Food Law and Regulation in Germany

Sachs, Gunnar

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-07542-6_28

Gunnar Sachs³

1637 Accesses

Abstract

In the Member States of the European Union, the European legislature has largely harmonized food law. Where Member States have still retained their own legislative power in the area of food law, they have implemented this in the form of national provisions. The German legislature has exercised its remaining legislative powers in the area of food law primarily by adopting a separate Code on Foods, Consumer Goods and Feedstuffs (Lebensmittel-, Bedarfsgegenstände- and Futtermittelgesetzbuch), in addition to various national ordinances and guidelines as well as enforcement provisions. In this chapter, relevant principles of German food law and regulation will be discussed and presented, including some fundamental rules on consumer and health protection, food ingredients, labeling, advertising and marketing as well as supervision, monitoring and enforcement of food law in Germany.

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Notes

1.
Art. 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, OJ C 115, 09/05/2008, p. 47.
2.
OJ L 31, 10/02/2002, p. 1.
3.
OJ L 191, 28/05/2004, p. 1.
4.
OJ L 226, 25/06/2004, p. 3.
5.
OJ L 226, 25/06/2004, p. 22.
6.
OJ L 226, 25/06/2004, p. 83.
7.
Foods and Feeds Code as published in the announcement of 3 June 2013 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1426), which was amended by Art. 4 Para. 20 of the Act of 7 August 2013 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 3154).
8.
Bundestag printed matter 15/3657.
9.
Cf. Art. 3 Para. 2 lit. a) Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on food additives; cf. also already Art. 1 Para. 2 Council Directive 89/107/EEC of 21 December 1988 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning food additives authorized for use in foodstuffs intended for human consumption.
10.
Cf. Art. 2 Para. 1 lit. a) Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on cosmetic products; cf. also already Art. 1 Council Directive 76/768/EEC of 27 July 1976 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to cosmetic products.
11.
Art. 1 Regulation (EC) No 178/2002; cf. Art. 2 Para. 1 Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 for the definition of food; according to Art. 2 Para. 2 Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, food also includes drink, chewing gum and any substance, including water, intentionally incorporated into the food during its manufacture, preparation or treatment.
12.
Art. 2 Para. 3 lit. e) Regulation (EC) No 178/2002.
13.
Sec. 1 Para. 1 LFGB.
14.
Sec. 5 et seq. LFGB.
15.
Sec. 17 et seq. LFGB.
16.
Sec. 58 et seq. LFGB.
17.
Sec. 5 Para. 1 LFGB.
18.
Art. 14 Para. 4 Regulation (EC) No 178/2002.
19.
Sec. 5 Para. 2 no. 1 LFGB.
20.
Sec. 5 Para. 2 no. 2 LFGB.
21.
Sec. 17 Para. 1 sentence 1 LFGB.
22.
Sec. 17 Para. 2 no. 1 lit. a) LFGB.
23.
Sec. 17 Para. 2 no. 1 lit. b) LFGB.
24.
Sec. 17 Para. 2 no. 2 and 3 LFGB.
25.
Sec. 18 LFGB.
26.
Art. 15 Para. 1 Regulation (EC) No 178/2002.
27.
Art. 15 Para. 2 Regulation (EC) No 178/2002.
28.
Sec. 6 Para. 1 LFGB.
29.
Sec. 8 Para. 1 LFGB.
30.
Sec. 9 LFGB.
31.
Sec. 10 LFGB.
32.
Sec. 11 Para. 1 LFGB.
33.
Sec. 11 Para. 2 no. 2 LFGB.
34.
Sec. 11 Para. 2 no. 1 LFGB.
35.
Sec. 19 LFGB.
36.
Art. 16 Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002.
37.
OJ L 229, 01/09/2009, p. 1.
38.
OJ L 12, 18/01/2007, p. 3.
39.
Sec. 15 Para. 1 no. 1 LFGB (old version).
40.
Sec. 12 Para. 1 no. 2 LFGB (old version).
41.
Sec. 12 Para. 1 no. 3 LFGB (old version).
42.
Sec. 12 Para. 1 no. 4 LFGB (old version).
43.
Sec. 12 Para. 1 no. 5 LFGB (old version).
44.
Sec. 12 Para. 1 no. 6 and 7 LFGB (old version).
45.
Sec. 20 Para. 1 LFGB.
46.
OJ L 191, 28/05/2004, p. 1.
47.
Sect. 38 et seq. LFGB.
48.
Art. 4 Para. 2 et seq. Regulation (EC) No 882/2004.
49.
Sec. 50 et seq. LFGB.
50.
Sec. 50 LFGB.
51.
Sec. 51 Para. 5 LFGB.
52.
Sec. 58 and 59 LFGB.
53.
OJ L 354, 31/12/2008, p. 7.
54.
OJ L 354, 31/12/2008, p. 16.
55.
OJ L 354, 31/12/2008, p. 34.
56.
OJ L 40, 11/02/2009, p. 7.
57.
OJ L 328, 11/12/2011, p. 22.
58.
OJ L 70, 16/03/2005, p. 1.
59.
OJ L 404, 30/12/2006, p. 9; OJ L 12, 18/01/2007, p. 3; OJ L 86, 2803/2008, p. 34.
60.
Sec. 58 and 59 LFGB.
61.
Sec. 60 LFGB.
62.
Sec. 15 LFGB.
63.
Sec. 16 LFGB.
64.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 2722.
65.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 78.
66.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 589.
67.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1814.
68.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1996.
69.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1469.
70.
Federal Law Gazette I, pp. 1816, 1817.
71.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 2464.
72.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 3526.
73.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 123.
74.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1011.
75.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1161.
76.
Federal Law Gazette I, pp. 451, 1307.
77.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1022.
78.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 4197.
79.
Federal Law Gazette I, pp. 230, 231.
80.
Federal Law Gazette I, pp. 230, 269.
81.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 258.
82.
In the revised version as published in the Federal Law Gazette Part III, No. 2125-4-23.
83.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 278.
84.
Federal Law Gazette I, pp. 2082; 2002 I, p. 1004.
85.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 2100.
86.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1768.
87.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 278.
88.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 254.
89.
The German Act Unfair Competition (Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb, “UWG”) serves to implement Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market and amending Council Directive 84/450/EEC, Directives 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 253, 11/06/2005, p. 22; OJ L 253, 25/09/2009, p. 18), furthermore to implement Directive 2006/114/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 concerning misleading and comparative advertising (OJ L 376, 27/12/2006, p. 21) as well as to implement Art. 13 of Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (OJ L 201, 31/07/2002, p. 37).
90.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 714, 1025.
91.
Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs, OJ L 139, 30/04/2004, p. 1.
92.
Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for on the hygiene of foodstuffs, OJ L 139, 30/04/2004, p. 55.
93.
Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific rules for the organization of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption, OJ L 226, 25/06/2004, p. 83.
94.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 2980.
95.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1471.
96.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 2555.
97.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1150.
98.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 144.
99.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 412.
100.
Federal Law Gazette I, pp. 878, 1081.
101.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1301.
102.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1016.
103.
OJ L 10, 12/01/2002, p. 58.
104.
OJ L 10, 12/01/2002, p. 67.
105.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 2151.
106.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 92.
107.
Ordinance on Ice Cream (Verordnung über Speiseeis [“SpEisV”] of 15 July 1933, RGBL I, p. 510.
108.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 702.
109.
OJ L 197, 03/08/2000, p. 19.
110.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 2738.
111.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 3107.
112.
OJ L 354, 31/12/2008, p. 34.
113.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1127.
114.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 732.
115.
OJ L 299, 16/11/2007, p. 1.
116.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 66.
117.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 827.
118.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 66.
119.
ECJ, judgment of 12 March 1987, Case 178/84, [1987] ECR, 1227.
120.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1255.
121.
OJ L 330, 05/12/1998, p. 32.
122.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 459.
123.
Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1036.
124.
Art. 17 Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002.
125.
Zipfel/Rathke, Lebensmittelrecht, 163rd edition 2016, introduction, no. 42e.
126.
Ibid, no. 42d.
127.
OJ L 43, 14/02/1997, p. 1.
128.
OJ L 268, 18/10/2013, p. 1.
129.
OJ L 12, 18/01/2007, p. 3.
130.
OJ L 189, 20/07/2007, p. 1.

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Maître en droit (Paris), Intellectual Property Law, Clifford Chance Deutschland LLP, Düsseldorf, Germany
Gunnar Sachs

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Gunnar Sachs
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Correspondence to Gunnar Sachs .

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Food Law International, LLP, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Gabriela Steier
Food Law International, LLP, Washington, DC, USA
Kiran K. Patel

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Sachs, G. (2016). Food Law and Regulation in Germany. In: Steier, G., Patel, K. (eds) International Food Law and Policy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07542-6_28

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07542-6_28
Published: 09 August 2017
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-07541-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-07542-6
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