# Small Local Food Producers in Moldova: Notification Instead of ANSA Approval, Legal Home Cooking and No SRL Needed

> Moldova plans to let small food producers start with a notification, sell home-baked bread legally and work without an SRL. What changes and what to do now.

*2026-10-15* | DeschideCompanie editorial team
 | Tags: News, ANSA, small producers, food industry, company registration, Moldova

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On 15 October 2026, Moldova's National Food Safety Agency (ANSA) put a package of measures for small local producers out for consultation. The four that matter most: you start work with a notification rather than waiting for ANSA's approval; low-risk home-made food, such as bread and biscuits, gets a legal framework; small producers will be able to work without registering an SRL; and those whose work is not high-risk will face fewer inspections.

Prime Minister Vasile Tofan asked for the package in early September, after a meeting with ANSA director Alexandru Manciu and with producers who complained that a certificate sometimes costs more than the delivery it is needed for. The deadline was 15 October, and the Government met it. For now these are proposals, not law, so below you will also find the rules that apply today.

## What the ANSA package proposes for small producers

### Notification instead of ANSA approval

A small producer in the low-risk category will be able to start work simply by informing ANSA. The Prime Minister's example is artisan bread: anyone who wants to bake it will no longer have to wait for the agency's approval. According to ANSA, some food service activities could start the same way, depending on their risk.

### Home cooking becomes legal

"Today, home cooking is often slightly outside the law, which is absurd," Vasile Tofan wrote. A legal framework is being created for low-risk products, meaning bread, biscuits and certain pastries. ANSA also wants to regulate how they reach the buyer: direct sales, home delivery, fairs and markets.

### Working without an SRL

The Government wants a special regime in which small producers can work without registering a limited liability company. ANSA is developing it together with the Ministry of Economy, and the details have not been published yet.

### Fewer inspections, based on risk

The Prime Minister gave the example of a cheese maker from Basarabeasca who gets two inspections a season and spends a lot of time on reporting. For small producers whose work is not high-risk, planned inspections would become less frequent.

### Supplying schools, and hygiene rules scaled to the business

The package has two more points that get less attention but matter for sales. Small local producers would find it easier to become suppliers to schools and kindergartens, while still following food safety rules, nutritional standards and public procurement law. Transport requirements are being simplified, and hygiene rules will be adapted to the size and nature of each business.

## Where the proposals stand

The package is in consultation with producers, their associations, the business community and the authorities. After that, the text is finalised and goes to the Government. Registration with ANSA and inspections are set out in Law no. 306/2018 on food safety, so some of the changes will also need a vote in Parliament. No timetable has been announced.

This is not the first simplification of its kind. In January 2025, through Government Decision no. 6/2025, the Government approved simplified requirements for small food producers and agritourism guesthouses, with lighter rules on premises, equipment and hygiene. The current package goes further, into how you start the business and the legal form you run it in.

## How to start a small bread, biscuit or cheese business today

Until the new rules take effect, the current procedure applies, and it is short. A bakery, a patisserie or a small cannery needs no licence. Before its first working day it registers with ANSA, which issues the food safety registration certificate. It costs 150 lei and is issued within 15 working days at most, and if the agency does not answer in that time, tacit approval applies. By law, producing food without registration is illegal.

Cheese, milk, meat, fish, eggs and honey are under a stricter regime: the business may operate only with a sanitary-veterinary operating authorisation from ANSA, issued after an on-site inspection. Both documents, and the steps to get them, are described on the page about [how to set up food production in Moldova](/en/industries/food-beverages-tobacco). If you also want to serve the food, not just sell it, the rules for cafés and catering are on the page about [restaurants, cafés and bars](/en/industries/restaurants-cafes-bars-catering).

The application is filed in the name of a business, but it does not have to be an SRL. You can choose between two forms:

| | Sole proprietorship (ÎI) | LLC (SRL) |
|---|---|---|
| Founders | one individual | 1 to 50, including companies |
| Minimum share capital | none | none |
| Liability for debts | personal assets included | limited to company assets |
| Best for | one person baking or cooking alone | a business with partners, staff or plans to grow |

For a family bakery, a sole proprietorship is often enough. If you want to supply retail chains, hire staff or grow, an SRL protects you better and looks more serious to buyers.

## Should you wait for the new rules or start now?

It depends on who you sell to. If you want to sell bread or cozonac to your neighbours and at the village fair, it makes sense to keep an eye on the package: it is written exactly for you. If you want to supply shops, cafés or a distributor, you need a business either way. These buyers pay against an invoice, and every batch sold on the domestic market goes out with the producer's quality certificate, so a registered business is not a formality the new rules will remove.

There is one more reason not to wait. Everything the Government has announced makes life easier for those already working legally: fewer inspections for producers who are not high-risk, easier access to schools and kindergartens, hygiene rules scaled to the business. A producer registered now, with a clean record, will be the first to feel these changes. And for small producers, lost time costs more than the 150 lei for the certificate.

## Register your small food business with us

We help you start legally, from the legal form to the ANSA certificate. Together we choose between a sole proprietorship and an SRL, then we prepare the founding documents, select the right CAEM codes (for example, 10.71 for bread and fresh pastry or 10.51 for dairy and cheese), provide the registered address, file with the Public Services Agency and open the bank account. We also prepare the ANSA registration application, and we can take over your accounting from the first month. Our services and prices are on the [corporate services](/en/corporate-services) page.

[Write to us](/en/#contact) with what you want to produce, where, and who you want to sell to, and we will tell you which legal form and which ANSA document fit you. We will update this article when the text of the package is published.