Court of Justice (Eighth Chamber) 5 November 2026, C-395/25 (Orkla Care AB v Kemikalieinspektionen.)

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In preliminary ruling proceedings arising from a dispute between Orkla Care AB and the Swedish Chemicals Agency (Kemikalieinspektionen), the Court of Justice (Eighth Chamber) interpreted the first subparagraph of Article 35(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 (CLP Regulation) concerning packaging containing hazardous substances or mixtures supplied to the general public. The Court held that assessing whether packaging resembles foodstuff packaging must be conducted case-by-case on the basis of its overall appearance and objective characteristics in the relevant national market, where temporary safety features not lasting the container's full lifespan are not decisive. The Court further ruled that the term 'consumers' encompasses vulnerable persons and children, that establishing a non-negligible risk of deception suffices without proof of actual confusion, and that neither the hazard category nor the specific exposure risk (such as absence of ingestion hazard) is decisive in determining non-compliance.AI