Food Case Law

Click on the links below for details of EU and national case law:

England and Wales

Odysea v LB Waltham Forest (2024)- Tribunal ruling on use of term "Raw Honey"

Tesco v Birmingham City Council (2020) - Is sale of food beyond "use by" a criminal offence?

EU Case Law

Case C‑526/19 Entoma SAS v Ministre de l’Économie et des Finances, Ministre de l’Agriculture et de l’Alimentation  Whole insects not within scope of novel foods regulation

Case C‑363/19 Sweden v Mezina AB - Use of "on-hold" health claims

Queisser Pharma GmbH & Co. KG (2020) - Spatial proximity of specific health claim to general health claim on label.

Kamin und Grill Shop GmbH v Zentrale zur Bekämpfung unlauteren Wettbewerbs Frankfurt am Main eV (2017 Opinion) - Organic food exemption for retailers, also definition of "direct sale".

TofuTown (2017) - Use of dairy names

Giorgio Fidenato (2016) - Protection of "Mc" and "Mac" in name of food.

Breitsamer und Ulrich GmbH (2016) - obligation to indicate, on each individual portion of honey packaged in bulk in cartons supplied to mass caterers, the country of origin of that honey when those portions are sold separately or offered for sale to ultimate consumers in pre-prepared meals for an all-inclusive price.

Teekanne (2015)-  labelling must not mislead consumer by giving the impression that a particular ingredient is present if it is not in fact present.

Karl Berger v Freistaat Bayern (2013) - EU law allows national authorities to provide public with information identifying food which is not prejudicial to health, but which is unfit for human consumption.

Karl Heinz Bablok and Others (2011) - Honey and food supplements containing pollen derived from a GMO are "foodstuffs produced from GMOs" which cannot be marketed without prior authorisation 

Erich Albrecht et al v Landeshauptmann von Wien (2011)  - Self-service retail of bread and bakery products

Astrid Preissl KEG v Landeshauptmann von Wien (2011)- Installation of a washbasin in the toilets of an establishment which sells food

Margareta Scherndl (2003) - Determination of permissible differences between the declared value of nutrients and the value established in the course of an official check