Algae related regulation & legislation

Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 established a goods nomenclature (‘Combined Nomenclature’ or ‘CN’) to meet, at one and the same time, the requirements of the Common Customs Tariff, the external trade statistics of the Union, and other Union policies concerning the importation or exportation of goods. This nomenclature is sometimes also called Harmonised Nomenclature, and it is regularly harmonised by the WTO; it is largely similar in most states worldwide.

The Combined Nomenclature document is changed yearly, the last version was enforced as Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1926 EURlex]. These documents are huge, and the last HTML version is not present directly in EURlex, but stored here.

Algae are categorised under chapter 12, section 1212 and are categorised as a vegetable.

1212 21 00 Seaweeds and other algae – Fit for human consumption
1212 29 00 Seaweeds and other algae – Other

For the purposes of heading 1212, the term ‘seaweeds and other algae’ does not include:

(a) dead single-cell micro-organisms of heading 2102;
(b) cultures of micro-organisms of heading 3002; or
(c) fertilisers of heading 3101 or 3105.

Seaweeds and other algae prepared or preserved by processes not provided for in Chapter 12, such as cooking, roasting, seasoning or adding sugar, fall in Chapter 20 as preparations of other parts of plants.