must contain the following:

• Product name — clear and truthful (e.g. "Semi-hard cow's-milk cheese", not an invented name with no description of the type).
• List of ingredients — all ingredients in descending order by weight at the time of production; allergens highlighted (see below).
• Net quantity — in grams, kilograms, millilitres or litres.
• Shelf life — in the form "use by" or "best before" (see the dedicated section).
• Storage and use conditions — e.g. "store at up to 4 °C" or "keep in a dry, dark place".
• Name and address of the operator — the household/producer name and location, so the consumer and the inspector can identify you.
• Country or place of origin — where omitting it could mislead the consumer.
• Alcohol content — for beverages above 1.2% vol. (relevant for home winemakers and rakija producers).
• Nutrition declaration — energy value and amounts of nutrients, subject to the reliefs and exemptions provided for certain small producers and specific categories.

The information must be easily visible, legible and indelible, on the packaging or on a label that cannot easily be separated from it. The lettering must be large enough for an average consumer to read without effort.

Allergens: the 14 ingredients you must highlight

Allergens are the most sensitive part of the label because they concern the guest's health and safety. The rules recognise 14 groups of ingredients that can cause allergies or intolerances and that must be specially highlighted (e.g. in bold) within the ingredient list:

1. Cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats, etc.)
2. Crustaceans (crabs, shrimp)
3. Eggs
4. Fish
5. Peanuts
6. Soybeans
7. Milk (including lactose)
8. Tree nuts (walnut, hazelnut, almond, etc.)
9. Celery
10. Mustard
11. Sesame seeds
12. Sulphur dioxide and sulphites (above the prescribed threshold)
13. Lupin
14. Molluscs (shellfish, snails)

For typical East Herzegovina products this means: honey usually has no allergens, but if you add nuts you must highlight them; cheese and kajmak contain milk; home-made cakes and jams often contain gluten, eggs and nuts; wine regularly contains sulphites, so it needs a "contains sulphites" note. Never "hide" an allergen under a generic name — if the recipe contains an allergen, it must be visible.

Shelf life: two kinds of date

There are two distinct ways of marking shelf life, and they are not interchangeable:

• "Use by" — used for microbiologically perishable food (fresh cheese, dairy, meat products). After that date the food may be dangerous to health and must not be sold or consumed.
• "Best before" — indicates the date up to which the product retains its best quality (taste, smell, texture). After it the product is not necessarily unsafe, but may lose some quality. Typical for honey, dried fruit, jams, flour.

Alongside the date, state the storage conditions on which it depends ("once opened, use within 3 days", "keep refrigerated"). You set the shelf life responsibly, based on the nature of the product and your own experience; for higher-risk products, consulting a specialist or a laboratory is recommended.

Origin and quality marks

Stating the origin is mandatory whenever omitting it could mislead the consumer. For agro-tourism, however, origin is at the same time your strongest sales story: "honey from the mountains above Nevesinje" or "cheese from the Gacko region" tells the guest exactly what they came for.

If you want to go a step further, Bosnia and Herzegovina has a system of protected designations — designation of origin, geographical indication and traditional speciality guaranteed — registered by the Food Safety Agency of BiH. According to studies, certified products on average command a noticeably higher selling price than similar uncertified ones. It is a long-term process, but for a distinctive local product it can be worthwhile.

Language and script of the label

The mandatory information must be written in one of the official languages in use in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Latin or Cyrillic script. In practice this means your core label must be understandable to a domestic consumer.

Since you also host foreign guests, a bilingual label is recommended (e.g. Bosnian/Serbian + English) — this is not a replacement for the mandatory domestic text but a useful addition that builds trust and reduces the risk of a misunderstanding about allergens with a guest who does not speak our language.

Prepacked vs. food offered on the premises

The rules differ depending on how the food is offered:

• Prepacked (the guest takes away a packaged product) — a full label on the packaging is mandatory.
• Non-prepacked / served on the premises (e.g. cheese on a plate as part of a meal) — at minimum the allergen information must be communicated; it may be given in writing (on the menu or a notice) or verbally, in a clearly visible and consistent manner.

When in doubt which category your product falls into, treat it more strictly — more complete information is never a mistake.

Checklist: steps before your first sale

1. Check the status of the activity with your municipality and the competent republic ministry (supplementary activity, registered facility, small quantities to the final consumer).
2. Draft a label for each product: name, ingredients (descending by weight), net quantity, shelf life, storage conditions, your name and address, origin, alcohol if any.
3. Highlight all 14 allergens that appear in the recipe — in bold or as a separate note.
4. Choose the correct date type: "use by" for perishable, "best before" for longer-lasting goods.
5. Write the label in an official language (Latin or Cyrillic), and preferably in English for foreign guests too.
6. Ensure legibility: a durable label, large enough lettering, firmly attached to the packaging.
7. Keep records of ingredient origin and batches — useful for any inspection and for traceability.
8. Review the rules regularly with the Food Safety Agency of BiH (fsa.gov.ba) and the competent RS authorities (vladars.net), as the rules are periodically aligned with EU practice (europa.eu).

A proper label protects both you and your guest — and turns your home-made product into a recognisable brand of East Herzegovina.