Prepackaged (or prepacked) products sold in any EU country must provide information on the package specifying the nominal quantity (weight or volume) of their contents. Examples of prepackaged products include:
- food
- drinks
- cosmetics
- cleaning products
The ℮-mark, placed next to the nominal quantity, shows that you have complied with the relevant European laws. You can add it to prepackaged products that you sell individually at a constant volume (for liquid products) or weight (for other products) which has been chosen in advance. ℮-mark can be placed on products whose weight or volume falls between the following values:
- minimum 5 grams or 5 millilitres
- maximum 10 kilograms or 10 litres
Is it mandatory?
The ℮-mark is not mandatory. However, having it affixed to your products enables you to sell them in all EU countries without having to check whether you have complied with individual national requirements. The ℮-mark shows that a product complies with EU rules on the indication of the volume or weight and the measuring methods that you must use as a seller of prepackaged products.
What are the requirements?
To ensure that the quantity displayed is correct, ℮-marked packages must fulfil the following requirements:
- the average quantity of product in packages coming from the same batch must be equal to or greater than the quantity mentioned on the package.
- the nominal quantity refers only to the product. It does not include packaging or any materials used to protect the product, handle it (example: the stick of a lollipop), preserve it (example: ice) or serve as an aid while using it (example: serving tray).
- only a limited proportion of the prepackaged products from the same batch may have a smaller amount of product than indicated on the package. This is referred to as “tolerable negative error” and it is set in the annex 1 of the EU legislation.
The presence of the ℮-mark does NOT mean that the quantity of a product has been estimated. It means that the weight and volume have been measured according to EU rules, using instruments that meet the requirements of EU legislation
How do you affix it?
The ℮-mark should be printed on the package next to the indication of the weight or volume. The font height should be minimum 3 millimetres. The ℮-mark and indication of quantity should be displayed on the front of the pack. The quantity must be shown in figures and followed by the unit of measurement (grams, kilograms, millilitres, centilitres or litres) or its abbreviation (g, kg, ml, cl or l).
Quality checks and inspections
As a packer, you must ensure that the packages you fill meet the requirements. For this, you need to:
- use officially recognised measuring equipment and procedures for packaging the products
- keep records of checks you perform to ensure that the measuring is done correctly
As an importer, you need to provide proof that the prepackaged products you import meet the requirements. This proof can be the recorded checks mentioned above.
National authorities perform inspections to check if your ℮-marked products meet the requirements. They can do that at the packing facility or elsewhere in the distribution chain.
On specific requirements in a particular EU country and for more information on inspections, check with the national authorities.
