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The food and beverage industry is one of the most evolving ones. Both novel foods introduced to consumers and pre-existing food products must meet European and national legislative requirements with a view to consumer health and safety.

The legislative framework governing the entire spectrum of the supply chain is characterized as labyrinthine and constantly evolving, therefore requires an interdisciplinary approach. Our team, consisting of experienced lawyers and specialized chemists, agronomists and food technologists, monitors the latest legislative developments and is able to provide you with universal information. Whether your needs require regular legal aid or occasional legal advice, one of our experienced associates will be by your side to guide you.

Browse between our specialized legal services and choose based on your business needs.

Regulatory Compliance

Regulatory compliance of food products is vital both to protect public health and to ensure high quality standards. The European Union's food regulatory framework is multidimensional and sets strict standards in terms of quality and safety assurance. It sets out the legislative requirements in order to regulate the production, trade and handling of food products in general. It includes legislation on raw materials, additives, ingredients, composition, process and packaging of the final product. Food and drink industries and businesses must comply with strict regulations on labelling, advertising and promotion of food products and be prepared when carrying out periodic checks by national authorities. At the same time, compliance with food and beverage regulations strengthens the commercial presence of companies, providing safe food to local and global markets, meeting consumer requirements and contributing to the acquisition of new customers. Minimize risk and ensure compliance of your products with national, European and international regulatory requirements. Contact us and an experienced associate will guide you according to the needs of your business.

Legal Control on Imported Products

Unlike food produced and marketed domestically, imported products deserve special attention and require additional control. Importers are obliged to ensure that imported food can move freely in the importing country and is safe to eat, produced in accordance with appropriate health safety standards and properly labelled in accordance with applicable European and national legislation. We provide three routine services to food and beverage importers. We carry out a preliminary review of European and national legislation to ensure that your product can be imported for consumption in Greece. We play a key role in ensuring full compliance with the current legislative framework by checking the labelling of your imported products. We provide support in licensing application processes. Regulatory compliance minimises the risk of penalties, boosts consumer confidence in your imported products and gains a competitive advantage by strengthening your market position.

Quality Systems (PDO, PGI, GI, TSG)

Food products that are inextricably linked to their geographical origin and traditional know-how. In order to safeguard and promote their unique characteristics, they may bear on their labelling the specific indications established by the European Union's policy on quality schemes. A Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) refers to cases where a particular quality, reputation or other characteristic can be attributed primarily to the geographical origin of a product. That indication shall focus on the relationship between the geographical area concerned and the name of the product and shall require at least one of the stages of production, processing or preparation to take place in that area. The registration of a product name with the indication of the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) requires a strong link with the region where the product is manufactured, i.e. every stage of the production, processing and preparation process must take place in that region. A geographical indication (GI) protects the name of a spirit drink or aromatised wine originating in a country, region or locality where that quality, reputation or other characteristic can be attributed primarily to its geographical origin. The Traditional Specialty Guaranteed (TSG) label highlights the traditional characteristics of a product, i.e. its method of production or composition, without the need to link to a specific geographical area. The quality indication "Mountain Production Product" reflects the particularities of a product, produced in mountainous areas, with difficult natural conditions. Geographical indications fall under intellectual property and are legally protected against counterfeiting and abuse. They are also an important subject of trade negotiations between both the Member States of the European Union and third countries bound by specific protection agreements. The recognition of quality products is a strong advantage for producers, allowing better marketing of their product and at the same time ensuring greater confidence from consumers. Contact us and we will guide you to protect the names of your products that come from specific regions and have special properties or enjoy reputation associated with the production area.

Novel Foods

In the food industry new products, goods, flavors and enzymes are constantly being created. "Novel Foods" means food which has not been significantly consumed by humans in the European Union before 15 May 1997. Novel Foods can be newly developed, innovative foods, foods produced with new technologies and production processes, as well as foods traditionally consumed outside the EU. The basic principles that should govern Novel Foods are the following: 1. They must be safe for consumers. 2. If a novel food is intended to replace another food, it must not differ in such a way that the consumption of the novel food would be nutritionally disadvantageous for the consumer. 3. Proper labelling is essential so as not to mislead consumers. Before being placed on the market, a marketing authorisation for novel foods is necessary, based on an assessment in accordance with those principles. We provide legal assistance to food and beverage companies in order to comply with the increasingly stringent and complex EU regulations for placing innovative or novel food and feed on the market by supporting, completing and submitting food approval dossiers to the competent EU authorities and more generally in overseeing the entire novel food approval application process. If you are looking for support in facilitating and managing the process of placing novel foods on the market, please contact us and one of our legal advisors will be able to guide you.

Food and Beverage Labeling

All food imported, prepared and sold in the European Union must comply with Union regulations and provide essential information to the end consumer. Considering that consumers are increasingly looking at food and beverage labels, both in terms of their ingredients and characteristics, as well as in terms of the health and nutrition claims provided, compliance with the ever-changing label requirements is one of the biggest challenges facing food companies today. Seemingly small mistakes (e.g. incorrect naming or failure to declare allergens) can bring food and beverage companies to face administrative and criminal penalties, causing incalculable financial consequences. A conformity check on the labelling of packaged food products can significantly reduce adverse effects by ensuring that labels meet national and European conformity standards. One of our legal advisors can review your existing or proposed labels to ensure they comply with applicable standards. Contact us to minimize risk and stay informed about upcoming regulatory changes.

Protection of Intellectual Property

The agri-food sector is the biggest challenge in trademark registration. The numerous food and beverage companies and the multitude of products produced can often lead to consumer confusion as to the commercial identity of the good. Food and beverages, due to their nature, require special treatment in terms of trademark registration, on the one hand because of the plethora of similar products that often bear similar trademarks and on the other hand because the legislative framework concerning food products is particularly strict by setting registration restrictions (e.g. trademarks that explicitly or implicitly create health claims are not eligible for registration). The registration of a company's trademark and the rights deriving from it contributes significantly to the protection of its products, makes it more receptive to consumers and contributes to establishing itself in the fully competitive environment of the agri-food sector.

Confidentiality Agreements and Commercial Supply Chain Contracts

Food and beverage companies have historically underestimated the economic value of the types of products they produce and therefore the rights deriving from them. In addition to registering their trademarks, they must also take care to protect their trade secrets. A series of confidentiality agreements including non-disclosure, non-circumvention, non-competition agreements can provide full protection and in the long run reflect the corresponding economic impact. PRIVATE LABEL AGREEMENTS Private label agreements are agreements between manufacturers and producers. In this case, a manufacturer agrees to produce its own product/recipe to be marketed under the name of a third party. Private label agreements in principle contain the details of the product in terms of its composition and specifications, which form the basis for the labelling and marketing of the product. Private label agreements basically cover issues arising from the protection of intellectual property. Of key importance is the agreement that the manufacturer retains ownership of the formulation/recipe of the product after the completion of the production process. It may also be agreed which contracting party shall be responsible for the correct labelling and safety of products, and the contracting party's liability in cases of recall and fines may be determined. Private label agreements are imperative where your products are produced by a third party in order to safeguard intellectual property rights and prevent your products from being marketed under a different name. CO-PACKAGING, TRANSPORT AND DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENTS In the context of co-packaging, transport and distribution agreements for food products, liability issues arise and restrictive conditions, such as non-competition and non-circumvention clauses, may be included. With the mutual commitment of the parties, we achieve the definition of clear limits of action and responsibility of the parties and therefore you gain control of the production and marketing process, in terms of the quality of your goods, delivery time, price and risk from inadequate individual practices.

Crisis Management

Our specialized partners (chemists, agronomists and food technologists) can advise you on food and feed safety issues that require corrective actions. Our legal advisors are instrumental in enforcing administrative compliance measures imposed by competent authorities in the performance of official controls. We are able to assist you in a short period of time, at any time, to deal with business-critical incidents and work with you to protect your brand and reputation.

Out-of-Court Dispute Resolution - Mediation

The institution of mediation was introduced into the Greek legal system by Article 4 of Law 3898/2010 in compliance with European Directive 2008/52/EC and becomes mandatory in certain civil and commercial disputes before recourse to national Courts. It is an out-of-court way of resolving a dispute and it is a flexible procedure, conducted in an environment of confidentiality, in which a neutral third party, the mediator, actively assists the parties, who have final control over the outcome and terms of resolution of their dispute, to negotiate and reach an agreement. Our team consists of accredited mediators with experience in out-of-court settlement of disputes arising from commercial agency contracts, distribution contracts, franchising contracts etc.