Nutrition declaration on prepacked foods now mandatory

Two directives into one

The Regulation EU No 1169/2011 began in December 2014 and will apply from December 13, 2016, combining two directives into one legislation: 2000/13/EC - labeling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs - and 90/496/EEC - nutrition labeling for foodstuffs.

Both FoodDrinkEurope, the organization of Europe’s food and drink industry, and the European Snacks Association (ESA) welcome the labeling rules. 

“Following the application of the general labeling rules two years ago, the new rules represent a further step to provide consumers with factual and comparable information about the nutritional content of products,” a FoodDrinkEurope spokesman said in a statement.

“This comprehensive nutritional information will empower consumers to compare products and make food choices that better fit their individual dietary needs. Many European food and drink companies have already started to implement the new rules on a voluntary basis over the past years.”

The organization added that, beyond this legal requirement, many manufacturers and suppliers have chosen to provide information about nutrients and calories per portion on the front-of-pack of their products, via “Reference Intake” icons introduced by the industry in 2005.

Food Labelling Services comments:

The mandatory format of the nutrition table is imperative to get correct, so as to give consumers the means to compare products and make informed choices. Any product imported from outside the EU will require the nutrition table amended. There are further rules on the declarations of vitamins and minerals, and nutrients that should be declared in the case of any health or nutrition claim. For further advice on your nutrition labelling, please contact us HERE