Links to Other Pages

The purpose of this page is to provide access to official sources of information on the legal requirements for food labels.

EU Regulations

EU Regulations are 'directly applicable' and are therefore part of the legal requirements. The following are relevant for general labelling purposes.

• Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the provision of food information to consumers. The Regulation has been amended and for a consolidated version see: Consolidated Regulation 1169/2011 (February 2014)
• Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods (consolidated version, November 2012)
• Regulation on genetically modified food and feed (Regulation (EU) No 1829/2003)

Note: There are other EU Regulations which provide specific controls on certain products.

EU Guidance

• Questions and Answers on the application of the Regulation (EU) N° 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to
  consumers (31 January 2013). Provided by the Commission
• Guidance on the Provision of Food Information to Consumers Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 (September 2013) Provided by FoodDrink Europe and EuroCommerce

Food Safety Act 1990

The Food Safety Act is available on the web - Food Safety Act 1990

UK Regulations

As the legal requirements are laid down in EU Regulations, their requirements are directly applicable and are not reproduced in any UK legal document. However implementing measures are needed to allow for the enforcement of the EU Regulations and to cover certain matters where national measures are allowed.

• Food Information Regulations 2014 (SI 2014 No 1855) (Applicable to England only)

UK Guidance

• Food Information Regulations 2014: Draft Guidance (version2) (June 2014) Prepared by DEFRA
• Technical Guidance on Nutrition Labelling (June 2013) Prepared by Department of Health. See also supporting document: Summary of the EU FIC Provisions Governing Expression of Nutrition Information per 100g/ml and per Portion/Consumption Unit
• BRC Guidance on Allergen Labelling and the Requirements in Regulation 1169/2011 (March 2013) Prepared by BRC/FDF with support from the Food Standards Agency
• Allergy: what to consider when labelling food: A guide for small and medium businesses that make or sell prepacked food (June 2014) Prepared by the Food Standards Agency. Although not so related to 'food labelling', the following has also been published by the FSA: Allergen information for loose foods: Advice on the new Food Information Regulations for small and medium food businesses (June 2014)

Government sites

• Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA): https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs
• Department of Health (DH): https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health
• Food Standards Agency (FSA): http://www.food.gov.uk/
• Food Standards Agency's: Food labelling e-learning course: http://labellingtraining.food.gov.uk/