Food Labelling
Food Information to Consumers (FIC) Regulation
Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 on the
provision of food
information to consumers (FIC) establishes the general principles, requirements
and
responsibilities governing food information and, in particular, food labelling.
The requirement for
small producers to comply is the same as for much larger companies
It introduced a number of new requirements including:
- a minimum font size for mandatory information
- mandatory back-of-pack nutrition labelling
- an extension to the rules for the origin labelling for fresh meat of pork, lamb
and poultry
- a clearer indication of allergens in the ingredient list and allergens
information to be provide for non-prepacked foods.
In general the new rules came into force on 13 December 2014. However, the
obligation to
provide nutrition information applied from 13 December 2016 for
manufacturers
who have yet to introduce nutrition labelling on their products.
Who does the FIC Regulation apply to?
The Regulation applies to all stages of the food chain where the activities of
the food business concern the provision of food information to consumers. It
applies to all foods intended for the final consumer, including foods delivered
by mass caterers, food intended for supply to mass caterers and food old online
(i.e distance
selling).
Nutrition Labelling
The Department of Health has published new guidance explaining the
nutrition-related requirements under the Food Information to Consumers (FIC)
Regulation: mandatory "back of pack" nutrition labelling and voluntary "front
of pack" nutrition
labelling.
View guidance
Allergen Labelling Guidance
In partnership with FDF, BRC has produced guidance on compliance allergen
labelling
requirements of the Food Information to Consumers
Regulation in 2013, with accompanying addendum.
View
guidance
View
addendum
With a specific focus on the labelling of prepackaged foods that use
gluten-containing cereals (i.e. wheat, barley etc.) and those that declare
gluten-free claims,
FDF has also produced
guidance on
gluten labelling which has been endorsed by Coeliac UK, Anaphylaxis Campaign
and the
British Retail Consortium.
Gluten
Labelling Best Practice: How To Label Pre-Packed Foods Which Include
Cereals Containing Gluten
FDF and the British Retail Consortium has also produced joint industry guidance
for
manufacturers and caterers on the appropriate use of "free-from" claims in
relation to food
allergens. The guidance contains a foreword from the FSA and has been endorsed
by Anaphylaxis
Campaign and Coeliac UK.
View
guidance
The Food Standards Agency has also produced guidance documents on allergen
labelling,
specifically for small and medium businesses.
Nutrition and Health Claims
Regulation (EC) 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims came into force on 19
January 2007 and applied from 1 July 2007. It seeks to protect consumers from
misleading or false claims. It also makes it easier for manufacturers to
identify
nutrition and health claims that can be used on any specific food product.
The Department of Health has developed guidance, which gives regulatory and best
practice advice and is designed to help food business operators, and others
choosing to use claims about foods in a commercial context, comply with the
Regulation.
Department
of Health Guidance on Nutrition and Health Claims
What does Regulation 1924/2006 apply to?
Voluntary nutrition or health claims must comply with the requirements of the
Regulation. A nutrition claim is a claim that states, suggests or implies that
a
food has beneficial nutritional properties, such as “low fat” or
“high in
fibre”.
A health claim is any claim which states suggests or implies that health
benefits can result from consuming a given food, such as “helps build
strong
bones”,
“helps maintain normal blood cholesterol levels”. The Regulation
also controls
general references to overall health and well-being, such as
“healthy” or
“superfood”. Regulation 1924/2006 applies to claims made in
commercial
communications,
including labels, leaflets, menus, adverts and websites.
What does Regulation 1924/2006 require?
The Regulation requires that nutrition and health claims made on foods are
authorised before being used in Europe; the EU register of authorised claims is
on
the European Commission's website. Other key requirements of the Regulation are
that:
- Claims must comply with the general rules which include not being false,
ambiguous or misleading; not encouraging or condoning excess consumption of a
food; and
not implying that a balanced diet cannot provide necessary nutrients.
- If a claim is made it is it obligatory to provide nutrition labelling in most
cases.
- Only nutrition claims in the EU Register can be made and only if a product
meets with the specific conditions of use for that claim. For example,
“low
fat” can
only be made on a product containing no more than 3g of fat / 100g (for a
solid)
or no more than 1.5g fat / 100ml (for a liquid).
- Health claims must be authorised and included in the list of authorised health
claims in the EU Register before they can be used.
- Health claims which suggest that health could be affected by not consuming a
food cannot be made.
- Health claims which make reference to the rate or amount of weight loss cannot
be made.
- Health claims which make reference to recommendations of individual doctors or
health professionals cannot be made on food.
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FDF has collated information on the following topics:
Food Safety and
Hygiene
Food Labelling
Food Authenticity
Reformulation
Advertising and
Marketing
Workplace Health
Guidance on other topics coming soon