Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:1998:102
Date: 1998-03-12
Language of the case: German
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Eggs and poultry
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Germany

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Eggs — Marketing standards — 
Marking of eggs or packaging — Rules on terms used to indicate the type of farming of laying 
hens — Scope — Statements concerning the type of feed given to the animals — Not included 
(Council Regulation No 1907/90, Art. 10(3); Commission Regulation No 1274/91, Art. 18) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-210/96 
2. Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Eggs — Marketing standards — 
Marking of eggs or packaging — Statements intended to promote sales — Prohibition on mis­
leading the consumer — Assessment by the national court of misleading nature — Criteria 
(Council Regulation No 1907/90, Art. 10(2)(e)) 
1. Article 10(3) of Regulation N o 1907/90 
and Article 18 of Regulation N o 1274/91, 
which concern the terms used to indicate 
the type of farming of laying hens, do not 
preclude egg packs from bearing a 
description such as 'six-grain — 10 fresh 
eggs'. Such a statement, which concerns 
the type of feed given to the animals, does 
not fall within the scope of those provi­
sions, which are confined to regulating 
the description of the type of farming 
which packaging may bear. 
2. In order to determine whether a state­
ment or description designed to promote 
sales of eggs is liable to mislead the pur­
chaser, in breach of Article 10(2)(e) of 
Regulation N o 1907/90 on certain mar­
keting standards for eggs, the national 
court must take into account the pre­
sumed expectations which it evokes in an 
average consumer who is reasonably well 
informed and reasonably observant and 
circumspect. However, Community law 
does not preclude the possibility that, 
where the national court has particular 
difficulty in assessing the misleading 
nature of the statement or description in 
question, it may have recourse, under the 
conditions laid down by its own national 
law, to a consumer research poll or an 
expert's report as guidance for its judg­
ment. 
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