Consumer information; request for information

The Consumer Information Act (VIG) gives citizens a right to information on important consumer issues.

Description

At the request of , consumers will be given free access to information held by the authorities responsible for providing information on products within the meaning of the German Food and Feed Code (products) and consumer products covered by Section 2 No. 25 of the German Product Safety Act (consumer products), in order to make the market more transparent and thereby improve consumer protection against products and consumer products that are harmful to health or otherwise unsafe, and against deception in the marketing of products and consumer products. This covers, for example, information that the authorities have on food or feed, cosmetics, wine and so-called consumer goods (e.g. objects that come into contact with food, the skin or mucous membranes).

The requested information may cover, for example: Violations of legal regulations, questions of labeling, origin, nature, use or on the ingredients of a food, as well as monitoring measures or other official activities or measures to protect consumers.

Since the monitoring of foodstuffs and consumer goods (e.g. supermarkets, bakeries, butcheries, catering establishments, manufacturing plants) is usually carried out by the district administrative authorities (i.e. district administrative offices or independent cities), it makes sense to submit requests for information on inspections and their results in this area to them.

The trade inspectorate, which is located at the governments, is responsible for monitoring product safety. Requests for information on inspections and their results in this area can be submitted for Bavaria North (Lower, Middle, Upper Franconia and the Upper Palatinate) to the Trade Inspection Office of the Government of Middle Franconia (Trade Inspection Office Nuremberg) and for Bavaria South (Upper, Lower Bavaria and Swabia) to the Trade Inspection Office of the Government of Upper Bavaria (Trade Inspection Office Munich).

Of course, the other authorities in Bavaria will also provide information about the information they hold. If the authority required to provide information has no knowledge of the information requested in the application, it will forward the application ex officio to the authority that has the information, insofar as this is known and possible, and will inform the applicant of the forwarding.

Fees

  • Questions concerning violations of the law are free of charge up to an administrative cost of 1,000 euros, and up to 250 euros in other cases.

    Before any costs are incurred, the competent authority must inform the applicant of this and estimate the costs incurred. In this case, the applicant can decide whether he still wants the information or withdraws his application free of charge.

    Notes:

    • The provision of information may affect the rights of third parties, for example in the case of information on infringements by a food business operator. In these cases, a formal procedure is required in which food business operators are given the opportunity to comment on an intended provision of information and to raise any objections. It is not possible to provide information until the procedure has been completed.
    • In cases where the rights of third parties are affected, the authority is obliged, upon request of the third party, to provide the name and address of the applicant.

Status: 21.02.2023

Responsible for editing: Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz

Contains machine translated content. Show the original content

  • Online transactions, Bavaria-wide
  • Online transactions, locally limited
  • Prefillable Form, Bavaria-wide
  • Legal bases, Bavaria-wide
  • Legal bases, locally limited
  • Fees, Bavaria-wide
  • Fees, locally limited
Bild zur Leistungsbeschreibung

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