Foodstuffs that are legally on the market in a member state of the European Union may, in principle, be imported into other member states and sold there, even if they do not comply with national regulations. In Germany, the following restriction applies: If your product deviates from the German health protection regulations, you require a general ruling. You can apply for this from the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL).
In your application, you must describe your product and state how it deviates from the regulations. The BVL can only issue general rulings for products that are harmless to health. The BVL checks this point with the help of your proof of the product's recipe. The BVL also takes into account scientific assessments by other authorities, for example the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment.
General rulings issued by the BVL apply not only to the individual product in question, but also to all products with the same recipe that are imported from the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). A general ruling must therefore only ever be applied for by the company that first wishes to import the product in question into Germany. General rulings are published in the Federal Gazette.