How is the regulatory framework for food & beverage constructed in Greece?
In Greece, the regulatory framework for food & beverage is based on EU regulations and directives that are implemented through national by-laws, namely ministerial decisions and presidential decrees. Country specific regulations apply in cases for which the EU law is incomplete or absent or allows the member states to make exceptions.
What are the most significant national regulatory acts?
The basic national regulatory act is the Code of Foodstuffs, Beverages and Objects of Common Use (Κ.Τ.Π., hereafter referred to as the “Food Code”), which was introduced in 1971 and codified by the Ministerial Decision 1100/1987, subject to numerous amendments due to permanent developments in EU and international law, containing general-horizontal and product specific-vertical provisions.
Other significant acts are the Ministerial Decision 91354/2017, by which the distribution and marketing rules for products and services (the so called ΔΙ.Ε.Π.Π.Υ. rules) were newly coded, the Ministerial Decision 15523/2006 and the Sanitary Regulation Υ1γ/Γ.Π/οικ.47829/2017, which are the main acts implementing the EU hygiene package, and the Law 4235/2014 that regulates administrative measures, procedures and sanctions in implementing the EU and national legislation in the food sector.
