Food Labelling and Composition
Trading Standards enforce legislation concerning food
standards – composition and labelling. Food safety and hygiene is
the responsibility of the Food
Safety Team
What we do:
• Respond
to consumer complaints
• Provide
advice to businesses, including manufacturers,
importers and retailers
• Carry out routine inspections of food premises
• Undertake food sampling for submission to the Public
Analyst.
The main labelling requirements are set out by the
Food Labelling Regulations 1996 although other
regulations apply to specific types of foods.
What labelling is required?
The labelling requirements are complex, and vary from product to
product. There are certain basic requirements for all pre-packaged
food labels. They are as follows:
• a food name - this should be the one
that is required by law or a customary name - if neither of these
apply, the name must be sufficiently precise to inform a purchaser
of the food's true nature, and distinguish it from products with
which it could be confused - (note: a brand name or fancy name can
still be used provided it is not substituted for the proper
name)
• a list of ingredients, in descending order, by
weight.
• a percentage quantity indication for
certain ingredients or categories of ingredients (also known as a
'QUID' declaration)
• a 'use by', 'best
before' or 'best before end' date, or possibly a lot
or batch number
• any special storage or use
conditions
• the name and address of the
manufacturer, packer, seller or importer
• place of origin, if its omission
could mislead
• any instructions that are necessary
to use the food
The above is a brief summary of the requirements. There are
specific rules about the details of each of these indications, and
the manner in which they are presented, which also need to be
followed. For example:
• should the product contain any
additives (such as colours or preservatives), its name or 'E'
number must be preceded by the category name of the additive in the
ingredients list
• certain information, such as the
name, quantity declaration and date marking, must be in the same
field of vision on a label - all the information must be clearly
legible and the name must not be interrupted by other words or
pictures
Allergenic Ingredients
Allergenic ingredients or ingredients originating from
allergenic ingredients that do not specifically appear in the name
of the food must be marked or labelled with a clear reference to
the name of the allergenic ingredient. This also applies to
alcoholic drink, which has an alcoholic strength by volume of more
than 1.2 per cent.
The presence of any allergenic ingredient must be indicated by
marking or labelling the drink with the word "contains" followed by
the name of the allergenic ingredient. This applies to pre packed
foods only.
What Allergenic Ingredients are specified?
• The following cereals containing
gluten: wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut and their hybridised
strains
• Crustaceans
• Eggs
• Fish
• Peanuts (groundnuts)
• Soybeans
• Milk
• The following nuts: Almond, Hazelnut, Walnut, Cashew, Pecan
nut, Brazil nut Pistachio nut, Macadamia nut and Queensland
nut
• Celery
• Mustard
• Sesame seeds
• Sulphur dioxide and sulphites at concentrations of more than
10 mg/kg or 10 mg/litre expressed as SO2"
For further information - Allergy
Information
Other labelling information
Specific additional information must be included on the label if
it applies to the food. For example:
• alcoholic drinks need to declare
their strength (percentage - volume)
• food or ingredients that have been
irradiated must be declared and labelled 'irradiated' or 'treated
with ionising radiation'
• food or ingredients which contain,
consist of, or are produced from genetically modified organisms are
subject to special labelling requirements. For further
information - GM
Information
• raw milk that has not been
heat-treated is required to be marked with a warning
• if food has had its shelf life
increased by being packaged in certain gases, it must be marked
'packaged in a protective atmosphere'
• foods which contain sweeteners, both
sweeteners and sugar, aspartame or polyols are required to have
specific labelling declarations alongside the food name
• products consisting of skimmed milk
together with non-milk fat, which are not specifically formulated
for babies and young children, must be labelled with a warning that
the product is not suitable for feeding babies
Labelling claims:
• there are special rules concerning
the labelling of food as 'organic'
• there are
guidelines to be followed when words such as
'natural' are used
• there are guidelines to be considered
concerning descriptions of foods as suitable for vegetarians or
vegans
• there are special considerations
relating to the use of illustrations
if a food makes a claim regarding any of the following; slimming,
extra vitamins or minerals, low nutrient content etc, specific
compositional requirements as well as compulsory nutritional
labelling is triggered
Nutritional Labelling
There is no requirement for foods to include nutritional
labelling at present, unless there are any claims made in the
labelling or presentation regarding nutritional content, vitamin or
mineral content or claims made regarding slimming or diet
properties.
Any nutritional information provided must be in one of two
prescribed formats:
Either:
Per 100g or per 100ml:
Energy - kcal/kJ
Protein - g
Carbohydrate - g
Fat – g
or
Per 100g or per 100ml:
Energy - kcal/kJ
Protein - g
Carbohydrate - g
of which sugars - g
Fat - g
of which saturates - g
Fibre - g
Sodium - g
Supplementary information may be provided in the form of ‘per
specified serving or pack size’.
Use By and Best Before Dates
Use by dates are generally found on foods which are perishable
and may pose a risk to health if consumed after the use by date,
such as dairy products and cooked meats. Normally products with a
use by date should be stored in a fridge.
It is illegal to sell foods after its use by
date.
Best before dates are generally found on foods which have a
longer shelf life, such as dried, canned and frozen foods. These
types of food are generally okay to eat after the best before date,
but there may be some deterioration in quality.
It is not illegal to sell food after its best before
date.
Other information such as ‘Sell By’ or ‘Display Until’ are
indications for retailers and have no legal standing.
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Ingredients
The ingredients of a food must in general be listed in
descending order by weight. There are various rules and exemptions
but usually the name used for the ingredient should be the same as
the name that would be used if the ingredient was sold as a food on
its own.
Sometimes the ingredient can be given a generic name. This is a
general family name for that ingredient. Some examples of generic
names are “fish” or “herbs”. Fish can be used in most cases,
although herbs can only be used when there is no more than 2 % herb
in the food. Every permitted generic name has its own restrictions
on use. One common word that cannot be used as a generic name on an
ingredients list is “meat”, the actual species of meat must be
listed.
Additives must usually be listed by category name and specific name
or serial number.
Compound ingredients must be followed by a full list of
constituent ingredients, listed in descending order by weight. Some
compound ingredients, e.g. wine, do not require a list of
ingredients when sold on their own and so need no list when used as
an ingredient.
Water as an ingredient normally requires declaration in the
ingredients list. There are exemptions, for example when it is
there solely to reconstitute other previously concentrated or
dehydrated ingredients, or if it is there as a medium not to be
consumed e.g. carrots in brine, or represents less than 5% of the
finished product.
Foreign labelled products must be re-labelled in English. However
non-EU products should also be submitted for analysis before being
marketed in the UK. It is quite possible for non-EU production of
even common brand names to contain additives which are illegal, or
are used at levels which are illegal, in the EU.
For further information go to the Food Standards
Agency
QUID - Quantitative Ingredients Declaration
A QUID declaration is the quantity of an ingredient or
ingredients as a percentage of the overall product. The values are
generally calculated at the preparation, or ‘mixing bowl’ stage. It
is required where an ingredient or ingredients are in the name of
the food, shown on the food label in words or pictures, or would be
expected by consumers.
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