Any product that can be purchased at a store or supermarket goes a long way from the manufacturer through several suppliers to the counter of the outlet closest to the consumer. And if the manufacturer knows what he produces, and how to handle his goods, then suppliers, and even more so - their employees may not know this. Therefore, often damaged or damaged goods fall on the shelves, and it happens that counterfeit goods do. In order to deliver to the final consumer only quality products, in the form in which it was conceived by the manufacturer, there is a mandatory labeling of the goods.
Labeling concept
Labeling should be understood as a sign, which may consist of words, symbols, symbols, with or without holographic protection elements. The task of labeling is to provide the person holding the product in their hands with comprehensive information about it without violating the integrity of the package.
Types of product labeling
Depending on the purpose of this or that marking, distinguish:
1. Warning label - informing about the features of the use of the goods, for example, a crossed-out aquarium means that you can not put heavy things on top of the goods.
2. Marking of general consumer information about the product - this marking is applied according to the requirements of GOST and should contain in text form basic information about the consumer properties of the product: weight, color, etc.
3. Transport marking - indicating the rules for the transport of goods and possible manipulations with it. For example, an inverted glass means that the product is fragile. There are transport markings in the form of text, for example, the inscription "Do not quit", which does not require comments.
4. Marking with certification marks - due to the fact that some products can only be produced with a special permit or license, the presence of a certification mark on the product indicates that the manufacturer has such a permit. As a rule, certification marks consist of a picture, text and symbols with holographic protection. The most popular certification mark is an excise mark.
5. Trademarks - indicating that the product belongs to a particular brand. The presence of such a mark indicates the authenticity of such products.
6. Eco-labeling - it indicates that the use of the product does not harm the environment, and may also indicate the presence in the product of certain ingredients harmful to nature and humans.
7. Special marking that is characteristic of dangerous and especially dangerous groups of goods, such as acids and explosives. Special labeling of goods informs about the maximum permissible environmental properties for storage and transportation of such goods.
8. The barcode, or, as it used to be called, the strip code, is an international unified marking. The barcode is easily recognizable by its stripes, and contains all the necessary information about the product for its sale on the market, namely, information about the country of manufacture, product code according to the international classifier, manufacturer code, as well as a code indicating the presence of licenses and permits .
The barcode comes in two basic forms: a linear, in fact, strip code and a two-dimensional, known as qr-code. Two-dimensional code is able to accommodate more information than linear, because it allows you to read information not only horizontally, but also vertically. As a rule, the product’s qr code contains the address of production facilities and the manufacturer’s website, and, possibly, representative offices' phones. In principle, in two-dimensional code, any information can be encrypted. Barcodes also simplify the maintenance of warehouse accounting and cash services in supermarkets using computerized trading equipment.
GOST marking
The Russian Federation has inherited and preserved the State All-Union Standard, which is now called the State Standard of the Russian Federation. Its value is that for each familiar product or thing there is a single quality standard, as evidenced by the corresponding labeling of the goods.
GOST in the USSR set standards for absolutely all products manufactured in the Soviet Union. Having survived, the GOST product labeling allowed to protect the authenticity of products manufactured since Soviet times. For example, a doctor’s sausage, no matter who it is produced, should consist of the same ingredients prescribed in GOST, and prepared according to the standard recipe. Of course, modern manufacturers, trying to save money, go to tricks, releasing goods according to specially developed technical conditions, while slightly changing the name of the product. For example, not Vologda Oil, but Vologda Extra Oil, etc. Today, each manufacturer can get permission to produce products according to their own technical conditions, but no one has the right to produce goods with a name according to GOST marking that does not meet the requirements standard.
Food labeling
All food products produced in Russia or imported into its territory must be marked with mandatory labeling. GOST requires manufacturers and others to follow established rules. On the product labeling, the name of the product must be indicated, according to GOST or technical specifications, its volume or weight, state of manufacture and importer, composition of the product, its energy value are indicated. And also, under what conditions it is necessary to store this product, its shelf life and the dependence of this period on storage conditions. If the product requires additional processing, the recipe must be indicated on the label, as well as how this product should be taken. Labeling of food products may also contain other information at the request of the manufacturer. For example, recommendations for combination with other products may be indicated.
Of course, the rules for marking the goods are relative, and they are allowed to be applied with common sense. Of course, no one will prosecute the manufacturer of potato chips, who did not put on the packaging information about how to eat, but at the same time, the importer of pineapples, or some more exotic fruits, is simply obliged to comply with all the above rules for labeling goods and indicate on the label instructions for its preparation in food. After all, you can get hurt about the pineapple peel if you try to chew it, and tropical fruits may even contain toxic inedible parts.
Rules are established for the packaging of certain types of goods. For example, plastic containers or containers should be made only of food-grade plastic. Dairy products should only be packed in airtight containers. Eggs can only be sold in special trays, etc.
Labeling of Non-Food Products
Everything that is not intended for eating is also subject to mandatory labeling, the requirements for which are already less critical.
Labeling of non-food products should consist of the name of the product, the legal name of the manufacturer, the country of origin of the product, the rules for its operation, important properties and other information that the manufacturer considers necessary to convey to the consumer. Since most of this information fits into a barcode, very often the manufacturer of a non-food product is limited to it, which puzzles a potential buyer who does not want to buy a pig in a poke.
The labeling of Russian goods is still at the development stage, therefore it may not always contain comprehensive information about the product. The explanations of the Government of the Russian Federation on the procedure for marking goods, on the one hand, state the need to strictly adhere to established standards, on the other, act at the discretion, and on the third, do not put on the product all existing types of labeling of goods just in case. It is not difficult to get confused in such rules, so labeling is still done primarily for representatives of trade, and only then for consumers.
There are no specific requirements for packaging non-food products, with the exception of goods related to dangerous, especially dangerous and flammable, as well as to permitted types of weapons. Such products can be stored and transported only in special containers, containers and cases, as well as be accompanied by appropriate warning labels, which should contain manipulative signs for marking goods.
Excisable goods
The most stringent labeling requirements apply to the excisable group.
Excisable goods in Russia include alcohol, except beer and cider, tobacco products and fuels and lubricants. The marking of excisable goods consists in the application of an excise stamp on the goods - so that it was impossible to open the container or packaging without damaging the mark. Excise labeling of goods includes information about the manufacturer, his license number, the amount of the excise tax for a specific product, as well as its name.
The excise stamp is a fiscal document of state reporting and is under strict control.
The marking of laser discs with copyright objects recorded on them stands apart. Such goods are marked with special licensed brands, which in their structure resemble excise taxes, but, unlike them, are produced together with laser products by special enterprises under strict state control.
Rules for labeling and packaging of goods for transportation by air
Air transportation is associated with increased danger, therefore more stringent requirements apply to goods transported by such vehicles, including labeling. Only goods in rectangular or square containers, tanks, and other containers of the correct geometric shape are allowed for air transportation. Marking on containers and other rectangular and square packaging should be on the sides and on top of such a container. It must include mandatory labeling of non-food or food products, special labeling, environmental, transport labeling with handling signs. The labeling should contain information on the weight of the goods net and gross, that is, with or without packaging.
The size of the package of goods must correspond to the dimensions of one transport place, determined by the rules of domestic and international transport by air. Moreover, each product should occupy one place.
Obligation to comply with labeling requirements
Who is legally charged with the packaging and labeling of goods and compliance with established requirements - the main issue of concern to each business entity in the field of trade. According to the current legislation, such obligations are assigned to all business entities whose activities are connected with the production of transportation and sale of goods. But these responsibilities have some differences.
The manufacturer is obliged to produce, or in the case of excise or licensed stamps, to acquire the necessary number of markings for his products and to ensure their correct application to the goods. The manufacturer is responsible for the conformity of the quality of his product to the data indicated on the labeling, from the moment the product leaves the assembly line until it is purchased by the end user.
The carrier that transports the goods is responsible for the integrity of the marking on the goods from the moment the goods are received from the sender until they are delivered to the recipient. In this case, the carrier is never responsible for the content of the marking and its conformity with the goods, as well as for damage to the marking, if the fact of integrity violation was recorded at the time of receipt of the goods from the sender.
Wholesalers and retailers are required to ensure the integrity and legibility of the labeling of goods on its shelves. Typically, the seller is not responsible for the discrepancy of the labeling data with the real properties of the goods, but at the same time, he is responsible to the buyer for the discrepancy of the information on the store label, that is, the seller’s oral offer, with the real quality of the goods. Thus, if a manufacturer deliberately or accidentally applied a plasma mark on a lamp TV, and the seller, without examining the product, sells it according to the factory marking, he will be liable to the buyer for the product quality mismatching stated in the offer, in accordance with the legislation on consumer protection . In this case, the seller will receive the right to make similar claims to the manufacturer.
It should be noted that the seller is obliged to notify the buyer of all the properties of the purchased goods, and not of the data indicated in the labeling, which the buyer himself can read. It is also important to understand the difference between the seller’s obligations for the sale of goods without mandatory labeling, and the sale of excisable goods with similar defects. It is possible to hold the seller of the first category of goods liable only by establishing the fact of the sale of goods without proper labeling. In the case of excisable goods, it is enough to simply find such goods in the seller’s warehouse, not accompanied by return invoices due to violation of the excise marking.
Responsibility for labeling violations
For violation of the rules for labeling goods, administrative liability is provided in the form of a fine with or without confiscation of products. The size and type of liability depends on the objective side of the offense, that is, on what specific illegal act was committed by the person responsible for the presence of the marking.
Inappropriate labeling of food products and non-food products is in itself punishable by a fine, but may also conceal a more serious offense, or even a crime - the sale of counterfeit goods and smuggling. Recall that mandatory labeling includes an indication of the name of the manufacturer of the goods and the country of origin. Thus, marking allows you to check the legality of the production or import of certain products, and to its distributor - to confirm the legality of its purchase, if for some reason there are no invoices on the goods. For example, if the goods are purchased in the wholesale market.
Selling excisable goods without proper labeling, or if the packaging and labeling of the goods are damaged, is also punishable by a fine. Such a sale is also grounds for suspicion of another more serious tax violation, namely - non-receipt of goods and cash. And all because the sale of excisable goods for cash is allowed only with the help of a cash register, into which all capitalized goods are entered, including the data of excise stamps. Thus, a damaged or missing excise stamp on a product allows one to doubt that this product was brought to the storehouse's warehouse and entered into the cash register rather than being sold for bottling or piece from under the floor. Of course, it is possible to prove the legality of products with damaged or missing markings, but you will have to spend precious nerves on this, so this is best avoided.
Several regulatory and law enforcement agencies, namely the federal tax service, the tax police and the police, the prosecutor’s office, the bodies controlling the circulation of alcohol-containing products and tobacco products, and the consumer protection bodies, can check the business entity that manufactures and sells the goods to be labeled. bodies of veterinary and sanitary-epidemiological control, fire surveillance authorities. In exceptional cases, as part of a criminal investigation, verification of the labeling of goods may be carried out by the prosecutor's office and the FSB.
What consumers need to know about labeling
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Thirdly, the labeling of the goods helps to find out the real place of production of the goods, which will determine even a high-quality fake.
Thus, the requirements for product labeling, as well as its packaging, encourage manufacturers and sellers to adhere to certain quality standards and comply with consumer rights.