Message 001
Communication from the Commission - TRIS/(2026) 2944
Directive (EU) 2015/1535
Notification: 2026/0561/HR
Notification of a draft text from a Member State
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MSG: 20262944.EN
1. Notification Message: MSG 001 IND 2026 0561 HR EN 19-10-2026 HR NOTIF
2. Country: Croatia
3A. Department Responsible: Ministarstvo gospodarstva
Uprava za trgovinu i unutarnje tržište
Ulica grada Vukovara 78, 10000 Zagreb
e-mail: tris@mingo.hr
3B. Originating Department: Ministarstvo poljoprivrede
Uprava za stočarstvo i kvalitetu hrane
Ilica 101,10000 Zagreb
Telefon: +385 1 644 09 10
Telefax: -
e-mail: marija.b-sermek@mps.hr; edita.volar@mps.hr
4. Products/Services 2026/0561/HR - C60A - Labelling
5. Title: Draft proposal for the Rules amending the Rules on the provision of information on non-prepacked food to consumers
6. Details on the product/service: the Draft proposal for the Rules amending the Rules on the provision of information on non-prepacked food to consumers concerns the labelling of unpackaged meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry marketed in the Republic of Croatia.
7. Notification under another EU act:
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers: Articles 40, 43, 44 and 45
Pursuant to Article 44 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Member States may adopt national measures for food offered for sale to the final consumer or to mass caterers without prepackaging, or where foods are packed on the sales premises at the consumer’s request or prepacked for direct sale. Member States may impose the obligation to indicate certain information stipulated for prepacked food on non-prepacked food. Member States may also adopt national measures concerning the manner in which this information is to be made available, as well as the form in which it is to be provided or presented.
Pursuant to the above, the Republic of Croatia adopted the Rules on the provision of information on non-prepacked food to consumers (Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia, Nos 144/14, 64/20 and 144/20).
8. Summary: The draft proposal for the Rules amends the Rules on the provision of information on non-prepacked food to consumers (Official Gazette, Nos 144/14, 64/20 and 144/20) in the manner described below.
According to the draft proposal for the Rules, information on the origin of non-prepacked meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry in retail establishments shall be provided directly next to the relevant meat.
Also, information on origin shall be displayed in a font size at least as large as that of the numbers and other characters used to indicate the price of the product being exhibited and offered for sale.
9. Reasoning: According to Article 44. of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Member States may adopt national measures for food offered for sale to the final consumer or to mass caterers without prepackaging, or where foods are packed on the sales premises at the consumer’s request or prepacked for direct sale. Member States may impose the obligation to indicate certain information stipulated for prepacked food on non-prepacked food. Member States may also adopt national measures concerning the manner in which this information is to be made available, as well as the form in which it is to be provided or presented.
Pursuant to the above, the Republic of Croatia adopted the Rules on the provision of information on non-prepacked food to consumers (Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia, Nos 144/14, 64/20 and 144/20).
These Rules lay down the obligation to indicate the country of origin or place of provenance for fresh, chilled and frozen meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry. The Rules on the indication of origin of unpackaged fresh, chilled and frozen meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry stipulates that the mandatory information, including information on provenance, shall be provided in writing, in such a way as to be easily visible, clearly legible and, where appropriate, indelible, on the sales premises, in the vicinity of the food to which it relates or on the packaging, where the food is kept packaged on the sales premises. In addition, the indication of provenance shall comply with Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1337/2013 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the indication of the country of origin or place of provenance for fresh, chilled and frozen meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry,
as well as with Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 July 2000 as amended establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 820/97 for beef. The Regulation on the indication of origin of unpackaged beef provides that the following shall be provided: either the country of birth, fattening and slaughter shall be stated, or indication may be given as "Origin:", if the animal was born, fattened and slaughtered in the same country.
Neither regulation specifies the font size and precise location where the information on the origin should be presented in case of non-prepacked food.
Objective of the draft proposal for the Rules on the provision of information on non-prepacked food to consumers (Official Gazette, No. 144/14, 64/20 and 144/20), which stipulates a more precise and visible presentation of information on the origin of non-prepacked (unpackaged) meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry at the point of sale to the final consumer, is to ensure that consumers are informed in a more precise and visible manner about the origin of unpackaged meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry. Seeing as how European consumers attach great importance to the origin of products (the April 2025 Eurobarometer survey on food safety in the European Union), it shall enable consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.
9a. Appropriateness of the measure to achieve the objective pursued: 9.a Appropriateness of the measure - is the measure is appropriate for achieving the legitimate objective pursued.
The Rules amending the Rules on the provision of information on non-prepacked food to consumers are adopted in accordance with the above-mentioned Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011. The purpose of this national measure is to protect the interests of consumers and to prevent unfair competition, i.e., to prevent consumers from being misled as to the origin of non-prepacked meat. The measure precisely prescribes the location where information on the origin of non-prepacked meat must be displayed at the point of sale, as well as the size of the letters to be used. This shall ensure that consumers are informed in a more precise and visible manner about the origin of non-prepacked meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry at the point of sale; therefore, this measure is considered appropriate for achieving a legitimate objective.
9b. Necessity: 9.b Necessity of the measure - does the measure go beyond what is necessary to achieve the objective, are there alternative or less restrictive measures and, if so, why were they not chosen.
National or European regulations stipulate that consumers must be informed of the origin of non-prepacked meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry; however, they do not specify the font size or the exact location where information on origin must be displayed at the point of sale. The adoption of these Rules amending the Rules on the provision of information on non-prepacked food to consumers is considered to be the only and most effective measure to achieve the intended objective, namely, to inform the consumer of the origin of non-prepacked meat in a more precise and visible manner, thereby enabling the consumer to make informed purchasing decisions. The main advantage of the Rules is that they provide an updated national regulation that is aligned with the general provisions of Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011.
9c. Excessive burden in relation to the objective pursued: 9.c Proportionality of the measure - does the measure constitute excessive burden in relation to the legitimate objective pursued and why, in order to protect the public interest, was it necessary to impose the restriction or requirement in question.
This measure is not considered an excessive burden in relation to the objective pursued, the only requirement is that the food business operator responsible for information provided on non-prepacked food simply makes the already mandatory information on the origin of unpackaged meat more clearly available to the consumer. The administrative burdens resulting from the obligation to indicate the origin of unpackaged meat in a more visible way at the point of sale are minimised and are not disproportionate to the objective pursued, which is to provide information to the consumer and to prevent consumers from being misled as to the origin of non-prepacked meat. Furthermore, that provision has no effect on the trade in relevant products within the Community.
10. Reference(s) to basic text(s): The basic texts were submitted with a previous notification:
2014/0396/HR
2020/0014/HR
11. Invocation of the urgency procedure: No
12. Please provide the grounds for urgency:
13. Request for confidentiality: No
14. Is it a Fiscal Measure? No
15. Has an Impact Assessment? No
16.
TBT aspects: No
SPS aspects: No
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European Commission
Contact point Directive (EU) 2015/1535
email: grow-dir2015-1535-central@ec.europa.eu
