Food Labelling

1
Food Labelling
2
Introduction

• Information is provided on food packaging to
  help us choose between different foods, brands
  and flavours.
• There is a legal requirement for much of the
  information that is provided.
• As the UK is part of the European Union (EU),
  the laws regarding food labelling are based on EU
  community legislation. This legislation is going
  to be streamlined with changes expected by 2010.

3
Whats on a label?
Name of food
Ingredients
Weight /Volume
Date-mark
Place of origin
Storage / Preparation instructions
Name and address
Nutrition information
4
Name of food

• The name of the food must be clearly stated. Some
  foods have made-up names, which give no
  information about what is in them or how they
  have been processed. In such cases, a description
  of the food must be given so that it is neither
  ambiguous nor misleading.
• If the food has been processed in some way, the
  process must be included in the title, e.g. dried
  apricots, salted peanuts and smoked mackerel.
• The name must also describe the differences
  between apparently similar products. For example,
  a fruit yogurt must be flavoured using real
  fruit, whereas a fruit flavoured yogurt can be
  flavoured using artificial flavourings.

5
Weight or volume

• The weight or volume of the food must be shown
  on the label. Comparing the weight with the price
  of different brands enables consumers to make
  choices on value for money between brands.
• Some foods, such as bread and pasta, are sold
  only in standard amounts. The actual weight of
  the product does not need to be exact, but must
  be within a few grams of the weight stated on the
  label.
• The symbol e is used to show that the weight
  complies with the EU requirement for weight under
  the average system, i.e. the average pack is at
  least the weight declared.
• If the product weighs less than 5g then the
  weight need not be stated.

6
Ingredients

• Ingredients are listed in order of weight,
  according to the amounts that were used to make
  the food, starting with the largest ingredient
  and ending with the smallest.
• All components, including water and food
  additives, must be included in the list if they
  have been added.
• A new European Union (EU) directive has been
  recently implemented in the UK which which
  requires 12 food ingredients - milk, eggs,
  peanuts, nuts from trees (including Brazil nuts,
  hazelnuts, almonds and walnuts), fish,
  crustaceans (including crab and shrimps), soya,
  wheat, celery, mustard, sesame and sulphur
  dioxide to always be clearly labelled.

7
Ingredients

• If an ingredient appears in the name of the
  food, the quantity of the characterising
  ingredients must be declared as a percentage.
  This is required as part of EU labelling law, and
  is known as a Quantitative Ingredient Declaration
  (QUID).
• GM ingredients
• In April 2004 new rules for GM labelling came
  into force within the EU. The presence in foods
  of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or
  ingredients produced from GMOs must be indicated
  on the labels.

8
Name and address

• The name and address of the manufacturer, packer
  or seller must be stated on the label.
• This gives consumers the opportunity to contact
  the manufacturer if they have a complaint about
  the product or if they wish to know more about
  it.

• You might also see health marks on some
  products. These are usually a code number and
  some letters, for example 'UK' and 'EEC', inside
  an oval mark.
• Health marks are used mainly on meat and dairy
  products. They show that the food has been
  produced to the current standards of hygienic
  food production in licensed premises and allow
  food to be traced back to those premises.

9
Place of origin

• The label must display clearly where the food
  has come from if it would be misleading not to
  show it, e.g. a tub of Greek yogurt which was
  made in France.

10
Date mark

• Perishable foods that spoil quickly, such as
  cooked meat and fish, have a use by date. If kept
  for too long these foods can cause food poisoning
  even though they may not taste any different.
• Other foods have a best before date, after which
  foods may not be at their best, with regard to
  flavour, colour and texture, even though they
  will probably be safe to eat if they have been
  stored according to the instructions on the
  labels.

11
Storage/Preparation Instructions

• Information must be provided on how long a
  product is likely to last once it has been bought
  and/or opened, and under what conditions it needs
  to be kept to ensure its freshness.

• When necessary, instructions on how to prepare
  and cook the food must be given on the label. If
  the food has to be heated, the temperature of the
  oven and the cooking time should usually be
  stated. Instructions may also be given for
  heating in a microwave oven.

12
Nutrition information

• Manufacturers are not obliged by law to provide
  nutrition information, unless they make a
  nutrition claim. For those that do provide
  nutrition information, they must provide
• The energy value in kilojoules (kJ) and
  kilocalories (kcal)   The amount of protein,
  carbohydrate and fat in grams (g).
• Unless a claim is made, the amounts of sugars,
  saturates, fibre and sodium can also be
  optionally provided.
• Information must always be given as values per
  100g or per 100ml of food. Values for a portion
  or serving can be given as well, provided that
  the number or size of portions/servings is given.

13
Nutrition information
Further optional information can be added, unless
a claim is made, on the amounts of other
nutrients such as vitamins and minerals (if they
are present in significant amounts). The amount
of vitamins and minerals in a food are given as a
percentage of the Recommended Daily Amount (RDA).
RDAs are estimates of the amount of vitamins
and minerals sufficient to meet or more than meet
the needs of groups of adults rather than
individuals. RDA values are part of EU food law
and reflect the variation in opinion across
Europe. There is only one figure for each
nutrient, derived from figures for adults, rather
than a range of figures that vary with age, sex
and physiological status as exists for UK
Reference Nutrient Intakes or RNIs.
14
Nutrition information
In the UK, some pre-packaged foods also provide
information about guideline daily amounts (GDAs).
GDAs are derived from the Estimated Average
Requirements for energy for men and women aged
between 19-50, of normal weight and fitness
(2500kcal and 2000kcal respectively). GDAs are
intended as guidance to help consumers in their
understanding of their recommended daily
consumption of energy (calories), fat and
saturates and a base against which the content of
individual foods can be compared.
15
(No Transcript)