Eurasian Economic Union Amendment: Food Labeling Remains Unchanged for Three Years, Significantly Reducing Burden on Companies

According to the news published on the official website of the Eurasian Economic Union on November 6, 2024, an important amendment will officially enter into force on November 10. The amendment relates to the Eurasian Economic Union's technical regulations on food products and their labelling. Specifically, the implementation of the amendment will facilitate the circulation of food products on the EAEU market.

Previously, whenever the address information of an organization or individual entrepreneur (as a manufacturer, authorized manufacturer representative or importer) changed, food labels had to be changed accordingly, placing an additional burden on businesses. However, the new amendment will change this rule. According to Article 39 of the revised Food Safety Technical Regulations, if the name of the city, region, street, etc., is changed, and the address information of the food manufacturer (authorized manufacturer representative, importer) is used as its location identification, as long as the actual geographical location and actual production location remain unchanged, Food products labeled with the name of their previous location will be allowed to continue to circulate on the market for a period of three years.

In addition, the amendment also supplements Article 4 of the Food Labeling Technical Regulations to clarify the possible ways to convey true and accurate information to consumers about the location of food manufacturers (authorized manufacturer representatives, importers). This means that although the address information on food labels may not be updated immediately, consumers can still obtain accurate manufacturer information through other means, thus ensuring transparency and traceability of the origin of food.

The implementation of these amendments will simplify the administrative process of food labelling, reduce the administrative burden on enterprises, and ensure that consumers have access to the necessary product information, thus promoting the efficient functioning of the EAEU market while safeguarding food safety.