BackToMe is the compliance infrastructure for the withdrawal right (a European obligation, Directive (EU) 2023/2673, in force since 19 June 2026; in Ireland, enforced by the CCPC under the Consumer Rights Act 2022). Installed with a single line of code, it receives the customer's request, sends them an acknowledgement of receipt by email that they keep, and archives it dated and impossible to alter afterwards for 5 years. Installing the button covers what the law requires and provides solid proof for every request.

Are food products subject to the withdrawal right?

Yes for dry grocery and non-perishable products (tinned goods, coffee, pasta, wine, spices) as long as they are sealed: the customer has 14 days to withdraw. Only goods that perish quickly and sealed goods unsealed for reasons of hygiene fall outside the right. The fact that a product is food is not, on its own, enough to exclude withdrawal.

Are wine and spirits returnable?

Yes as a general rule: a sealed, non-perishable bottle of wine or spirits, returned intact within 14 days, must be refunded. It falls under neither the perishable-goods exception nor the hygiene seal. A very specific exception exists for certain goods whose price depends on market fluctuations that the trader cannot control, but it does not cover the ordinary online sale of wine.

Are food supplements concerned?

A sealed food supplement returned unopened remains returnable. However, if it carries a hygiene seal (foil, security film) and the customer has unsealed it after delivery, the sealed-goods exception under Directive 2011/83/EU (art. 16) may apply, provided the customer was informed before purchase that opening it would cause them to lose the withdrawal right.

Are food boxes or subscriptions concerned?

Yes: a gourmet box or a subscription sold at a distance to a consumer gives rise to a 14-day withdrawal right on the subscription. Take care to distinguish withdrawal (cancelling within 14 days of subscribing) from cancellation (ending an ongoing subscription). Perishable goods contained in a box, for their part, follow the perishable-goods exception.

Food and perishable sector

Withdrawal button for food and perishable goods

Q: When does the perishable-goods exception apply?

Directive 2011/83/EU (art. 16) removes the withdrawal right for goods liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly: fresh produce, fruit and vegetables, fresh meat and fish, fresh patisserie, cut flowers. The interpretation is strict: a long-life product (tinned goods, honey, coffee, wine) is not a perishable good within the meaning of the text and remains returnable.

Last reviewed on July 22, 2026

Do you sell food online to consumers? Since 19 June 2026, a withdrawal button is mandatory. Fine grocery, wine, coffee, supplements, fresh produce, hampers: food mixes fully returnable products with two precise exceptions, perishable goods and sealed goods. Here is how to sort them under the withdrawal right, without wrongly refusing a refund.

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The general rule: dry grocery is returnable

Tinned goods, coffee, tea, pasta, spices, honey, chocolate, sealed wine: these are long-life goods. The customer has 14 days from delivery to withdraw and obtain a refund, without having to give a reason, as long as the product is returned sealed and intact.

The common mistake is to invoke « it's food » to refuse any return. It is not the food nature that excludes withdrawal, it is two precise situations: the good that perishes quickly, and the good sealed for hygiene that the customer has opened.

Refusing a return of sealed dry goods on the grounds that they are food is a wrongful refusal, exactly the kind of practice the national regulator penalises (in Ireland, the CCPC). Start from the assumption that the product is returnable, then check whether an exception really applies.

The two exceptions to know

These exceptions are harmonised at European level (Directive 2011/83/EU, art. 16) and transposed in each of the 27 EU member states.

Perishable goods (Directive 2011/83/EU, art. 16)

Goods liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly are excluded: fresh produce, fruit and vegetables, fresh meat and fish, fresh patisserie, cut flowers. The interpretation is strict: a long-life product does not fall into this category, even when sold by a grocer.

Goods sealed for hygiene (Directive 2011/83/EU, art. 16)

A product sealed for reasons of health or hygiene, unsealed by the customer after delivery, is no longer returnable, provided the customer was informed before purchase. The typical case of food supplements or of certain drinks. As long as the seal is intact, the return remains possible.

The case of mixed hampers

A hamper that mixes dry goods (returnable) and fresh goods (perishable) is treated line by line: the customer can withdraw from the products that are not excluded. It is best to provide for this in your terms and conditions to avoid an all-or-nothing approach, which often turns against the merchant.

The real issue: proving the request and how it was handled

In food, disputes often turn on a fact: did the customer withdraw within 14 days, on which product, and was the exception applicable? On the day of a complaint, what counts is not your word, it is what you can prove.

Beyond the button, you therefore need proof that holds up (before a judge or the regulator) for each request: an acknowledgement of receipt by email that the customer keeps, then a trace that is dated and impossible to alter afterwards, archived for 5 years, verifiable even months after an order of dry goods. That is the subject of our file on the evidential value of the proof of withdrawal. For the detail of the exclusion cases, see also the 13 exceptions to the withdrawal right.

Your sector has its own rules

The withdrawal right applies differently depending on what you sell. See also:

Cosmetics and hygiene: the sealed-products rule.
Fashion and textiles: try-ons, made-to-measure, sealed underwear.
Electronics and high-tech: unsealed media and digital content.
The 13 exceptions to the withdrawal right.

Your sector is concerned: the proof that protects you, set up in five minutes

The withdrawal button is a European obligation (Directive (EU) 2023/2673) since 19 June 2026. BackToMe sets it up, proves every request and applies the law of each EU country. 7-day free trial, 0 € today.

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