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Selling consumer products in the EU

In the EU, most product rules are Regulations that apply in the same words in each member state, and national authorities enforce them. Food, drinks and baby food follow food law and pet food feed law; cosmetics, toys, electrical goods, detergents, textiles and kitchenware have their own texts; other products fall under the General Product Safety Regulation.

Updated · Each section links to the official source it comes from

Who writes the rules
The EU institutions, as Regulations and Directives
Who enforces
Competent authorities in each member state
Food safety advice
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
Alerts
RASFF for food and feed; Safety Gate for other products
CE marking
Toys, electrical and radio equipment, among others
Packaging
Regulation (EU) 2025/40, across product types

By product

What each kind of product has to meet in the EU.

Before a product goes on sale

The questions to answer, in the order they usually come up.

  1. 1Which product class is it, and which Regulation sets its rules? Read more
  2. 2Who answers for it on the EU market? Read more
  3. 3How does it come into the EU, and who checks it? Read more
  4. 4What does the packaging have to meet? Read more

The rules, by area

What each area covers, the texts that set it, and what the official pages say.

How EU product rules work

Who writes the rules, which text covers which product, and who answers for a product.

  • Regulations apply directly in each member state; Directives are applied through national law.
  • Food, including supplements and drinks, follows the general food law, Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, which puts primary responsibility on the food business operator.
  • Infant formula and baby food follow Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 on food for specific groups and the rules adopted under it.
  • Pet food is animal feed: Regulation (EC) No 767/2009 governs its placing on the market and labelling, and feed businesses register under Regulation (EC) No 183/2005.
  • Cosmetics follow Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, with a responsible person in the EU for each product.
  • Toys follow the Toy Safety Directive 2009/48/EC, and electrical and radio equipment the Low Voltage, EMC and Radio Equipment Directives, each with CE marking.
  • Detergents and hazardous mixtures follow the Detergents Regulation and CLP; textiles the Textile Labelling Regulation; kitchenware and other food contact articles Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004.
  • Other consumer products follow the General Product Safety Regulation, (EU) 2023/988, with a responsible economic operator.

How we help: Compliant Always works out which of these apply to your product and keeps the documents behind each one ready. Ask about this

Import and enforcement

How goods are checked, and how authorities share what they find.

  • Member states enforce, through official controls on goods produced in the EU and goods imported into it.
  • TRACES is the Commission's system for certificates and border checks.
  • RASFF shares alerts on food and feed; Safety Gate shares alerts on dangerous non-food products.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the certificates a shipment needs with the product, and shows what expires before the next one leaves. Ask about this

Packaging

Rules that apply to packaging whatever is inside it.

  • Regulation (EU) 2025/40 covers the packaging life cycle, from design and recycled content to reuse and collection, and works alongside mandatory deposit return systems.
  • It aims to make packaging on the EU market recyclable in an economically viable way by 2030.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps your packaging specifications and suppliers' declarations with each product. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
BrandThe product sold under its name, and what its label and claims say.The rules that apply, with the paperwork behind each, in one place.
ManufacturerMaking the product to the rules, and the evidence that it was.Specifications, test reports and certificates ready for each customer's form.
ImporterProducts made outside the EU, where the brand is not established in it.Suppliers' documents read and dated before the goods arrive.
SupplierThe ingredients, materials and packaging it supplies.Certificates collected once and shown to each customer that asks.

Member states

Enforcement is national, and member states may add rules where the EU text leaves room, such as label languages, notifications and excise.

Selling in more than one member state means meeting the EU text and the national additions of each.

Questions businesses ask

Do EU product rules apply the same way in each member state?
Regulations apply directly and in the same words in each member state. Directives are applied through national law. Enforcement is national, and member states can add rules where the EU text leaves room.
Which EU rules apply to food, supplements and drinks?
The general food law, Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, and the food information Regulation, (EU) No 1169/2011, with further rules on novel foods, additives, claims, contaminants and supplements.
Which EU rules apply to cosmetics?
Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products, which requires a responsible person in the EU, a safety report before sale and notification in the CPNP.
Which EU rules apply to infant formula and baby food?
Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 on food for specific groups. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/127 covers infant and follow-on formula, and Directive 2006/125/EC covers processed cereal-based food and other baby food.
Is pet food regulated as food or feed in the EU?
As feed. Regulation (EC) No 767/2009 sets the rules for placing pet food on the market and labelling it, and feed businesses register under Regulation (EC) No 183/2005.
Which EU rules apply to toys and electrical products?
Toys follow the Toy Safety Directive 2009/48/EC, replaced by Regulation (EU) 2025/2509 from 1 August 2030. Electrical products follow the Low Voltage and EMC Directives, or the Radio Equipment Directive, with CE marking, RoHS and WEEE.
Which EU rules apply to cleaning products, textiles and kitchenware?
Detergents follow Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 and hazardous mixtures the CLP Regulation. Textiles follow Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011. Kitchenware and other food contact articles follow Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004.
Which EU rules apply to other consumer products?
The General Product Safety Regulation, (EU) 2023/988, for products placed on the market from 13 December 2024, alongside any more specific product rules.
Who checks products on sale in the EU?
Competent and market surveillance authorities in each member state. They share alerts through RASFF for food and feed and Safety Gate for dangerous non-food products.
Do EU packaging rules apply to all products?
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, (EU) 2025/40, covers packaging placed on the EU market across product types.
Which language does a product label have to be in?
For food, a language easily understood where it is sold, and a member state may require its own official languages (Article 15, Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011). Other product rules set their own.
How does Compliant Always help with selling in the EU?
Our team reads the rules for the markets you sell in. Compliant Always shows which apply to your product, keeps the documents behind each one ready, and watches the sources for changes. It shows what the requirements say and what your documents show; you decide.

Sources

Compliant Always is a product of Lettuce Labs LLC. It shows what requirements say and what your documents show. It is not legal advice, and you decide.

Tell us what you make, and we will show you the rules for it.

Name the product and the markets you sell in. We will come back to you with what applies in the EU and what your paperwork needs to show.

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No card, no account, and no call to book. Tell us what you make and where you sell it, and we will come back to you.

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