EU Regulations: Food Product Label Requirements

Interesting News September 30, 2023

The general guidelines, requirements, and obligations governing food information, particularly food labelling, are established by Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011.

It lays out the procedures and means to ensure that consumers have access to information about food while also considering the need for sufficient flexibility to respond to upcoming developments and new information requirements.
According to EU regulations, the following information is mandatory on food packaging labels. This is specified for pre packaged

Name of the food
List of ingredients, including additives
Net quantity of the food
Date of minimum durability (best before or use by date)
Any special storage conditions or conditions of use
The owner of the food business’s name or business name and address
Country of origin or place of provenance (if required by law or if the absence of the information might mislead the consumer)
Instructions for use (if necessary)
Nutritional information (energy value, fat (saturated and unsaturated fat), carbohydrates, sugars, protein, and salt)

In addition to these mandatory requirements, a food product label may include voluntary information, such as logos, quality marks, and health and nutrition claims, as long as they comply with EU regulations.

For non packaged food, information about potential allergens must be mentioned. Non-prepacked food consists of those intended for sale to mass caterers.

To conclude, the EU has laid regulations for information on food products to protect consumer health, which must be followed by the food industries [1].