Marketing food products in the Netherlands requires compliance with strict laws and regulations to guarantee food safety for consumers. When marketing a product in the Dutch market, it is essential for both start-ups and established companies to follow the correct steps. In this blog we list five important points to consider if you are thinking about introducing food products in the Dutch market.
1. Applying for Registration or Accreditation
Companies that are active in the production, preparation, storage, trade or transport of food products and have a branch in the Netherlands must register or apply for accreditation from the NVWA (Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority). Accreditation is required in order to produce foods of animal origin and sprouted vegetables. Companies that handle or store foods of animal origin sometimes also require accreditation. That accreditation can be requested using the Application and Submission Form for the specific product via the NVWA website.
Other food companies that have a branch in the Netherlands must apply for an NVWA registration. That can be done using the Registration of Foodstuffs Form on the NVWA website. There are a few exceptions to this registration requirement, namely when food is produced for private or very small-scale use. If your business requires approval, it also need not register.
2. Placing novel foods on the market
Certain truly new foods may not be placed on the market until the European Commission has granted market access. This applies to what is known as ‘novel foods’: foods and ingredients that were not sold as food within the European Union (EU) before 15 May 1997. Examples of novel foods are products obtained from new sources or produced according to a ‘new’ method, such as modern biotechnology, nanotechnology or a new breeding or cultivation technique. Sometimes a combination of new ingredients and new production methods is involved, or exotic products that are eaten in faraway countries, but not yet in the EU, such as certain juices of exotic plants from the tropical rainforest.
Novel foods are assessed on the basis of the European Novel Food Regulation. Cumulative principles of this regulation are that the novel food must not:
- present a danger for the consumer;
- mislead the consumer; and
- be nutritiously less advantageous than the original product.
The application for marketing authorisation in the EU must be submitted electronically to the European Commission. If the novel food is authorised for the market, it is placed on the European Commission’s Union list.
At European level, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is responsible for the supervision of novel foods. The EFSA has published guidelines that can help in preparing an application for market authorisation. In the Netherlands, the NVWA supervises compliance with the rules and takes action when a novel food is placed on the market without complying with the European rules.
3. Setting up a tracing system
The General Food Law (often referred to as GFL) provides that food and animal feed business operators must have systems and procedures in place to ensure the traceability of their products at all stages of production, processing and distribution. The GFL regulations apply to all companies involved in any stage of the production, processing and distribution of food (food companies), or in the production, manufacture, processing, storage, transport or distribution of animal feed (animal feed companies).
A tracing system is essential for tracing products throughout the chain, from production to sale. On the purchasing side, the operator of a food or animal feed business must be able to verify at all times who supplied the food, animal feed, food-producing animals or other substances that are (or are likely to be) intended for processing into food or animal feed. On the sales side, a business operator must be able to trace to which companies it has supplied its products.
In the event of a food safety incident, such as contamination, it must be possible to quickly and accurately trace the origin or destination of a particular product. The NVWA often imposes very short deadlines of a few hours in this regard. This tracing can help with the timely recall of products and prevent harm to consumers. Failure to comply with the tracing rules may furthermore lead to heavy fines and even to criminal conviction. More information on tracing systems can be found in this blog.
4. Drawing up an HACCP plan
If you are involved in the storage, production, processing or distribution of food, you are required to draw up an HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) plan. This plan helps identify potential hazards (such as bacteria, allergens or other contaminants) and establish critical control points where those hazards can be minimised or eliminated. The HACCP plan must be drawn up in accordance with the European Hygiene Regulation and must be based on the seven basic principles of HACCP set out in the Codex Alimentarius of the World Health Organisation (WHO). A business may draw up its own process-related or business-related HACCP food safety plan. A company may also use an officially recognised hygiene code drawn up by an industry association. Guaranteeing food safety is important not only to protect a company’s customers, but also to comply with legislation. Five tips on drawing up an HACCP plan can be found in this blog.
5. Product labelling
Labelling is another essential aspect in the marketing of food products. Food producers must include certain information on their products so that consumers know what they are buying and consuming. These mandatory statements are set out in European and Dutch legislation. Regulation 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers lists twelve mandatory particulars that, with certain exceptions, must always be indicated on the labels of prepackaged food.
The labels must be clear and informative, stating the name of the food, the list of ingredients, the quantitative ingredient declaration (QUID), the expiry date, the net quantity, the presence of allergens, special storage instructions and/or conditions for use, the name/trade name and address of the responsible operator, the country of origin or place of origin, instructions for use if the food is difficult to use without them, the alcohol percentage for beverages with more than 1.2 percent alcohol, and nutritional information. The labelling must comply with European and national regulations, which set strict requirements for transparency and consumer information.
The operator under whose name or trade name a food product is marketed is responsible for compliance with the labelling regulations. The importer is responsible for food products imported into the EU.
The main regulation in this area is the General Food Law (GFL). There are also many product-specific regulations, such as those for meat (Meat, Minced Meat and Meat Products (Commodities Act) Decree), bread (Flour and Bread (Commodities Act) Decree), fruit and vegetables (Agricultural Quality (Fruit and Vegetables) Decree) and dairy (Dairy (Commodities Act) Decree). More information on labelling is provided in this video briefing.
More blogs on food safety can be found at invalnvwa.nl.
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