EU Greenwashing Rules Take Effect September 27: What Food and Agriculture Companies Need to Change

Food manufacturers, beverage companies, agricultural brands and retailers selling products in the European Union face a significant change to environmental marketing from September 27, 2026.

That is when the EU's Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive begins applying across member states. The rules strengthen consumer protection against greenwashing and introduce tighter restrictions around environmental claims and sustainability labels.

For the food and agriculture industry, the change matters because environmental language has become increasingly common on packaging, websites and advertising. Companies now need to look much more closely at what those claims communicate and what evidence supports them.

Generic environmental claims face new restrictions

One of the most important changes concerns broad environmental statements. The European Commission identifies generic claims such as green and environmentally friendly as examples of claims that businesses cannot simply use without demonstrating the relevant environmental performance.

For food packaging, the practical issue is straightforward. A manufacturer cannot assume that changing one part of a package automatically justifies a broad environmental claim about the entire product. Agricultural and food businesses also need to consider exactly what an average consumer is likely to understand from the language being used.

Sustainability labels also come under scrutiny

The Directive also targets unreliable voluntary sustainability labels. Under the new framework, sustainability labels displayed to consumers generally need to be based on a certification scheme or established by a public authority.

That is particularly relevant to food and beverage businesses because packaging frequently carries logos and badges connected with farming practices, sourcing, climate impact, packaging materials and other sustainability characteristics. Companies should audit not only written claims but also the symbols and schemes displayed alongside them.

The timing creates an additional packaging challenge

The anti-greenwashing rules arrive only weeks after another major regulatory change. New EU rules on packaging and packaging waste began applying on August 12, 2026.

Those packaging rules introduce requirements affecting composition, recyclability, recycled content, labelling, reuse and waste reduction. The European Commission says all packaging must be recyclable by 2030, while restrictions on certain single-use formats will also begin from 2030.

Food companies are therefore dealing with two related but distinct questions: does the packaging comply with the new packaging framework, and are the environmental claims made about that packaging defensible? Compliance with one does not automatically answer the other.

Existing products also require attention

Companies should not assume that products manufactured before September 27 can simply be ignored. European consumer protection authorities have developed a common approach for old stock products already circulating when the rules begin applying.

The Commission says traders are expected to take timely, good-faith steps to comply, while authorities may consider practical constraints such as packaging cycles, stock volumes, prior production orders, supply-chain dependencies and product shelf life on a case-by-case basis.

What food businesses should audit now

The practical response should extend beyond the legal department. Packaging teams should review claims printed directly on packs. Marketing departments should examine advertising, websites and ecommerce descriptions. Procurement teams should verify evidence supplied by packaging and ingredient vendors. Retailers should examine private-label products and environmental messaging at the point of sale.

Certification and quality teams should also verify that sustainability logos and schemes meet the relevant requirements. Companies operating across several EU countries need to ensure translated marketing language does not inadvertently change the meaning or strength of a claim.

A useful internal test is simple: if a regulator asks exactly what evidence supports an environmental statement, can the company produce it? If the answer is unclear, the claim deserves another review.

This is bigger than removing the word green

The regulation should not be understood simply as a blacklist of environmentally themed words. Its broader significance is that sustainability marketing is moving toward an evidence-based model.

For agriculture and food companies, that could increase the commercial importance of certification, lifecycle assessment, traceability, packaging data, environmental measurement and independent verification. Companies able to substantiate environmental performance may ultimately gain an advantage over competitors relying mainly on vague sustainability language.

The immediate challenge is compliance. The longer-term change may be more important: environmental claims are becoming something businesses increasingly need to prove rather than simply advertise.

Sources

European Commission, Sustainable consumption, updated September 22, 2026: https://commission.europa.eu/topics/consumers/consumer-rights-and-complaints/sustainable-consumption_en

European Commission, Sustainable consumption actions and old stock guidance: https://commission.europa.eu/topics/consumers/consumer-rights-and-complaints/enforcement-consumer-protection/coordinated-actions/sustainable-consumption-actions_en

European Commission, New packaging rules for less waste and easier recycling, August 12, 2026: https://commission.europa.eu/news-and-media/news/new-packaging-rules-less-waste-and-easier-recycling-2026-08-12_en