Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2003:44
Date: 2003-01-23
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Consumer protection;Approximation of laws
Concepts: Protection of personal data
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful
Origin: Austria

Summary of the Judgment 
Approximation of laws — Labelling and presentation of foodstuffs — Directive 
79/112 — National legislation imposing a general prohibition of health-related infor­
mation on the labelling of foodstuffs — National legislation subjecting such information 
to a prior authorisation procedure — Not permitted 
(Council Directive 79/112, Arts 2(1)(a) and (b) and 15(1) and (2), as amended by 
Directive 97/4) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-221/00 
It follows from Articles 2(1)(a) and (b) and 
15(1) of Directive 79/112 on the approxi­
mation of the laws of the Member States 
relating to the labelling, presentation and 
advertising of foodstuffs for sale to the 
ultimate consumer, as amended by Direc­
tive 97/4, that foodstuffs whose labelling 
contains non-misleading health-related 
information must be regarded as complying 
with the rules of that directive, since 
Member States may not prohibit their 
marketing on grounds of a possible irregu­
larity of that labelling. The power retained 
by the Member States to lay down rules in 
addition to those of Directive 79/112 is 
limited by Article 15(2) of the directive, 
which lists exhaustively the grounds on 
which the application of non-harmonised 
national provisions prohibiting trade in 
foodstuffs which comply with the directive 
may be justified, those grounds including 
the protection of health and consumers. 
Those provisions consequently preclude 
national legislation of a Member State 
which lays down a general prohibition, 
subject to prior authorisation intended to 
prevent misleading statements relating to 
health, of all health-related information on 
the labelling and presentation of foodstuffs. 
Such national legislation laying down a 
procedure of prior authorisation for all 
health-related information on the labelling 
of foodstuffs, including those which are 
manufactured lawfully in other Member 
States and are in free circulation there, has 
the consequence in practice that foodstuffs 
bearing health-related information may not 
be marketed freely, even if the information 
is not liable to mislead the consumer, and 
thus cannot be regarded as proportionate 
to the aim pursued. 
(see paras 37-38, 48, 51-52, 
54-55, operative part) 
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