Food Labelling June 2003 Food labels are very important tool to allow consumers to buy the foods they like & avoid foods they don’t June 2003

Outline What influences food labels Legislation Practical considerations The future

Influences on food labelling Legislation (UK & EU) Enforcers Consumers Manufacturers & retailers Voluntary recommendations & bodies Media National structures & guidance main piece of legislation in the UK is the FLR 1996 enforcers - LACORS (local co-ordinators of regulatory services) consumers important - information on allergens, suitability for special diets etc certain retailers may require certain information/format voluntary recommendations/bodies e.g. DH eat 5 a day label; National Osteoporosis Society; trade associations etc media e.g. FSA, Our food supply has become increasingly complex Certain consumers want certain sets of information

Food Labelling Regulations 1996 Other legislation The Food Safety Act 1990 Trade Description Act 1968 Weights & Measures Act 1985 Specific legislation covering some foods e.g. bread, jam, chocolate, milk Food Safety Act offence to sell food that is not of the ‘nature or substance or quality’ demanded by the purchaser Trade Description Act offence to make false or misleading statements about goods Weights & Measures Act 1985 makes short weight an offence other regulations also relevant e.g. 1987 regs on quantity marking & abbreviations of unit; 2001 regs on metrication

What must be on a label? name of food list of ingredients (in descending order) QUID information (if needed) net quantity of food present (unless under 5g) date mark (use by and best before) any special conditions or conditions of use name & address of manufacturer, packager or seller place of origin (if leaving out would mislead) any necessary instructions for use Mandatory information ingredients - appear in descending order of weight as used during preparation of food (25% rule - removing for some foods) QUID - e.g. pork sausages or fruit pie for some foods there are standard amounts e.g. bread 400g or 800g. ‘e’ for nominal weight/volume (+ drained weight for solid food sold in liquid media) Best before date - date up to & including which the food will retain its optimum condition (e.g. it will not be sale) Use by date - for foods that are highly perishable e.g. dairy products. Date is up to & including if it has been stored correctly (e.g midnight) place of origin if leaving this out would mislead (e.g. French stick) And alcoholic strength by volume for beverages containing more than 1.2% by volume Optional information may inc

What is QUID? If an ingredient in the description of the product or is featured in a pack shot then the quantity of the ingredient must be declared as a percentage. This is required as part of EU labelling law, and known as Quantitative Ingredient Declaration (QUID). Mandatory information ingredients - appear in descending order of weight as used during preparation of food (25% rule - removing for some foods) QUID - e.g. pork sausages or fruit pie for some foods there are standard amounts e.g. bread 400g or 800g. ‘e’ for nominal weight/volume (+ drained weight for solid food sold in liquid media) Best before date - date up to & including which the food will retain its optimum condition (e.g. it will not be sale) Use by date - for foods that are highly perishable e.g. dairy products. Date is up to & including if it has been stored correctly (e.g midnight) place of origin if leaving this out would mislead (e.g. French stick) And alcoholic strength by volume for beverages containing more than 1.2% by volume Optional information may inc

List of Ingredients

Other information information on additives & other ingredients not legally required to be labelled nutrients present in food nutrition &/or health claims information on allergens present in food processing or production methods (e.g. organic) logos & endorsements guideline daily amounts Optional information may include.. Processing aids & any solvent/carrier used only for technical reasons GM - Only approved GM foods may be sold and if a food contains any GM ingredients, this must be shown on the label labelling regulations require any food containing novel GM material (the DNA that has been altered or the proteins that the DNA produces) to be labelled highly processed food ingredients (such as refined vegetable oils) that are produced from a genetically modified source but that no longer contain any GM DNA or protein, currently do not have to be labelled because they are indistinguishable from those produced from non- GM sources. small amounts (below 1%) of GM material that are accidentally present in non GM ingredients do not have to be labelled

RDA - Recommended Daily Amount Labelling jargon RDA - Recommended Daily Amount part of EU directive on Nutrition Labelling estimates of the amount of vitamins & minerals needed to meet or more than meet the needs of a group of adults GDAs - Guideline Daily Amounts RDA only 1 figure for each nutrient, derived from figures for adults no variation with age, sex etc like UK reference nutrient intakes GDA developed by Institute of Grocery Distribution derived from estimated average energy requirements foe energy for men and women 19-50 of normal weight and fitness as on nutrition label plus GDA for salt - 5g for women and 7g for men based on the COMA recommendations (1994) of 6g salt per day

not mandatory unless a nutrition claim is made Nutrition Labelling not mandatory unless a nutrition claim is made must be in 1 of 2 formats Group 1 declaration energy, protein, carbohydrate and fat Group 2 declaration as above plus sugars, saturates, fibre and sodium EU Council Directive on nutrition labelling for foodstuffs (90/496/EEC) Group 1 also known as Big 4 Group 2 also known as Big 8

If a claim is made about these nutrients they MUST be labelled Nutrition Labelling In addition, these nutrients can be included in a nutrient declaration on a voluntary basis: starch monounsaturates, polyunsaturates or cholesterol specified vitamins and nutrients present in significant amounts If a claim is made about these nutrients they MUST be labelled saturates must also be declared if other fats are labelled 15% of the RDA Other nutrients can only be declared if a claim has been made about it & if it is a component of a nutrient defined in the regulations e.g. fructose

Nutrition Labelling Voluntary information Prescribed format order of nutrients must be given in certain way all information on energy & macronutrients must be expressed per 100g or 100ml E must be given in kJ and kcal protein, carbohydrate and fat must be given in grams information can also be given on a ‘per serving’ or ‘per portion’ basis but need to say how many servings or portions information on vitamins and minerals must be expressed per 100g or 100ml plus as a percentage of the RDA Nutrition information may be calculated from manufacturer’s analysis of food the known or actual ingredients generally established and accepted data Food Labelling Regulations specify energy conversion factors that must be used Derived from Estimated Average Requirements for energy

If a nutrition claim is made, nutrition labelling is mandatory Nutrition Claims Any representation, other than the nutrition labelling, that states or implies that a food contains, or has a high or low amount of one or more nutrients is a nutrition claim If a nutrition claim is made, nutrition labelling is mandatory nutrition claims refer to any representation other than nutrition labelling declarations that states or implies that a food contains, or has a high or low amount of one or more nutrients.

Nutrient (or content) claims Nutrition Claims Nutrient (or content) claims refers to the level of a nutrient in a food e.g. source of calcium Comparative claims comparison of nutrient levels of 2 or more foods, using descriptors such as ‘higher’ or ‘lower’, e.g. contains % more calcium nutrition claims refer to any representation other than nutrition labelling declarations that states or implies that a food contains, or has a high or low amount of one or more nutrients.

Nutrient function claims Nutrition Claims Nutrient function claims refers to physiological role of nutrient in its relationship to growth, development or other normal functions e.g.aids in the development of strong bones & teeth Medical claims are illegal e.g. prevents osteoporosis The Food Labelling Regulations (1996) define claims for reduced or low energy, protein, cholesterol & vitamins & minerals reduced or low energy 25% reduction in E compared to std; low E - food must be no more than 167 kJ (40 kcal)/100g & E value of a normal serving of the food must not be more than 167 kJ (40kcal) If claim is for uncooked food which naturally has low energy value claim must be “a low energy food” or a “low calorie food” or “ a low Joule food” protein quantity of food reasonably expected to be consumed in 1 day must contribute at least 12 g protein rich or excellent source - at least 20% E value of food from protein source - at lest 12% of E cholesterol absence means < 0.005% (i.e. less than 5mg cholesterol/100g food). FSA recommends cholesterol claims should not be made

Nutrition Claims RDA = recommended daily allowance label declarations - these minimum levels apply ‘as a rule’ although exceptions have not been defined but are generally considered to be situations in which single servings differ significantly from 100g if claim is for ‘vitamins & minerals’ without naming them then ) then every v & m must be in table and at least 2 must meet criteria for claim in the absence of a claim can include v & m on labelling only if present in significant amounts i.e. 15% of RDA the FSA has also developed guidance on...

FSA Guidelines on Nutrient Content Claims foods naturally low in nutrients should be labelled as “a low X food” foods naturally high in nutrients should be labelled as “a high X food”

FSA Guidelines on Nutrient Content Claims foods naturally low in nutrients should be labelled as “a low X food” foods naturally high in nutrients should be labelled as “a high X food”

New EU Proposal on Claims Will define many nutrient claims low fat light/lite (reduced by 25%) Will prohibit some claims ‘% fat free’ claims use of the term ‘diet’ proposal on claims - nutrient, function & health claims low fat would be 3 g/100g or 1.5g/100ml reduced 25% reduction in content compared to a similar product % fat free can be misleading - only 97% fat free or higher is low fat e.g. 80% fat free contains 20g fat/100g of food ‘diet’ may be prohibited even though in the UK most consumers understand ‘diet’ soft drinks are low calorie drinks

Practical Considerations Space - priority of information? FSA survey in 2000 of 1000 adults found shoppers looked for information on a number of different things:

Practical Considerations Space priority of information? Legibility Font size & colour Colour avoid red and green combinations FSA survey in 2000 found shoppers looked for information on a number of different things: basic ingredients used 34% use of GM ingredients 32% presence of additives 32% size of portions 29% country of origin 27% nutritional content 24% presence of allergens 23% method of cooking 21% organic status 19% animal welfare information 16% vegetarian/vegan status 13% Problem with multilingual labels legibility - ageing population & # people with poor vision font - size & style e.g. caps, bold, italics etc colours - white on dark background works well. Avoid green and red (16% of UK males are colour blind)

Legislation for health claims The Future Legislation for health claims Other ways to share detailed information about the foods we buy Examples: bar codes internet Foods with no labels? What will happen? bar codes are used to carry product information different suppliers use different descriptors (e.g. vegetarian) so makes it difficult to share info with different users UDEX system organising a way to share information in a common fashion

Further Information British Nutrition Foundation www.nutrition.org.uk Food Standards Agency www.food.gov.uk Institute of Grocery Distribution www.igd.com Sainsbury’s Taste of Success www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/tasteofsuccess