Food labelling in Croatia: what must the pack show?
CoLabel Team3 min readLast checked
Short answer
All mandatory information must appear in Croatian. That includes allergens, the manufacturer's details and, for imports, the importer's full address. Croatia also has its own date format, a deposit mark on single-use beverage containers, and packaging registration duties.
Key facts
- What
- Mandatory food particulars in Croatian, Croatian allergen wording, producer and importer addresses, local date and number format, deposit mark, GMO labelling
- Applies to
- Food and beverage products placed on the Croatian market
- Since
- Deposit-return system introduced in 2023; RPPO registration mandatory from January 2025
Contents
What the law requires
Language. Product name, net quantity, ingredients, allergens, nutrition declaration, best-before date, manufacturer details and importer address must all be in Croatian. See Reg (EU) 1169/2011, Art. 15 and Croatian Food Act NN 81/13, Section 12.5 (Narodne novine). Croatian uses Latin script with the characters č, ć, đ, š and ž. Stick-on translation stickers over foreign labels are allowed if they fully meet Croatian requirements.
Allergens. Allergen information must be in Croatian. This is stricter than the general EU rule. It applies even if other mandatory information appears in another EU language for operational reasons. Basis: Reg (EU) 1169/2011, Art. 21 and the Croatian enforcement position (State Inspectorate).
Producer and importer. The full address of both must appear on the label in Croatian (Food Act NN 81/13, Section 12.5).
Dates and numbers. Croatia uses DD.MM.YYYY. with a trailing period, for example 25.02.2026. Best-before reads "Najbolje upotrijebiti do". Use-by reads "Upotrijebiti do". The decimal separator is a comma and the thousands separator is a full stop, for example 3,5 g and 1.000 g (HAH).
Added water. If added water is more than 5% of the finished product, list it in the ingredients in its weight order (Reg (EU) 1169/2011, Art. 18(4)(b), Annex VII).
GMO. Products with more than 0.9% of an approved GM event must be labelled as GMO (Reg (EC) 1829/2003). The Croatian State Inspectorate tests products on the market under national risk-assessment plans.
Animal-origin products. Meat, dairy, fish and eggs carry the oval health mark. It shows the country code, the establishment number and "EC" or "CE", and must stay legible and indelible (Reg (EC) 853/2004, Annex II, Section I).
Packaging. Single-use beverage containers fall under a mandatory deposit-return system, introduced in 2023. Applicable packaging must carry the deposit label (povratna naknada mark). Producers must also register in the RPPO system and submit monthly reports of packaging placed on the market. Registration has been mandatory since January 2025. Foreign companies without a Croatian presence must appoint an Authorised Representative. Both schemes run through FZOEU under Ordinance NN 137/2023.
What to change on your label
- Translate every mandatory particular into Croatian, not just the ingredients. Check that your files use Unicode so the diacritics print correctly.
- Keep the allergen declaration in Croatian even if the rest of the label is multilingual.
- For imports, add your Croatian importer's full name and address. A sticker works if it is permanently affixed and does not cover any required particular.
- Set date and number formats to the Croatian convention, with the trailing period after the year and a comma as decimal separator.
- Check whether your container type and volume fall within the deposit scheme before you finalise artwork.
- Have your GMO status documentation ready before launch.
Working across markets? Compare with food labelling in Germany and juice labelling in Slovenia. Supplement brands should read dietary supplement labelling in Croatia.
Brands like Juicefast, which makes detox juices, keep every label version in one place with CoLabel's label storage and version control.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Stick-on translation stickers over foreign labels are permitted if they fully meet Croatian requirements. An importer address sticker must be permanently affixed and must not obscure other required particulars.
No. Allergen declarations must always be in Croatian, even when other mandatory information appears in another EU language.
Write it as DD.MM.YYYY. with a trailing period, for example 25.02.2026. Use the phrase "Najbolje upotrijebiti do". For use-by, write "Upotrijebiti do".