Ukraine Extends Foreign-Language Labels on Imported Packaged Food to 1 April 2027

Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers is proposing amendments to food and feed labelling regulations while also establishing maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination standards.

Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers will let importers sell packaged foreign food without Ukrainian text on the pack until 1 April 2027.

The change comes in Cabinet Resolution No. 1167 of Sept. 23, 2026, which took effect on Sept. 26, 2026¹. It amends Resolution No. 980 of July 29, 2026, the decision that ended Ukraine’s wartime labelling exemptions².

In short, a shipment of packaged food with a label only in a foreign language can still enter Ukraine and be sold until 1 April 2027. But the full required product details must travel with the goods in Ukrainian, and shoppers must be able to read them before they buy³.

This is a later step of a measure the site has already reported. Resolution No. 980 was due to restore full labelling rules on 1 October 2026. Resolution No. 1167 now gives packaged imported food a transition period of six more months, under new conditions.

What did Resolution No. 980 set for food labels?

In March 2022, early in the full-scale war, the government relaxed several food and feed labelling rules⁴. Producers could change a recipe without updating the pack right away. Importers could bring in goods labelled only in a foreign language. Relocated factories could use leftover packaging from other producers⁴.

Resolution No. 980, adopted on July 29, 2026, ended these exemptions⁴. It cancelled two 2022 Cabinet resolutions, No. 186 and No. 234, from 1 October 2026⁴. From that date, producers and importers had to follow in full the Law of Ukraine "On information for consumers about food products" and the Law "On the safety and hygiene of feed"⁴.

The Ministry of Economy and Environment listed what this meant⁴:

• Labels must match the product. A change in recipe, nutrition values or allergens must appear on the label.
• Foreign-only labels are not allowed. Imported food and feed with labels that break the law, including labels only in a foreign language, may not be sold.
• No borrowed packaging. Relocated factories may no longer use leftover packaging from other producers.

The ministry also said that goods labelled under the old simplified rules could stay on sale until their shelf life ends⁴. For food, that is the minimum durability date or the "use by" date. For feed, it is the end of the minimum storage period⁴.

Why did the Cabinet delay the end of the exemption?

In July, the ministry said the market had adapted and supply chains had become stable⁴. Deputy Minister of Economy Denys Bashlyk said shoppers must receive accurate information in Ukrainian on the content, properties and safety of products⁴. The ministry also linked the return to full rules to Ukraine’s duties under its Association Agreement with the European Union⁴.

The new resolution keeps that goal but softens the timing for imports. According to the Diia.Business government portal, the changes aim to balance two things³. One is the shopper’s right to information in Ukrainian. The other is to avoid blocking food imports and sales while martial law lasts³.

What changes for imported packaged food until 1 April 2027?

Under Resolution No. 1167, until 1 April 2027 packaged imported food may be brought into Ukraine’s customs territory, put on the market and sold³. This applies even when the required information on the pack or label is in a language other than Ukrainian³.

The State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, the country’s food safety regulator, reported the change³. The relief covers packaged imported food. The Diia.Business notice does not extend it to food made in Ukraine.

For an importer, this means a pallet of foreign-labelled packaged food is not stopped only because the pack lacks Ukrainian text. The importer must instead make sure the Ukrainian information exists and moves with the goods.

What conditions must an imported shipment meet?

The simplified rules come with firm conditions. Every batch of packaged imported food must carry full required information in Ukrainian at every stage of the food chain³. That information can be in paper or electronic papers that go with the goods³.

The Ukrainian text must meet the Law of Ukraine "On information for consumers about food products"³. In practice, that is the same set of details a full Ukrainian label would carry. The July ministry notice named recipe, nutrition values and allergens among them⁴.

The seller must also give the shopper free access to the Ukrainian information before the purchase³. The portal lists several ways to do this³:

• At the point of sale, displayed directly in the shop.
• Through a QR code, a square barcode a phone can read, on the price tag or the shelf.
• On an electronic price tag or an information screen in the shop.
• On the seller’s website or mobile app.
• In print or another form the shopper can use.

The portal states the point plainly. A pack without Ukrainian text does not free the seller from the duty to give shoppers the legally required information in Ukrainian³.

How does the rule apply to online sales?

Food sold at a distance, for example through online shops, follows the same principle. The required information in Ukrainian must be available to the buyer before the purchase is made³.

An online seller of imported snacks or sauces therefore needs Ukrainian product details on the product page or at the checkout. A Ukrainian description added only after payment would not meet the rule.

What happens to stock after 1 April 2027?

Goods put on the market under the transition rules will not have to be pulled from shelves on 1 April 2027. They can stay on sale until the end of their minimum durability date or "use by" date³.

This matters for importers with long-life goods such as canned food or dry goods. Stock placed on the market before the deadline can keep selling after it, within its shelf life. New stock put on the market after 1 April 2027 would need to meet the full labelling law, since the transition period ends that day.

Which humanitarian food keeps foreign labels?

Resolution No. 1167 also keeps simpler language rules for some special foods sent as aid³. These are foods for special medical purposes and baby food, brought into Ukraine by charities and international organisations as humanitarian aid³.

While martial law lasts, these goods may enter with labels in a language other than Ukrainian³. Customs clearance, recognition as aid and later distribution follow Ukraine’s procedure for passing and recording humanitarian aid³. The goods can be used in Ukraine until their minimum durability date or "use by" date³.

The portal names the people these foods serve³. They include seriously ill children and patients with cancer, rare and nerve diseases. They also include people recovering from complex surgery and injuries, patients in intensive care, and wounded soldiers and civilians³.

Who is affected by the Resolution No. 1167 delay?

Several groups feel the change in different ways:

• Food exporters abroad can keep shipping packs printed for other markets until 1 April 2027, provided Ukrainian details go with each batch.
• Importers and distributors must prepare full Ukrainian product information and pass it along the food chain, on paper or electronically.
• Shops and online sellers must show that information to shoppers before they buy, for example by QR code or on a website.
• Charities and aid groups keep a separate route for medical and baby foods for as long as martial law lasts.

Domestic producers do not gain from this relief, according to the Diia.Business notice, which covers imported food only³. Their packs must already meet the full rules restored by Resolution No. 980.

When do the new dates apply?

The key dates are set out in the two Cabinet decisions. The Cabinet adopted Resolution No. 980 on July 29, 2026². It adopted Resolution No. 1167 on Sept. 23, 2026, and that decision took effect on Sept. 26, 2026¹. The official legislation database shows a new version of Resolution No. 980 dated Sept. 26, 2026, based on Resolution No. 1167. The same entry shows Resolution No. 980 in force from Oct. 1, 2026².

Before the decision, the Ministry of Health had published a draft resolution amending Resolution No. 980⁵. The final text was adopted as Resolution No. 1167¹.

Key points on Ukraine’s imported food labels

The table below sums up the change.

From 1 April 2027, packaged imported food newly put on Ukraine’s market will need full labelling under the consumer information law. Until then, a foreign-labelled shipment can enter and sell, but only with complete Ukrainian product information travelling with it.

Sources

1. ↩ Про внесення змін до постанови … | від 23.09.2026 № 1167 https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1167-2026-%D0%BF
2. ↩ Про визнання такими, що втратили… | від 29.07.2026 № 980 https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/go/980-2026-%D0%BF
3. ↩ Уряд продовжив перехідні правила маркування імпортованих харчових продуктів до 1 квітня 2027 року https://business.diia.gov.ua/news/kmu-prodovzhyv-perekhidni-pravyla-markuvannia-importovanykh-kharchovykh-produktiv-do-1-kvitnia-2027-roku
4. ↩ З 1 жовтня виробники та імпортери повертаються до стандартних правил маркування харчових продуктів і кормів | Міністерство економіки та довкілля України https://me.gov.ua/News/Detail/59356bbe-7b96-4d4d-8549-8121af3c56d6
5. ↩ 1_Проект-постанови.pdf https://moz.gov.ua/storage/uploads/dac2b92d-c618-4fd6-b390-d57730140aae/1_%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%82-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8.pdf