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The Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is processing draft legislation that could significantly change the labelling of foods sold under retailers’ private labels. The draft would require the packaging to indicate – in addition to the details of the food business operator responsible for food information – the details of the actual manufacturer of the product and, in certain cases, the importer.
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The change could have significant implications for contract manufacturers, retail chains and businesses designing private-label packaging. The draft is currently undergoing interministerial consultations. By letter dated 3 August 2026, the Ministry submitted the draft for consultation within the government administration, setting a 30-day deadline for comments.
The explanatory memorandum states: “Retail chains apply different policies regarding the disclosure of the ‘actual manufacturer’s’ details, which results in a lack of predictability for manufacturers as well as a lack of consistency in the information provided to consumers in this respect.”
The draft proposes adding a new § 19c to the Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on the labelling of individual types of foodstuffs. The new requirement would apply where a prepacked food bears the business name or name of the food business operator responsible for food information under Article 8(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, but that operator did not manufacture the product and instead placed it on the market as part of its retail activities. In such a case, the label would additionally have to include:
These details would have to be preceded, as appropriate, by the wording “Manufacturer” or “Importer into the EU market”.The draft is primarily aimed at the private-label model, under which a contract manufacturer produces the food while the brand owner or retailer is identified on the label as the operator responsible for food information.
The draft does not stop at requiring additional information. It also prescribes how that information must be presented. The details of the manufacturer or importer would have to be:
This means that the proposed regulation may require not only the addition of new wording to labels but, in many cases, a significant redesign of the packaging.
The proposed regulation does not alter the rules on responsibility laid down in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011. Under that provision, the food business operator responsible for food information is the operator under whose name or business name the food is marketed or, if that operator is not established in the EU, the importer into the Union market. That operator is responsible for ensuring the presence and accuracy of the food information provided to consumers. Article 9(1)(h) of Regulation 1169/2011 requires the label to state the name or business name and address of precisely that operator. Consequently, if the proposed Polish provisions enter into force, a private-label product could simultaneously bear the details of two different operators: the food business operator responsible for food information within the meaning of Article 8(1) of Regulation 1169/2011 and the actual manufacturer of the food identified under the new national provisions. The mere identification of the actual manufacturer would not mean that the manufacturer assumes the responsibility which Article 8 of Regulation 1169/2011 assigns to the operator under whose name or business name the product is marketed.
The new requirement would not apply to prepacked foods placed on the market in accordance with the legislation applicable in another EU Member State or in Türkiye, or to products originating in an EEA country and placed on the market in accordance with the legislation applicable in that country. In practice, this could result in comparable private-label products available on the Polish market carrying different levels of information about the manufacturer, depending on how and where they were previously placed on the market.
The draft provides for a six-month vacatio legis. At the same time, foods labelled before the new rules enter into force and placed on the market by 30 November 2028 could remain on the market until stocks are exhausted. The draft is still progressing through the legislative process. Given the nature of the proposed requirements, the procedure provided for under Regulation 1169/2011 will also be of particular importance.
“The proposed regulation is interesting not only from the perspective of private labels and contract manufacturers, but also in terms of the overall coherence of the system of information provided on food packaging. Regulation 1169/2011 defines very precisely the operator responsible for food information: it is the operator under whose name or business name the product is marketed or, where that operator is not established in the Union, the importer. The proposed rules do not alter this principle but add another requirement on top of it – the identification of the actual manufacturer. As a result, the same package may display the details of two different businesses with different legal statuses and different scopes of responsibility.
From a legal perspective, the basis chosen for the proposed regulation is particularly interesting. The legislator relies on Article 39 of Regulation 1169/2011, treating products sold under the details of a retailer that is not their manufacturer as a ‘specific type or category of food’. It is worth considering whether this concept can encompass a category distinguished essentially not by the characteristics of the food itself, but by the business model under which it is placed on the market. This will be a particularly interesting aspect of the assessment of the draft at EU level, especially since Article 39 requires the procedure laid down in Article 45 of Regulation 1169/2011 to be followed.
There is also a broader dimension to the proposed change. Businesses are currently preparing for the application of the PPWR, which introduces its own requirements concerning the identification of economic operators in relation to packaging. We may therefore reach a situation where several different regulatory regimes converge on a single product: the operator responsible for food information under Article 8 of Regulation 1169/2011, the actual food manufacturer identified under the new national rules, and the economic operators identified in relation to packaging under the PPWR.
This does not necessarily mean that the rules conflict. It does, however, raise questions about regulatory coherence and whether the respective roles of the different operators will remain sufficiently clear to consumers. This question is particularly relevant given that the draft requires the actual manufacturer’s details to be displayed very prominently – within a dedicated frame with an area of no less than 50% of the area of the trademark.
From the perspective of businesses, this is therefore far from being a purely academic discussion. Companies are already planning packaging changes associated with the PPWR. If the proposed Polish rules are ultimately adopted, another mandatory labelling element may have to be incorporated into the same redesign processes. The further progress of the draft – and, in particular, its assessment under the EU procedure – therefore deserves very close attention.”
Dr Izabela Tańska
IGI FOOD LAW
IGI FOOD LAW – FOOD LABEL, FOOD LABELLING,
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