9 July, 2018

Answers on food information provided to the consumer

The European Commission has published a statement answering the questions that arose after the entry into force of European Regulation 1169/2011 on food information provided to the consumer. In this post we will mention some issues raised by the statement and highlight some of the answers.

The Commission Communication on questions and answers concerning the application of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on food information provided to consumers, aims to facilitate the understanding of this Regulation to food businesses and to national authorities to apply it correctly. Some of the issues on which clarifications are given are:

• Loyal Information Practices
• Availability and placement of mandatory food information
• Presentation and legibility of mandatory food information
• Mandatory Mentions
• Additional mandatory mentions for specific categories or types of food
• Application of nutritional information
• Mandatory Nutritional Information
• Optional indications
• Forms of expression and presentation of nutritional information
• Exemptions from mandatory nutritional information
• Food supplements
• Specific products

Regarding the “Availability and placement of mandatory food information” the commission indicates that the label “should not be easily removed” and in case the label is not printed on the packaging itself, but on a removable label, “must be made a case-by-case evaluation to check if the general requirements on availability, accessibility and placement of mandatory information are met ”. As for the “List of Ingredients”, the artificial nanomaterials used “must be clearly indicated in the list of ingredients”. Likewise, the origin of the vegetable oils and fats used for each product must be specified “regardless of the quantity” that the food contains. The “Frozen Food Labeling” must indicate the date of the first freezing if it is frozen meat or non-processed fish products vacuum packed. With regard to the “How to use” the operator of the food business can not use the pan or oven symbol without mentioning the words. And finally, we emphasize that the rules on the minimum font size are also applicable to nutritional information, which “must be printed on characters with a font size such that the height of the x is equal to or greater than 1.2 mm”. LegaleGo Nutrition is made up of a team of professionals specialized in food consulting. We specialize in the review of labeling and advertising of products such as food supplements.  Do not hesitate to ask us any questions without any commitment.