Food labels enable consumers to make informed choices about
their foods. To ensure consumer protection, labels must not be
inaccurate, mislead or make false claims. All food businesses
must comply with the food labelling laws, which are enforced in the
City of London by Environmental Health Officers in the Food Safety
Team.
Basic information is required by law to appear on labels of most
prepacked foods and includes the following:
- The name of the food, so that we know what we are buying. This
should be sufficiently precise to inform the purchaser of the true
nature of the food. It may be necessary to add a qualifying
statement to clarify the name, for example “Vegetable Samosa – a
spicy vegetable filled pastry parcel”.
- The weight or volume of the food. The "e" symbol next to the
weight of the food gives an average weight. Individual weight or
volume will vary but this should only be slightly above or below
the average.
- Name and address of the manufacturer or packer (this can be
anywhere in the world) and/or the seller within the EC. This allows
the product to be traced and it enables us to contact the
manufacturer if necessary.
- A date marking for the food. There are two types of date
marking:
- "Use by" followed by the day and month, or, day,
month and year for perishable foods which usually need to be kept
cold to maintain safety – for example cooked meats or diary
products. The use by date is the date until which the manufacturer
of the food guarantees it is safe to eat.
Food which is consumed beyond the use by date may cause harm. It
is an offence to sell or even display food beyond its use-by
date.
- "Best before" dates are used on foods
which can be kept longer. The best before date is the date until
which the food will be at its intended quality. After this date the
quality may not be of the same standard but this does not mean that
the food is dangerous. It is not against the law to sell food after
this date unless it has become of unacceptable
quality.
- The list of ingredients, which must show all the
ingredients of the food. The list must be headed by the word
“ingredients” (or a phrase including that word) and be listed in
descending order of weight. This allows the consumer to find out
what is in a product and also helps them to avoid things that they
don’t like or can not eat due to allergies, health or religious
reasons.
Prepacked foods are required by law to be labelled
with the quantity of ingredients which are given special emphasis
on the label of the product or the name of the food. This is often
given as a percentage and can be given in the name of the food or
within the list of ingredients.
Certain categories of
ingredients, such as additives, must be identified by the category
name, for example, “Preservative”, and then identified by the
specific (chemical) name or E number for example “sodium nitrate”
or “E250”
- A lot mark must be given in order that batches of the food can
be identified. This must be a unique code, prefixed by the letter
"L" if it cannot be easily differentiated from other codes on the
label. The date mark can be used as the lot mark if it is given in
the form “day, month”.
- The place of origin must be given if, by not giving it,
the consumer may be mislead. Eg, if we buy Dublin Bay prawns
then they must come from Dublin. If they were not from Dublin the
label would have to say where they had come from.
- "Instructions for use" are required if it would be dangerous
or difficult to use the food without them e.g. how to make a
cake from a cake mix.
- Any special storage conditions must be described, for example
the storage temperature for perishable foods.
- The presence of any ingredients that are allergens must be
clearly stated on the labelling. Eg milk, certain nuts,
soybeans. They can be stated in the name of the food or identified
by wording such as “This food contains the following allergens”.
For the full list of allergens contact the Food Safety team or
visit the
Food Standards Agency website.
This labelling information must be clearly legible, indelible,
conspicuous and easy to understand. The name of the food, date
mark, weight or quantity and alcohol strength by volume (if
required) must all be in the same field of vision. The field of
vision is the amount of visible label you can see when looking at
the food.
In addition to English other languages may be included on the
label. It is illegal to sell food with a label that does not
include an English translation.
Labelling claims
Some claims are prohibited. Claims that a food can prevent,
treat or cure diseases or other “adverse conditions” are
prohibited.
Misleading claims or pictures are not allowed. For example a
picture of a strawberry on a strawberry flavoured drink would not
be allowed unless the flavouring was made mainly or wholly from
real strawberries.
Nutritional claims, such as “rich in vitamins” can be used, but
only if the food meets set compositional standards. If a
nutritional claim is made then the labelling must give all the
nutritional information given in the form laid out in the Food
Labelling Regulations 1996. If no nutritional claim is being made
then there is no requirement to give the nutritional information,
although a lot of manufacturers do for the benefit of the
consumer.
Further help
Further labelling advice is available on the Food Standards
Agency website:
www.eatwell.gov.uk/foodlabels
www.food.gov.uk/foodindustry/guidancenotes
If you have an enquiry or concern about the sale and labelling
of food then please contact the Food Safety Team.
Tel 020 7332 3630
Fax 020 7332 1623
or by
email.