FSA – responsible for food safety aspects of labelling
The main legislation implementing the EU food labelling laws in the UK is the FLR 1996
FSA, is the national body responsible for its implementation and enforcement
FIR –will considerably change existing legislation
Took a long period of time and is a complex process that had to be agreed by 27 members of the Council with input from the European Parliament
Changes existing legislation to consumers, including nutrition information on processed foods; origin labelling of fresh meat; highlighting of allergens in the list of ingredients,; better legibility (font size front of pack); and provision of allergen information on non-pre packed foods including those sold in cafes and restaurants.
provision of allergen information on non-pre packed foods including those sold in cafes and restaurants
Companies will have 3 years to adapt most of the rules – within which the legislation must be implemented. Mandatory nutrition declaration must be implemented within five years after the FIR comes into force.
Current UK legislation requires the following to be on the label
A lot or batch number is a code that can identify batches of food in the event that they have to be recalled by the manufacturer, packer or producer. A date mark is sometimes used as a lot mark, or a lot mark may be indicated by the letter ‘L’.
New FIR recommended that this be in tabular form and appear on the back of packs. Trans fats have also been added to the list
Information must always be given as values per 100g or per 100ml of food. Values for a portion or serving can be given as well, and could be accompanied by Guideline daily amounts
Allergenic foods that have to be declared include: cereals containing gluten, eggs, sesame seeds, soybeans, fish etc..
FSA in 2008 produced guidance document on food allergies for small businesses – see website-
Mention Parnuts framework – if time!
The European Commission is reviewing the current Framework Directive (Directive 2009/39/EC) on foods intended for particular nutritional uses (also known as ‘PARNUT’ or dietetic foods). The proposal includes changes to claims about gluten.
PARNUT foods are those which have been specially manufactured to satisfy the particular nutritional requirements of specific groups of the population and currently include:
The proposed regulation is likely to have a significant impact on the way in which the above foods are regulated, notified and labelled.
As well as appearing in the ingredient list….
products carry ‘may contain’ warnings on labels to highlight that the food may contain minute traces of foods known to cause allergy. This may be because the food is produced on the same line or in the same factory as other products that contain the ingredient known to cause allergy. Detailed information (e.g. ‘produced in a factory where nuts are also used’) is more helpful to people with food allergies as it allows them to make informed decisions about the foods they eat.
There has been a lot of confusion over the use of the terms vegetarian and vegan on food labels both in the retail and catering sectors
The guidance aims to improve consistency in the use of the terms on food labels by manufacturers and caterers and help enforcement agencies to identify misleading labelling.
Vegetarian : should not be applied to foods that are, or are made from, or with, the aid of products derived from animals that have died, have been slaughtered, or animals that die as a result of being eaten.
Vegan
The term 'vegan' should not be applied to foods that are, or are made from, or with, the aid of animals or animal products (including products from living animals).
The FSA guidelines, which gave UK vegetarians the grounds to take a complaint against a food manufacturer to Trading Standards, has now been adopted in principle by the European Parliament giving the use of the term vegetarian/vegan legal status June 2010. The EU vote means, as it covers the UK too, that within the next three to five years, (during which time manufacturers who choose to use the labelling have a time allowance for compliance) a UK vegetarian could bring a civil suit against a manufacturer who is found to misuse the term ‘vegetarian’ or ‘vegan’.
Manufacturers will have three years (five for small companies) to comply.
Traffic light colours make it easier to compare products quickly. Traffic light label designs may look different between companies, but they will use the FSA guidelines
This type of labelling has been designed for specific products such as ready meals, sandwiches, pizzas, sausages, pies and food products containing breadcrumbs e.g. chicken nuggets and fish fingers
Some major food manufactures and retailers use this system to provide front-of-pack labelling. These are based on the requirements of an average person
The value for each of these nutrients is shown alongside the percentage of the GDA that this nutrient represents. Some GDA labels also include traffic light colour coding.
Unless otherwise specified on the packaging, the %GDA values are based on an average size woman doing an average amount of physical activity.
Labelling is important to give the consumer an idea of how much energy they get out of a food. We are often not aware of how much energy is in different products. This info is important to compare foods with each other and to be able to go for the healthier choice.
In June 2010 –European parliament did not adopt TLL for EU. They can still be used in the UK by the companies who wish to use them. There will probably now be no compulsory FOP labelling as part of the food information regulation.
The voluntary traffic light scheme was adopted to varying degrees by a number of retailers including Asda, Sainsbury's, M&S, The Co-Op and Waitrose, but was not industry wide. It is unclear whether this vote now means these retailers will have to remove traffic lights from their products in the UK.
Labels indicating quantities per 100g and guideline daily amounts were approved by MEPs, as was mandatory country of origin labelling.
Non-processed foods
Beverages that contain more than 1.2% alcohol
Also sets in place:
Minimum amounts that must be present following addition
Provision to set maximum amounts (in progress)
Provision to set different minimum amounts for different food categories
Important to fortify foods with those nutrients that we’re not getting enough of. For example, breakfast cereals make a good contribution to iron intakes in adults, boys and girls. The recent National Adult and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) this weeks published new findings that show a propertion of adult women and older girls aheb iron-deficiency anaemia and low iron stores.
Contribution of fortified foods to nutrient intakes in UK
Article 13.1, 13.5 and 14
The updated final list of 4,637 claims was the result of a consolidation process carried out by the Commission, after examining over 44,000 claims supplied by the Member States.