Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, The University of Reading

Food Labelling in the UK: A Guide to the Legal Requirements .............. Home Page

Allergen/intolerance labelling
Nutrition and Health Claims

Manner of marking or labelling

Availability and placement

In the case of prepacked food, mandatory food information shall appear directly on the package or on a label attached thereto.

Article 12(2)

Presentation

1. Without prejudice to enactments referred to in Article 44(2) relating to the presentation of mandatory particulars for food to which that Article applies, mandatory food information shall be marked in a conspicuous place in such a way as to be easily visible, clearly legible and, where appropriate, indelible. It shall not in any way be hidden, obscured, detracted from or interrupted by any other written or pictorial matter or any other intervening material.

2. Without prejudice to specific provisions in EU-derived domestic legislation or retained direct EU legislation applicable to particular foods, when appearing on the package or on the label attached thereto, the mandatory particulars listed in Article 9(1) shall be printed on the package or on the label in such a way as to ensure clear legibility, in characters using a font size where the x-height, as defined in Annex IV, is equal to or greater than 1,2 mm.

3. In case of packaging or containers the largest surface of which has an area of less than 80 cm2 , the x-height of the font size referred to in paragraph 2 shall be equal to or greater than 0,9 mm.

Article 13 (1-3)

The basic requirement is that the information shall be easily visible, clearly legible and, where appropriate, indelible. It shall not be be hidden, obscured, detracted from or interrupted by any other written or pictorial matter or any other intervening material.

The size of the text is also defined by reference to an 'x-height'. This shall be:equal to or greater that 1.2mm unless the 'largest surface has an area less than 80 cm2 in which case the x-height is equal to or greater than 0.9mm'. For the definition of 'x-height', see separate page: Definition of 'x-height'.

Example

Height of lettering - Small pack

Language Requirements

1. Without prejudice to Article 9(3), mandatory food information shall appear in English.

3. Paragraph 1 shall not preclude the particulars from being indicated in several languages.

Article 15 (1) and (3)

 

Field of vision:

5. The particulars listed in points (a), (e) and (k) of Article 9(1) shall appear in the same field of vision.

6. Paragraph 5 of this Article shall not apply in the cases specified in Article 16(1) and (2).

Article 13 (5-6)

The first item requires that (a) the name of the food; (e) the net quantity of the food; and (k) any mandatory alcoholic strength by volume appear in the same 'field of vision'. This term is defined in the Regulation: field of vision’ means all the surfaces of a package that can be read from a single viewing point.'

The second item refers to 'glass bottles intended for reuse which are indelibly marked and which therefore bear no label, ring or collar' (Article 16(1)) and packaging or containers the largest surface of which has an area of less than 10 cm2 (Article 16(2))

Nutrition and Health Claims

For the main index page for this site, go to Food Labelling in the UK: A Guide to the Legal Requirements