Review your content's performance and reach.
Become your target audience’s go-to resource for today’s hottest topics.
Understand your clients’ strategies and the most pressing issues they are facing.
Keep a step ahead of your key competitors and benchmark against them.
Questions? Please contact [email protected]
In Germany, responsibility for official food monitoring lies with the federal states. Monitoring is coordinated by the responsible state ministry or the responsible senate administration in the city states. An overview of the state ministries and senate administrations can be found on the website of the German Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL).8
Similarly, for cosmetics also, the authorities of the respective states are responsible for monitoring and enforcement. An overview of the competent authorities on market surveillance of cosmetic products can also be found on the website of the BVL.9
The use of food additives in the European Union, including Germany, is regulated by Regulation (EC) No. 1333/2008 on food additives.10 Additives may be placed on the market in foods only if they are expressly authorised at a European level (i.e., if they are included in a list of authorised substances). To this end, Regulation (EC) 1331/2008 establishing a common authorisation procedure for food additives, food enzymes and food flavourings provides a uniform evaluation and authorisation process.
No foodstuff may be placed on the market that contains an impurity in a toxicologically unacceptable quantity. Council Regulation (EEC) No. 315/93 lays down Community procedures for contaminants in food.11 Irrespective of the health relevance, the impurities shall be limited to as low levels as are reasonably achievable by applying the good manufacturing practices regulations at all stages of extraction, production, treatment, transport and storage. Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1881/2006 sets individual maximum levels for certain contaminants on specific foodstuffs.12
For cosmetics, Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009 on cosmetic products13 lists in Annexes II to VI prohibited and restricted substances, colourants, preservatives and ultraviolet filters and provisions on how and whether they may be used. Non-regulated substances may be used provided that the safety of the product is assured and the product is not likely to endanger health. Also, the unintended presence of a small quantity of a prohibited substance stemming from impurities of natural or synthetic ingredients, the manufacturing process, storage or migration from packaging (which is technically unavoidable when following the good manufacturing practices regulations) is permitted provided that such presence is safe for human health.
If a food business operator considers or has reason to believe that a food that it has imported, produced, processed, manufactured or distributed is not in compliance with the food safety requirements, it must immediately initiate procedures to withdraw the food in question from the market where the food has left the immediate control of that initial food business operator and inform the competent authorities thereof (Article 19(1) of Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law).14
If the product might have reached the consumer, the operator must effectively and accurately inform the consumers of the reason for its withdrawal and, if necessary, recall from consumers products already supplied to them when other measures are not sufficient to achieve a high level of health protection.
In the case of cosmetics, if manufacturers or distributors consider or have reason to believe that a cosmetic product that they have placed on the market is not in conformity with Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009 on cosmetic products, they must immediately take the corrective measures necessary to bring that product into conformity, withdraw it or recall it, as appropriate (Articles 5(2)1 and 6(3)1 of Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009).
If you would like to learn how Lexology can drive your content marketing strategy forward, please email [email protected] .
© Copyright 2006 - 2022 Law Business Research