Dr. Oetker receives a defeat in the muesli dispute at the European Court of Justice

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Oetker logo in Bielefeld: Trouble with the calorie information

Photo: Bernd Thissen / dpa

How many calories is there in a serving of muesli?

According to a judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the nutritional information on the front of food packaging must be comparable with competing products.

The information on the package must therefore not relate to special types of preparation.

Because that does not allow a comparison with the corresponding foods from other manufacturers.

They could also confuse consumers if the values ​​per 100 grams of the product at the time of sale were given elsewhere on the packaging.

The background to the ECJ ruling is a legal dispute between the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (VZBV) and the food company Dr.

Oetker.

For a muesli with the name "Vitalis Knuspermüsli Schoko & Keks" on the front of the packaging, the company provided information on the calorific value and the amount of fat, saturated fatty acids, sugar and salt, which only related to the portion of the prepared food.

The VZBV complained against the proceedings before the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), which then turned to the ECJ with questions about the interpretation of EU law.

The association welcomed the clarifications of the ECJ.

"The verdict clears the way for more transparency and clarity," commented board member Klaus Müller.

The "calorie accounting for food" is being put a stop to.

Case C-388/20

mic / dpa