Obligations of Traders in Advertising Food Products

The Assembly of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (“SCoC”) recently adopted the Code of Practice for Advertising by Wholesale and Retail Traders of Food Products (“Code”), which entered into force on January 1, 2025.

The purpose of the Code is to support wholesale and retail traders of food products in the Republic of Serbia in advertising and to regulate compliance with ethical principles and fundamental advertising standards. By implementing the Code in practice, the following objectives are intended to be achieved

1)     Increase consumer trust in advertising and marketing communications,

2)     Provide effective solutions to consumer protection issues from unethical advertising,

3)     Reduce the need for enforced application of applicable regulations, etc.

The Code is formally intended to define ethical principles and rules to assist traders in advertising, but its fundamental objective is to achieve a higher level of consumer protection by defining general advertising requirements.

Law on Consumer Protection and Law on Advertisin

The law governing advertising regulates behaviors and types of advertising that are prohibited (deceptive and covert advertising, encouraging harm to the health and safety of the message recipient, etc.), white the Law on Consumer Protection, among other things, prescribes traders business practices considered unfair (disturbing the economic behavior of the average consumer, deceptive business practices, aggressive business practices, etc.). 

On the other hand, the Code defines the fundamental advertising ethical principles as a form of interaction between traders and consumers, with a particular emphasis on the sector of food product trade, presenting a set of rules that combine the provisions of the previously mentioned laws.

It should be noted that any provisions of the Code that are in conflict with the laws governing advertising and protection of consumers, other regulations, or the Code of Business Ethics are null and void.

Who is Obligated to Apply and Adhere to the Code?

The obligation to apply and adhere to the Code applies to all wholesale and retail traders of food products in the Republic of Serbia who have accepted it by signing the Statement of Compliance with the Code, which is an integral part of the Code.

Terms

Unlike the Law on Consumer Protection, the Code defines a consumer as any individual whose opinion and judgment advertising may be influenced by advertising. Hence, an individual acquires the status of consumer simply by interacting with an advertisement message, i.e., before purchasing a product or receiving a service.

A trader is defined as any trader in food products, wholesale and retail, on the territory of the Republic of Serbia, who is a member of SCoC and signatory to the Statement of Compliance with the Code.

An advertisement message is a notification that forms the content of advertising, regardless of the form, method, or medium through which it is transmitted. The subject of the advertisement may be any product, service, business activity, or practice of the advertiser.

General Advertising Requirements

Advertising must adhere to principles of truthfulness, fairness, decency, and honesty, and conducted responsibly with respect to the personality and interests of consumers.

    I.         Truthfulness in advertising

• deceptive advertising is not permitted (transmitting the information in a vague, incomplete, incomprehensible, ambiguous, or untimely manner, misleading consumers, or influencing their economic behavior).
• an advertisement message must not omit information necessary for consumers to make an informed decision. Furthermore, when assessing the extent of information provided to consumers, the communication medium used to disseminate the information is also taken into account.
• data and claims in the advertisement message must be verifiable, meaning that the advertiser must be able to substantiate them with evidence at any time.

 
    II.         Fairness in advertising

• advertising must not misuse, exaggerate, or otherwise take research or survey results, scientific terminology or vocabulary, statistical data, or other publicly available information out of their original context.
• Interestingly, it is prohibited to use certain legally required product attributes, such as "antibiotic-free," "GMO-free," and similar terms, for advertising purposes, as this creates the impression that other products lack these attributes.

 
   III.         Decency in advertising

• an advertisement message must not contain statements, expressions, sounds, or visuals that would violate general standards of decency, nor should it include elements that demean human dignity.
• advertising must not belittle, discredit, expose to contempt, or mock any individual, group of individuals, business entities, organizations, industries, products, advertisements, brands, trademarks, or any other entity not specifically mentioned here.

 
   IV.         Honesty in advertising

• advertising must not be conducted in a way that abuses the consumer’s trust or takes advantage of their lack of experience, professional knowledge, understanding, or gullibility.
• an advertisement message must not use the appeal to fear, nor abuse the average consumer’s sense of fear, nor manipulate consumer prejudices and superstitions.

Below, we highlight some of the special requirements for advertising:

• advertisement messages must not lead consumers to attribute disproportionately higher utility value to a product than its actual value.
• an advertisement message must not use any superlative, especially terms like "best," "cheapest," "fastest," "highest quality," "first choice," "number 1," and similar, without clear and credible evidence of the suitability and truthfulness of such claims, such as citing relevant studies, statistics, or other sources that support these claims and relate to the specific subject of the advertisement.
• products cannot be advertised as "free of charge" if the consumer bears any other cost apart from the actual delivery, shipping, or postage fees.
• an advertisement message must not, through its general appearance, presentation, use of slogans, visual presentation, music, or sound effects, imitate or resemble a recognizable advertisement message of another advertiser.

Violation of the Code and Procedure before the Court of Honor

In the case of a violation of the Code, traders have the right to initiate proceedings before the Court of Honor if they believe that another trader has violated the provisions of the Code, by submitting a complaint to the Court of Honor’s prosecutor. 

If, by final decision, the Court of Honor determines that the trader is responsible for violating business customs and business ethics due to non-compliance with the Code, they are obligated to comply with the imposed measure and refrain from using the same or similar advertising methods in the future.

Minja Mucić

Junior Associate

minja.mucic@prlegal.rs; legal@prlegal.rs;