Food law

We provide full-range legal services to entities operating on the food market, including producers and distributors of foods for general consumption, functional foods, including enriched foods, dietary supplements, foods for infants and young children, foods for special medical purposes and alcohol.We provide full-range legal services to entities operating on the food market, including producers and distributors of foods for general consumption, functional foods, including enriched foods, dietary supplements, foods for infants and young children, foods for special medical purposes and alcohol.

Advice in this specialisation particularly covers:

• product manufacture,
• development of distribution structures,
• product advertising,
• food safety and nutrition,
• product classification, e.g. borderline products,
• nutrition and health claims,
• proceedings before food market supervisory authorities, e.g. sanitary inspection authorities, Trade Inspectorate, Agricultural and Food Quality Inspectorate, State Plant and Seed Protection Inspectorate and the Veterinary Inspectorate,
• unfair competition proceedings,
• negotiating contracts with raw material suppliers,
• monitoring the legislative process concerning the food market and representing businesses and business associations during public consultations,
• organic farming, including "bio/eco" labelling,
• genetically modified food,
• novel food,
• crisis prevention and management (product suspension/withdrawal),
• developing and reviewing internal procedures, including those relating to HACCP,
• approval of food production plants,
• food imports from other EU states and third countries and food exports,
• analyses of product formulation in terms of food composition requirements, e.g. as regards permitted food additives and contaminants limits,
• food contact materials.

Our food law team works with leading scientific institutions and individual experts in, e.g. food technology, risk analysis and assessment, public health, health of infants and small children, laboratory diagnostics, microbiology, contaminants, and also plant substances.