Square Large Food Labels to Control food waste and boost profits with these simple to use adhesive labels. Easy to remove and leave no sticky residue behind. These are available day wise in an easy dispensing box.
You may also buy Prepared Food Labels Roll of 500
The law in the UK on food labelling is multifaceted and is spread over many reforms and parliamentary acts, making the subject complex. It must comply with the relevant rules in the European Union, for which the main law relating to food labelling is Regulation (EU) 1169/2011.
There are general rules applying to any food product:
- Name – It must inform the customer the nature of the product. It may also be necessary to attach a description to the product name. However, there are certain generic names which must be only used for their conventional uses. Muesli, Coffee, and prawns are among those exceptions.
- Ingredients – All ingredients of the food must be stated under the heading ‘Ingredients’ and must be stated in descending order of weight when present at more than 2% in the product. Ingredients making up less than two percent may be declared in any order at the end of the declaration. Moreover, certain ingredients, such as preservatives, must be identified as such by the label ‘Preservatives’, a specific name, e.g. “sodium nitrite”, and the corresponding European registration number colloquially known as an “E number“, e.g. “E250“. When ingredients are themselves made of a number of sub-ingredients (e.g., mayonnaise), these must be declared as well in the ingredient declaration. If ingredients or additives contain one of the listed 14 EU allergens, these must be explicitly named in the list. For example: ‘Preservative: E220 (Sulphites)’.
- Nutritional Information– Although it is not a legal requirement to declare Nutritional information on the product, if the manufacturer makes claims that the product is ‘Low in Sugar’, it must be supported with nutritional information (normally in tabulated form). However, as a rule, it is recommended to declare nutritional information as consumers, more than ever, are investigating this information before making a purchase. Moreover, there are two European nutritional labelling standards which must be adhered to if nutritional information is shown.
- Date Tagging – There are two types of date tagging:
- Use by Date – ‘Use by date‘ must be followed by a day and/or month which the product must be consumed by. This is to be applied on perishable foods that usually would be kept cold: fish, meat, dairy products, and ‘ready to eat’ salads.
- Best Before Date – ‘Best before date is used as an indicator of when the product will begin to degrade from optimal quality; this includes when the food becomes stale, begins to taste ‘off’ or decays, rots, or goes mouldy. There are also regulations on which type of best before date must be applied:
- Best before + Day for foods with a shelf life of up to 3 months.
- Best before end + Month for foods with more than a 3-month shelf life.
- Best before end + Year for food with more than an 18-month shelf life.