Food law

Within the administrative law division, our practice group specializes in also advising on regulated markets, among others, the foodstuffs market. Any advice given in food law requires meticulous and in-depth knowledge of national and European law in this particular field. We have this knowledge in-house and we advise in this area on a daily basis.

Clients
From our expertise at the interface of administrative, competition and contracts law, we assist national and international, large, medium and small companies in the foodstuffs industry. These are manufacturers are foodstuffs and related products, suppliers, packers, transporters and other companies active in this market.

We advise…
We advise clients wishing to introduce foodstuffs and related products into the market, for example, nutritional supplements and cosmetics. If necessary we assist with the obtaining of permits and approval, for instance, in the case of Novel Foods. We assess the legal classification of a product e.g. whether is it indeed a foodstuff or should it be classified as a medicine, and we assess the consequences of such classification.

We also advise on taking legal action (food and health claims) with respect to labelling and advertising. Put succinctly, this relates to compliance with Dutch and European legislation. In addition we advise in the area of competition, including unfair competition, distribution, co-marketing and licensing contracts, product liability and, if necessary, recalls.

… and assist with disputes
Should a dispute arise with the Authorities (Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, Medicines Evaluation Board, Netherlands Competition Authority) on, for example, licences or administrative fines we, in consultation with our clients, seek ways to settle the differences. If necessary, legal action is taken in the administrative courts and the government. We also assist clients in disputes with other companies concerning matters of unfair competition, advertising, product liability or non-fulfilment of agreements. Our assistance includes negotiation, summons, or legal proceedings (arbitration, mediation, court proceedings).

Activities and network
In addition to government institutions in the Netherlands we often have to deal with organizations at European level (European Commission, European Food Safety Authority, EFSA). Our attorneys are active members of the Netherlands Food Law Association (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Levensmiddelenrecht (NVLR) and the European Food Law Association (EFLA). We strive to also contribute academically in the area of food law. To this end we are in close contact with the University of  Wageningen and the European Institute for Food Law. Our attorneys regularly publish articles in the field of food law and are associated with the Food Law Academy as lecturer.

Knowledge sharing
We regularly organize seminars and workshops for our clients on, inter alia, the introduction of new legislation and the specific consequences thereof in the day-to-day business of these companies. Our approach in this respect is to submit purposive and practical solutions.