Labelling_ENGLISH.pdf

General Labelling

of Pre-Packaged Food

General Labelling

of Pre-Packaged Food

Published by:

Food Safety Authority of Ireland

Abbey Court

Lower Abbey Street

Dublin 1

Advice Line: 1890 33 66 77

Tel: 01 817 1300

Fax: 01 817 1301

Email: info@fsai.ie

Website:www.fsai.ie

This booklet outlines the labelling requirements under the general labelling rules.

GENERAL LABELLING OF PRE-PACKAGED FOOD

Introduction

The aim of food labelling is to provide consumers with key information on

the properties of pre-packaged food. The fundamental rule of labelling is that

consumers must not be misled. Detailed labelling informs consumers as to

the exact nature and characteristics of the foodstuff and enables them to

make an informed choice when purchasing food.

There are two main pieces of legislation, one at European level and one at National level that

control the general labelling, packaging and advertising of foodstuffs (please see legislation list at

the end of this booklet).

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS OF FOOD LABELLING

• Must be clear and accurate

and not mislead

The information on the label must be clear

and unambiguous and must not be such as

it could mislead the consumer to a material

degree.

In addition, the labelling must not attribute

to any foodstuff, the property of preventing,

treating or curing a human disease or refer

to such properties.

• Must be legible and easy

to understand

The information provided on the label must

be easy to understand, be clearly legible, it

must also be indelible, easy

to see and not obscured in any way.

• Must be in English or Irish

and English

The labelling of food in Ireland must be in

English. The food may be labelled in both

Irish and English, but it is not sufficient to

label a food only in Irish or any other

language.

In addition to the general labelling

requirements, many products have specific extra

labelling requirements, please consult the Food

Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) report, ‘The

Labelling of Food in Ireland 2007’ for more

detail.

FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY OF IRELAND

COMPULSORY LABELLING

REQUIREMENTS

The following mandatory information must

appear on the packaging of the pre-packaged

foodstuff or on a label attached:

It should be noted that for every rule there are

exceptions and exemptions. For more details,

please refer to the FSAI’s report, ‘The Labelling

of Food in Ireland 2007’ and the relevant

legislation.

1. name under which the product is sold*

2. list of ingredients and declaration of

allergens

3. quantity of certain ingredients

4. net quantity*

5. date of minimum durability*

6. any special storage instructions or

conditions of use

7. name or business name and address

of the manufacturer or packager, or

of a seller within the European Union

8. place of origin of the foodstuff if its

absence might mislead the consumer

9. instructions for use where necessary

10. beverages with more than 1.2% alcohol

by volume must declare their actual

alcoholic strength.*

1. Name Under Which the Product

is Sold

The name of a food must be stated in order to

inform the purchaser of the true nature of the

product. When a food product has a legal

name, then it must be used. A legal name is the

name specified in legislation for a product

meeting particular specifications. For example,

‘milk chocolate’ must have a certain

compositional content, e.g. not less than 25%

total dry cocoa solids.

When a legal name does not exist, a customary

name may be used, i.e. a name that has come

to be accepted by consumers without needing

further explanation such as “fish fingers”,

“spaghetti” and “muesli”. In certain

circumstances, in order to avoid confusion, a

description may be required to indicate the true

nature of the product and to distinguish it from

other foods.

* Field of Vision: "The name of the foodstuff, the date

of minimum durability and the net quantity must

appear on the label "in the same field of vision". If the

product is an alcoholic beverage with greater than

1.2% alcohol by volume, its actual alcoholic strength

by volume must also appear in this field of vision. The

intention is that all the information can easily be seen

at the same time under normal purchasing conditions.

The use of a brand name, sales name, fancy

name or trademark is permitted in addition to

the product’s legal or customary name.

Details of the physical condition of the foodstuff

or processes it has undergone must accompany

the name of the food such as powdered, freeze-

dried, deep-frozen, frozen, concentrated,

sterilised and smoked.

GENERAL LABELLING OF PRE-PACKAGED FOOD

2. List of Ingredients

A list of ingredients is compulsory on all

products, with the exception of cheese, butter,

beverages which contain more than 1.2%

volume of alcohol, carbonated water and ‘one

ingredient’ products, e.g. milk, salt.

Additives performing technological functions in

the final food must be declared in the list of

ingredients such that the name of the category

of additive is followed by the specific name of

the additive or its E number, e.g. sulphur dioxide

is a preservative commonly used in sausages and

must be declared in the list of ingredients as:

“Preservative: Sulphur Dioxide” or “Preservative:

E220” (see example below).

The list must start with a heading that includes

the word “ingredients” and must indicate all the

ingredients in descending order of weight as

recorded during the manufacture of the food.

Ingredients of a compound ingredient must be

declared, for example, the list of ingredients of

pasta bake with tomato sauce must detail the

ingredients of the tomato sauce.

INGREDIENTS

Pork (45%), Salt, Milk Proteins, Soya Protein

Isolate, Spices, Stabiliser: E450, Flavour

Enhancer: E621, Dextrose, Modified Starch,

Colours: E160, E128, Water, Preservative: E223,

Hydrolysed Vegetable Protein, Wheat

Flour, Margarine (with Emulsifier E471,

Flavouring), Antioxidants: E301, E331, Herbs.

The name of the ingredients must be specific

enough to accurately describe the ingredient

and for consumers to identify potential

allergens, for example, where the ingredient

‘starch’ (or modified starch) originates from a

source that contains gluten, the cereal origin of

the starch must always be given in the list of

ingredients, e.g. wheat starch (see page 6 for

more information on labelling of allergens).

This helps consumers identify the presence or

absence of particular additives in a food.

Quinine and caffeine are flavourings which may

cause hypersensitivity or temporary behavioural

changes and they must be declared in the list of

ingredients, e.g. “flavouring: quinine”. Presently,

labelling rules do not require the specific naming

of other flavourings in ingredient lists.

Products containing meat as an ingredient, such

as ready meals and sausages, must declare the

animal species from which the meat is derived,

such as ‘bovine meat’ or ‘beef meat’ or simply

‘beef’ in the list of ingredients. The meat

content must, in addition, comply with the

definition as set out in Commission Directive

2001/101/ EC (please refer to Guidance Note

14: The Application of Commission Directive

2001/101/EC as amended by Commission

Directive 2002/86/ EC on the Definition of

Meat).

In addition, drinks other than tea and coffee

which contain caffeine in excess of 150mg/l

must also provide a warning message on the

label, followed by an indication of the caffeine

content such that: ‘High caffeine content

(Xmg/100ml)’.

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