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Import Regulations

Picture showing a mass of containers
© photocase
  1. Packaging
  2. The Packaging Ordinance
  3. Hygienic Requirements
  4. Food Safety
  5. Occupational Safety
  6. German Deposit Regulations
  7. Electrical and Electronic Equipment
  8. Product Contact Point

Packaging

Like most of the member states of the European Union, Germany adheres to the metric standard. Quantities and qualities of goods must therefore be quoted in metric units or units derived from them. Standard units include metre, litre, kilogram, second etc. Fractions and multiples of these units are common. Still, units which have been qualified as "supplementary indications" by the European legislators - like mile, pint, acre etc. - may be used until the end of 2009. All measures and fractions are listed in the Council Directive 80/181, which is available from EU's central document server Eur-Lex.

As consumer protection and information are of fundamental importance, there are precise regulations on labelling products, especially for food, which are bound for the Single European Market. These regulations have been widely harmonized. Thus, compliance to labelling rules should not turn out to be an obstacle to the free movements of goods within the Single European Market. Basic European labelling standards for food have been laid down in two directives by the European Council, i.e. Directive 2000/13/EC and 2003/89/EC. Both directives are available through the EU's central document server Eur-Lex.

For safety aspects of several kinds of products, Germany has established the Federal Institute of Risk Assessment.