New rules for products, GMOs and packaging are being prepared in Ukraine: businesses face fines of up to 100% of the value of the consignment

Ukraine is preparing a large-scale update of legislation in the field of food safety and adaptation of rules to EU standards. The relevant committee of the Verkhovna Rada changed the initial concept of draft laws No. 15058 and No. 15058-1 and prepared a consolidated version. At the same time, some of the experts’ comments remained unaccounted for, and new licensing procedures and significant fines may appear for businesses.

Novel products will be allowed to be placed on the market with EU authorization

One of the key changes is the approach to state registration of novel food products and health claims.

The consolidated draft proposes to remove them from the list of objects subject to state registration by the Ministry of Health.

Instead, market operators will be able to place such products and claims on the market in Ukraine if they are authorized in the European Union. A similar approach is envisaged for raw materials for smoke flavors.

At the same time, GNEU experts drew attention to the fact that a sharp change in the rules may violate the principle of legal certainty and the legitimate expectations of businesses that have only recently adapted to the current procedures.

They want to introduce a new licensing procedure for product irradiation

A separate block of changes concerns the treatment of food products with ionizing radiation.

The committee proposes to introduce approval of the relevant facilities by the competent authority. To do this, market operators will have to submit applications and copies of the necessary licenses.

The State Food and Consumer Protection Service will be able to temporarily suspend the validity of such approval in the event of non-compliance. For the period of suspension, the relevant activity will be prohibited, and an inspection will be required to resume it.

At the same time, as noted in the analysis, the draft still has a number of unresolved issues regarding the list of products that can be subjected to such treatment.

Labeling of irradiated products: a gap remains

European regulations stipulate that the consumer must be clearly informed if a product or even a separate ingredient has been exposed to ionizing radiation.

At the same time, the necessary amendments to the Law “On Information for Consumers on Food Products” did not appear in the draft law.

At the same time, the relevant requirements in Ukraine are already partially regulated at the sub-legal level by the Order of the Ministry of Health No. 1280 of July 15, 2023. That is, we are not talking about a complete absence of rules, but about the absence of a corresponding norm directly in the relevant law.

The “GMO-Free” label will not be allowed to be used for all products

The draft law also provides for important changes in product labeling.

It is proposed to directly prohibit the use of the “GMO-Free” label on food products that, in principle, cannot contain genetically modified organisms and during the production of which raw materials were used that also cannot contain GMOs.

Thus, manufacturers will not be able to use the inscription “GMO-free” exclusively as a marketing advantage where the presence of GMOs is objectively impossible.

For violation of GMO rules – a fine of up to 100% of the cost of the batch

Sanctions for companies working with genetically modified products may become much more serious.

Business entities that grow GM crops want to be obliged to ensure their coexistence with non-genetically modified and organic crops. This includes, in particular, spatial isolation, buffer zones, cleaning of equipment and informing other operators.

For violation of coexistence rules for legal entities, a fine of 15 to 20 minimum wages is provided.

And for repeated violation of the requirements for growing GM crops or placing them on the market within a year, the sanction may be 100% of the cost of the relevant batch of GMOs or GM products, but not less than 100 thousand hryvnias.

They want to repeal the Law “On Milk and Dairy Products”

Another significant innovation directly concerns the dairy industry.

The Agrarian Committee included in the draft a provision on the complete repeal of the Law of Ukraine “On Milk and Dairy Products”.

A two-year transition period is envisaged, and the law is to expire on January 1, 2029.

For producers, this may mean the need to revise technological regulations and internal procedures.

At the same time, the question arises whether the government will have time to adopt the necessary by-laws regarding specific dairy products, in particular cheeses and butter, during the transition period.

What will change for business

Despite the European integration orientation of the reform, some of the GNEU’s comments regarding the stability of legislation, the powers of state bodies, and terminological conflicts remained unaddressed or were only partially addressed.

For companies, the new rules may mean additional administrative and regulatory procedures, especially in the areas of GMOs, packaging, state registration and treatment of products with ionizing radiation.

As this is a draft law, the proposed rules may still change during further parliamentary consideration.