1. 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

2. Outline
What influences food labels
Legislation
Practical considerations
The future

3. 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

4. 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 regs on quantity marking & abbreviations of unit; 2001 regs on metrication

5. 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

6. 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

7. List of Ingredients

8. 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

9. 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 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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

16. 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...

17. 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”

18. 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”

19. 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

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

21. 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)

22. 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

23. Further Information British Nutrition Foundation www.nutrition.org.uk
Food Standards Agency
Institute of Grocery Distribution
Sainsbury’s Taste of Success