Joanna Krakowiak | In Principle

Alongside the trademark, the label of a product must also identify the product itself, so that consumers know what type of product they are being offered. But in the European Union alone, there may be a dozen or more legal definitions of certain alcoholic beverages, such as cider or perry. This means that the qualitative requirements differ across various member states, presenting a huge challenge for producers, particularly when the EU policy agenda has taken up the fight against double standards for foods offered in different parts of the EU.

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation enters into force tomorrow (25 May 2018). The GDPR changes the legal classification of data contained in certificates of a clean criminal record. Unlike other changes in the GDPR, this change represents a step toward liberalisation. How will data of this type be treated?

From 30 April 2018 the main guidelines concerning regulated business activity can be found in the new Business Act. The number of regulatory provisions affecting business activity in Poland will not decrease, but they will be spread more widely across industry-specific regulations. There are also changes favourable to business.

On 5 February 2018 the CJEU issued long-awaited judgments in three cases in one day concerning release to third parties of medicinal product registration documentation. These rulings confirm the European Medicines Agency’s current data transparency policy. How are conflicting interests weighed regarding release of medicine registration data?

From 25 May 2018 Polish healthcare institutions will face conflicting rules on how to handle medical documentation under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation and Polish healthcare laws. The inconsistencies could be eliminated by the new Personal Data Protection Act, but it appears unlikely that work on the new act will end on time. So what should institutions do to limit their regulatory risk?

Consultations have ended on a draft amendment of the Act on Sobriety Education and Countering of Alcoholism as well as the Food Safety and Nutrition Act. They are to raise the awareness of consumers and help them make informed choices, now in relation to alcoholic beverages.

Long-awaited regulations limiting the scope of the duty to conclude written contracts for supply of agricultural products went into force on 22 August 2017. Under the new rules, the requirement for written contracts applies only to supplies of defined groups of agricultural products from farmers operating in Poland.

The amendment to the Pharmaceutical Law adopted under the slogan “pharmacies for pharmacists” entered into force on 25 June 2017. What are the strict regulations supposed to protect pharmacists against: a shortage of customers, or excessive expansion of their own business? How will this amendment function, and is there another one ahead under the slogan “pharmacies for patients”?

In March 2017 the European Commission published a report on labelling of alcoholic beverages. It seems the exemption allowing alcohol producers to avoid placement of information on the ingredients and nutritional value of their drinks is drawing to an end. The beer, wine and spirits industry has 12 months to propose solutions to the Commission reflecting the specific nature of alcoholic beverages but also ensuring effective protection of consumers throughout the European Union.

On 17 February 2017 the president of the Agricultural Market Agency issued a set of instructions entitled “Conditions for Monitoring of Contracts for Supply of Agricultural Products.” The document includes guidelines for the content and procedure for conclusion of such contracts and the rules for monitoring compliance with the obligation to conclude contracts in writing between buyers, sellers and intermediaries trading in agricultural products in Poland.

It has generally been assumed that sectors like finance, energy and transport are most at risk for attacks by cyber criminals. But according to forecasts by Europol, in 2017 sensitive medical data of patients stored in poorly secured hospital systems will be in the front lines of cyberattacks. Blocking of the IT system or leaking of patient data can disrupt the work of a medical unit to such a degree that it is unable to treat patients until it pays a heavy ransom to cyber criminals. Is it possible to protect against such a scenario?

Consumers and producers alike complain that labels on food products are hard to understand. Could the solution for crowding in too much information be an electronic label where data of interest to the consumer could be checked using a smartphone app?