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Heads up to proposed new food legislation
17 March 2008
On 30 January the European Commission adopted its expected
proposal for new legislation on the provision of food information
to consumers.
The draft proposal consolidates and updates
two areas of labelling legislation, namely general food and
nutrition. In the UK, this means that our various national Food
Labelling Regulations will be replaced.
The EC states that:
"nutrition labelling is an established
way for providing information to consumers to support health
conscious food choices. There is wide agreement that the
effectiveness of nutrition labelling can be strengthened as a means
to support consumers ability to choose a balanced
diet".
Specifically, in relation to the ongoing front
of pack nutrition information debate the EC has said that this
divergence in the labelling schemes can create barriers to trade.
The proposal therefore states that a single unified way in which on
pack nutrition labelling is displayed should be adopted.
Controversially, this backs the Guideline
Daily Amounts ("GDA") system of labelling that is currently used by
distributors such as Tesco, Somerfield and Morrisions.
Key elements of the
proposal
1. General
provisions
Essentially, the general provision for food
labelling will remain the same under the new Regulation. For
example, certain compulsory information which has to be included on
the label, such as the name of the product, the list of
ingredients, the best before date or use by date of the product,
any special conditions of use and the mailing address of the
manufacturer, will all still have to feature on the packaging. As
always, the information must be clear, easy to read and not
misleading to the consumer.
Now, however, the Commission is proposing to
make nutritional information mandatory on nearly all processed
foods.
2. Front of
pack nutritional labelling
The draft Regulation will make front of pack
nutritional information mandatory for nearly all pre-packed
processed foods. There will be on the front of the pack the
energy, fat, saturated fat and controversially
carbohydrates, with specific reference to
sugars and salt content of the product, expressed
in terms of per 100ml / 100g or per portion. In addition, the
amount of these elements in relation to the reference intakes will
have to be indicated.
There is no uniformed system for the display
of front of pack information laid down in the proposal, except for
the order of the nutrients and the general requirements for the
legibility. Provided the mandatory elements are displayed clearly
on the front of the pack, producers will be free to decide how they
wish to display this information. Whilst this proposal is welcomed
by the GDA camp, currently most GDA UK companies have only five
GDA's rather than the six under the EU proposal, which includes
carbohydrates.
Consequently, all UK
companies would be affected by this current proposal and have to
change their packaging. The cost implications of this can be
extremely high.
3.
Legibility
In order to avoid the common problem of
essential information being hidden or too small for the consumer to
easily read on food labels, the draft Regulation states that
mandatory information must be printed in the minimum size
(3mm), with a significant contrast between the writing and
the background.
In addition, voluntary information (e.g.
slogans or claims) must not be presented in a way that adversely
affects the presentation of mandatory information.
The requirement of a minimum font size could
add to the ever growing landfill piles as manufacturers are forced
to increase their pack sizes to accommodate labelling requirements.
Not a proposal that aligns with the recent EC Landfill Directive
the aim of which is to help drive waste up the hierarchy through
(among other ways) waste minimisation.
4. Allergen
labelling
The proposal includes the extension of
mandatory allergen labelling on non pre-packed food, including food
sold in restaurants and other catering establishments. In
particular, asking for allergens to be displayed or be available at
the request of the consumers.
5. Origin
Labelling
Currently, the draft Regulation proposes to
keep country of origin and place of provenance labelling on food
voluntary, unless its absence could mislead the consumer. This has
received much criticism from the meat industry as, at the moment,
beef is the only meat that must carry country of origin labelling
following the wake of BSE. Many producers hoped that beef labelling
regulations would be extended to other meats, and the National
Farmers Union agrees with this.
Additional criteria on origin labelling
includes that the country of origin or place of provenance of the
main ingredients must also be listed if there are ingredients which
originate from a different place than the finished product e.g.
butter churned in England from Belgium milk could be labelled as
"Produced in England from Belgium milk".
Producers may, if they wish to, put a "Made in
the EU" label on their food stuffs, provided the food was produced
in the EU. Alternatively, they can choose to indicate the Member
State.
Watch this space
The Food Standards Agency has described the
proposal as "The first step in the process of deciding new
Regulations". It has now launched a UK wide public consultation on
the proposal, taking views from stakeholders, including the food
industry, consumer and enforcement groups and the general public.
This consultation is to help the Government in its negotiations on
the proposal.
For more information or advice, please contact
Fiona Carter or
Nina Best.
The content of this bulletin is provided for
the purposes of general interest and information. It contains only
brief summaries of aspects of the subject matter and does not
provide comprehensive statements of the law. It does not constitute
legal advice and does not provide a substitute for it.