New EU Food Labeling Rules Take Effect in 2014 & 2016

Regulation Applies from Dec 2014, Nutrition Declaration Applies from Dec 2016

The regulation enters into force December 13, 2011 and applies from December 13, 2014, except for the: (i) mandatory nutrition declaration, which will apply from December 13, 2016 and (ii) the specific requirements concerning the designation of “minced meat,” which will apply from January 1, 2014.

Non-Compliant Food Placed on Market Before Application Dates Can Still Be Marketed

There are also certain transitional measures to address food in stock so that foods placed on the market or labeled prior to December 13, 2014 (or prior to December 13, 2016 for the nutrition declaration), which do not comply with the regulation's requirements, may be marketed until the stock is exhausted.

Mandatory Info Must Appear Clearly on Pre-Packed Food Labels

With certain exceptions, the regulation states that pre-packed food labels must indicate the following mandatory information directly on the package or on a label attached thereto in such a way as to be easily visible, clearly legible, and, where appropriate, indelible:

(a) name of the food;

(b) list of ingredients (see list of excepted products below¹);

(c) any ingredient or processing aid listed in Annex II of the regulation or derived from a substance or product listed in Annex II causing allergies or intolerances used in the manufacture or preparation of a food and still present in the finished product, even if in an altered form;

(d) quantity of certain ingredients or categories of ingredients;

(e) net quantity of the food;

(f) date of minimum durability or the ‘use by’ date;

(g) any special storage conditions and/or conditions of use;

(h) name or business name and address of the food business operator referred to in Article 8(1);

(i) country of origin or place of provenance where provided for in Article 26;

(j) instructions for use where it would be difficult to make appropriate use of the food in the absence of such instructions;

(k) with respect to beverages containing more than 1.2 % by volume of alcohol, the actual alcoholic strength by volume; and

(l) a nutrition declaration.

Mandatory Nutrition Declaration Must Specify Fat, Saturates, Salt, Etc.

The mandatory nutrition declaration, which is only required from December 13, 2016, must include at least energy value, and amounts of fat, saturates, carbohydrates, protein, sugars, and salt. The content of the nutrition declaration must be expressed per 100g or per 100ml, or indicated on a per portion basis or as a percentage of reference intakes (Guidelines Daily Amounts). Elements of the nutrition declaration will need to appear together in the same field of vision.

Commission to Consider Whether to Include Trans Fat in Nutrition Declaration

By December 13, 2014, the Commission will have to submit a report on the presence of trans fats in foods and in the overall diet of the EU population to determine if trans fat should be included in the mandatory nutrition declaration. The Commission will accompany this report with a legislative proposal, if appropriate.

Non-Prepacked/Direct Sale Food Must Only Comply with Allergy Labeling

Foods that are offered for sale to the final consumer or to mass caterers without prepackaging, or where foods are packed on the sales premises at the consumer’s request or prepacked for direct sale must only comply with provision (c) above by including any ingredient or processing aid causing allergies or intolerances, etc. The other labeling requirements are not mandatory unless individual Member countries adopt elements of those requirements.

Provides Specific Font Legibility Requirements

In order to improve legibility, the new rules establish a minimum font size for the mandatory information of 1.2 mm for the x-height. If the largest surface of a food package is less than 80 cm², the minimum font size is reduced to 0.9 mm.

Must Indicate Substitute Ingredients, Cannot Use Misleading Claims, Etc.

The new rules also strengthen the prohibitions against misleading information and require information to be accurate, clear, and easy to understand for the consumer. In the case of foods in which a component or ingredient that consumers normally expect to be used or naturally present has been substituted with a different component or ingredient, the label should bear - in addition to the list of ingredients - a clear indication of the component or the ingredient that has been used for the partial or whole substitution.

In addition, food information may not be misleading as to its nature, identity, properties, composition, quantity, durability, country of origin, or method of manufacture or production. It also cannot attribute to the food effects or properties which it does not possess or suggest a food possesses special characteristics when in fact all similar foods possess such characteristics, in particular by specifically emphasizing the presence or absence of certain ingredients and/or nutrients.

Extends Compulsory Country of Origin Labeling to Pork, Lamb & Poultry Meat

The new rules will also extend compulsory country of origin labeling (COOL) to fresh pork, lamb and poultry meat. Currently, the indication of the country of origin is compulsory notably for fresh beef, fruits and vegetables, honey, olive oil and where the failure to do so would mislead consumers.

Commission Will Examine COOL for Meat as Ingredient, Other Meats, Milk, Etc.

The European Commission must report by December 2013 on the possible extension of compulsory country of origin labeling to meat used as an ingredient. By December 2014, it will have to examine the same question with regard to types of meat other than beef, pork, lamb and poultry, milk, milk used as an ingredient, unprocessed foods, single-ingredient products, and ingredients that represent more than 50% of a food.

Allergens Must Always be Indicated & Distinguished from Other Ingredients

Although non-pre-packed food is exempt from nutrition labeling (unless member states decide otherwise at the national level), allergens must always be indicated. On pre-packed food, allergens must be included in the list of ingredients and emphasized through a typeset that clearly distinguishes them from the rest of the list of ingredients.

Certain Alcoholic Beverages Exempted from Nutrition Declaration

Alcoholic beverages (including alcopops) containing more than 1.2% by volume of alcohol are exempted from the obligation to bear a nutrition declaration. The Commission must, however, by December 2014, examine whether alcoholic beverages should be covered by the rules, in particular, by the requirement to indicate the energy value, and make legislative proposals, if appropriate. The Commission will also have to consider the need to propose a definition of alcopops, which are targeted to young people.

¹The following foods will not be required to bear a list of ingredients: (i) fresh fruit and vegetables, including potatoes, which have not been peeled, cut or similarly treated; (ii) carbonated water, the description of which indicates that it has been carbonated; (iii) fermentation vinegars derived exclusively from a single basic product, provided that no other ingredient has been added; (iv) cheese, butter, fermented milk and cream, to which no ingredient has been added other than lactic products, food enzymes and micro-organism cultures essential to manufacture, or in the case of cheese other than fresh cheese and processed cheese the salt needed for its manufacture; (v) foods consisting of a single ingredient, where: (a) the name of the food is identical to the ingredient name; or (b) the name of the food enables the nature of the ingredient to be clearly identified.

(See ITT's Online Archives 11101308 and 11050518 for summaries of these rules at various stages of the regulatory process.)

EU Council press release on the new rules is available here.

Q&A on the new EU food labeling rules is available here.