Keywords
Summary

Keywords

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1 . Free movement of goods - Derogations - Protection of public health - Ban on the importation of a foodstuff imposed on the ground that its nutritional value is lower than a foodstuff already on the market - Not permissible

( EEC Treaty, Art . 36 .)

2 . Free movement of goods - Quantitative restrictions - Measures having equivalent effect - Ban on the importation and marketing of meat products containing ingredients other than meat - Not permissible - Justification - Consumer protection - Fair trading - None

( EEC Treaty, Art . 30 )

3 . Free movement of goods - National derogating measures - Prohibition - Support of policy pursued in the context of a common market organization - Not a justification

Summary

1 . A Member State may not invoke public health grounds in order to prohibit the importation of a product by arguing that its nutritional value is lower than another product already available on the market in question, since it is plain that the choice of foodstuffs available to consumers in the Community is such that the mere fact that an imported product has a lower nutritional value does not pose a real threat to human health .

2 . A Member State may not justify a ban on the importation and marketing in its territory of meat products from other Member States containing certain ingredients other than meat by referring to requirements of consumer protection and fair trading and arguing, first, that because of their established eating habits national consumers have a clear idea about what they expect from meat products and, secondly, that some traders could acquire a competitive advantage by using less expensive ingredients of poorer quality without the differences in manufacture being apparent to consumers . Consumers may be provided with information by means which do not hinder the importation of the products concerned, in particular by the compulsory affixing of suitable labels indicating the nature of the product sold .

3 . Once the Community has established a common market organization in a particular sector, the Member States must refrain from taking any unilateral measure, even if that measure is likely to support the common policy .

Even if they support a common policy of the Community, national measures may not conflict with one of the fundamental principles of the Community, such as that of the free movement of goods, unless they are justified by reasons recognized by Community law itself .