Overview

• Germany's highest administrative court ruled that non-edible sausage casings and closure clips cannot be included in the declared fill weight of prepackaged sausages.
• The decision upholds a sales ban imposed by the weights office of Nordrhein-Westfalen on a liver sausage product found to be underweight when excluding non-edible components.
• The ruling overturns a prior decision by the Oberverwaltungsgericht Münster, which had allowed packaging materials to count as part of the fill weight.
• The court emphasized consumer protection, transparency, and the prevention of misleading labeling as key principles behind its decision.
• This landmark ruling has nationwide implications, requiring food producers to revise packaging and labeling practices to comply with the clarified standards.