Transcript Food Information to Consumers

General provisions of food
information to consumers Council Regulation 1169/2011
Speaker:
MSc Evangelos Papalexandris TAIEX Expert, Greece
Hellenic Food Authority (EFET)
Belgrade 3 November 2014
OBJECTIVES:
- Initial situation of EU legislation on
food labelling
- White papers and consultation that
led to a revision of the legislation
- Response of the EC and summary of
main novelties introduced by the new
EU Food Information Law
1. INITIAL SITUATION
Legislation on food labelling established in
a number of different Directives:
2000/13/EC on general labelling (most of
provisions from 1978)
90/496/EC on nutritional labelling
(voluntary nutritional labelling)
2002/67/EC on products with high quinine
or caffeine content ....
•This provisions need to be transposed into
national legislations
Differences exist between national
legislations that affect internal maket
2. WHITE PAPERS AND
CONSULTATIONS
Commission White Paper on Food
Safety (2000)
Conference on food labelling,
Rotterdam (2006)
Consultative document on Labelling:
Competitiveness, Consumer Information
and Better Regulation for the EU
(2006)
COMMISSION WHITE PAPER ON
FOOD SAFETY (2000)
Consumers have the right to clear and
helpful information to allow them to do
informed choices.
Food information legislation must fullfil
consumers’ expectations regarding product
quality,
essential
characteristics
and
production methods.
Operators are free to give more
information provided it is true and not
misleading.
Consumers show a rising interest in
the nutritional value of the food they
buy.
Importance of food labelling and
information
campaings
to
allow
consumers to follow a healthy and
balanced diet.
CONFERENCE ON FOOD
LABELLING, ROTTERDAM,
FEBRUARY 2006
Held by The Netherlands and The
United Kingdom with the support of the
European Commisssion to focus on the
future of food labelling
Participants: food manufactures,
food retailers, consumers, small
business, and officials from the
Member States and the European
Commission
Main questions addressed:
stakeholder’s views on the current
situation
what needs are not currently met by
labelling requirements
is some information required on the
label less important than others?
need of an optimum compromise
between mandatory information and
label clarity
are there other ways to provide
information of the product to
consumers?
Food business operators’ Conclusions
Products are more and more complex with a
greater
number
of
ingredients
and
multilingual labels are needed due to global
market
Labels are not adequated to provided all
information
Only essential information should appear in
the labels
Other information can be provided trought
additional means of information (hotlines,
websites...)
Consumers’ Conclusions
It is difficult to find out information
and to understand it
Many times characters in the label
are not legible
Information by means other than a
label shouldn’t replace current labelling
requirements
Not in favour of voluntary approaches
European Commission’s Conclusions
Both consumers and FBO ask for a revision
of current provisions
Label is the main mean to inform consumers
about the product, but consumers do not like
its appearance nor the information in it
FBO consider that current requirements do
not allow for innovation
Neccesity of a global revision to satisfy all
demands
Other Conclusions
Current legislation is too complex and
not consistent
Need of balance between requested
information, needed information and
understood information
Symbols can help to save espace in
multilingual
labels,
but
can
be
understood differenty by different
consumers
Multilingual labels are needed in a
global market, but are a problem for
legibility
How to improve current situation:
- Need to simplify and consolidate
different legal text on food labelling.
- Guidelines can help Member States to
implement legislation in the same way
- It is neccesary to know better what
consumers need, want and use
-- It is neccesary to improve nutritional
information to help consumers to do
healthy choices
Consultative document on Labelling:
competitiveness, Consumer
information and better regulation for
the EU
- What should be the structure of new
legislation: Directive vs Regulation
- What should be the scope
- How to address legibility problem
Need for review
Marketing evolution
New demands by
consumers
Not a coherent legal
framework
Need for reduction of
administrative burdens
Modern,
coherent
legal
framework
Protection of
consumer rights and
competition
3. RESPONSE OF THE EC
Commission Proposal for a Regulation
of the European Parliament and the
Council on the provision of food
information to consumers (31st
January 2008)
•OBJECTIVES
•Update and consolidate general
information and nutritional information
legislation
•Adopted as Regulation not need to be
tranposed into national law
•Try to remove current inconsistencies
between different pieces of legislation
•Clarify responsabilities of different
SCOPE
•All food business operators
•All stages of food chain
•All foods intended for the final
consumer (included foods delivered by
mass caterers and foods intended for
supply to mass caterers)
•Applicable without prejudice to
labelling requirements established in
specific rules for particular foods
• February 2008 – Proposal sending by
Commission to Parliament & Council
• June 2010 – End of 1st reading by EU
Parliament
• February 2011 – Common position of Council
• April 2011 – 2nd reading by EU Parliament –
134 amendments
• July 2011 – adoption of the text by
Parliament
• September 2011 – adoption by Council
• November 2011 – publication of 1169/2011
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011
• Is the basic Regulation of food labeling
• (covers General Labelling and Nutrition Labelling)
• Food information, advertising and presentation
(including shape, appearance, packaging, arrangement,
display setting) must not mislead and must be
accurate, clear and easy to understand
• In the prepacked food, the required information must
be given directly on the package or on a label
attached to it.
Τhe new Food Information for
Consumers Regulations ("FICR")
• designed to make food labelling easier
to understand for consumers
• brings together previous rules on
general food and nutrition labelling into
a single EU regulation.
• Transitional arrangements set out in the
FICR mean that the general provisions
will apply from December 2014, and the
food labelling provisions from December
2016
The EU has also agreed:
• to make it easier for alcoholic drinks
companies to voluntarily include calorie
information on product labels;
• to enable voluntary provision of calorie
information in ‘out of home settings’
such as restaurants, bars and café’s;
and
• to continue to permit selling by numbers
– such as a dozen bread rolls or eggs.
1169/2011 at a glance
Mandatory labelling: requirements
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The name of the food
The list of ingredients
“allergens”
QUID (if necessary)
The net quantity of the food
The date of minimum durability or "use by"
date
Any special storage conditions and/or
conditions of use
Name or business name and address of the
food business operator
Mandatory labelling: requirements
• Country of origin or place of provenance
where provided for
• Instructions for use where it would be
difficult to make appropriate use of the
food in the absence of such instructions
• nutrition declaration
• Lot number
Mandatory labelling: The name of the
food
• The name of the food shall be its legal name. In the
absence of such a name, the name of the food shall be
its customary name, or, if there is no customary name
or the customary name is not used, a descriptive name
of the food shall be provided
• The name of the food shall not be replaced with a
name protected as intellectual property, brand name
or fancy name.
Mandatory labelling: The list of
ingredients
Mandatory labelling: The list of
ingredients
• Ingredients are listed in order by
weight, according to the amounts that
were used to make the food.
Mandatory labelling: “allergens”
• List of 14 foods and their derivatives
subject to allergen labelling
– Celery*
– Cereals containing gluten
(namely wheat, rye, barley, oats,
spelt, kamut or their hybridised strains)*
– Crustaceans*
Mandatory labelling: “allergens”
– Eggs*
– Fish*
– Lupin*
Mandatory labelling: “allergens”
• Milk*
Molluscs *
• Mustard*
• Nuts (namely almond,
hazelnut, walnut, cashew,
pecan nut, Brazil nut,
pistachio nut,
macadamia nut and Queensland nut)*
Mandatory labelling: “allergens”
– Peanuts*
– Sesame seeds*
– Soybeans*
– Sulphur dioxide and sulphites at levels above 10
mg/kg or 10 mg/litre (expressed as SO2)
The clear reference to the allergen must be given in the
ingredients list. Emphasized through a different
typeset, e.g. font, style or background colour
Mandatory labelling:
Quantitative Ingredient Declaration - QUID
(if necessary)
• When the ingredient
– appears in the name of the food or is
usually associated with that name by the
consumer;
Mandatory labelling:
Quantitative Ingredient Declaration
• is emphasized on the labelling in words,
pictures or graphics; or
Mandatory labelling:
Quantitative Ingredient Declaration
– is essential to characterise a food and to
distinguish it from products with which it
might be confused because of its name or
appearance.
Mandatory labelling: The net quantity
of the food
• Units of volume for liquids and units
of mass for other products
Mandatory labelling: The date of
minimum durability or "use by" date
• the date must be given on each
individual prepacked portion
Mandatory labelling: Any special
storage conditions and/or conditions of
use
•
•
•
•
•
+ 4 º C 3 days
*- 6 º C 1 week
** - 12 º C 1 month
*** - 18 º C 3 months
**** - 18 º C or colder 6 months
Mandatory labelling: Name or business
name and address of the food business
operator
– name, business address or denomination of
the manufacturer or packer or a seller
established within the European Union and,
in all cases, address
Mandatory labelling: Country of origin
or place of provenance where provided
for
– An indication of the place of origin or
provenance of a food must be given if,
otherwise, the consumer could be misled
about this aspect of the food
– Otherwise, origin information can be given
voluntarily
Mandatory labelling: Country of origin
or place of provenance where provided
for
• It is mandatory for fresh beef
(requirement established during the
BSE crisis) fruit and vegetables, honey,
olive oil
• Also for fresh swine, sheep, goat and
poultry meat.
Mandatory labelling:
Instructions for use where it would be difficult
to make appropriate use of the food in the
absence of such instructions
• Only mandatory if difficult to use
Mandatory labelling: Nutrition
declaration
Mandatory Nutrition Declaration
• Absolute amounts per 100g/100ml of
the prepacked food, anywhere on the
pack, using at least the minimum font
size
Energy
Fat
of which
saturates
Carbohydrates
of which
sugars
Protein
Salt
Amount per 100g/ml
kJ/kcal
g
g
g
g
g
g
• The obligatory nutritional information may optionally
be supplemented with the values of other nutrients
including: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty
acids, polyalcohol's, starch, food fibre, vitamins or
minerals
• .
Additional mandatory
information
• Substances causing allergies or intolerances
– No change in the list of 14 substances or products
causing allergies or intolerances (Annex II).
– “Allergens” indicated in the list of ingredients with a
clear reference to the name of the substance or
product
– In the absence of a list of ingredients, the indication of
the declaration of “allergens” shall comprise the word
"contains" followed by the name of the substance
– The declaration of “allergens” shall not be required in in
cases where the name of the food clearly refers to the
substance.
Additional mandatory
information
• Substances causing allergies or intolerances
– The name of the substance as listed in Annex II
shall be emphasised through a typeset that clearly
distinguishes it from the rest of the list of
ingredients, for example by means of the FONT,
style or background colour.
• INGREDIENTS: Wheat flour, water, eggs,
vinegar,….
Additional mandatory
information
• Substances causing allergies or intolerances
– Declaration of “allergens” becomes mandatory for:
• Glass bottles intended for reuse which are indelibly
marked and which therefore bear no label
• Packaging or containers the largest surface of which has
an area of less than 10 cm²
– (List of ingredients shall be provided through other means
or shall be made available at the request of the consumer).
• Non-prepacked foods (national provisions for the retail
market)
Additional mandatory
information
• Nan - ingredients
– All ingredients present in the form of
engineered nanomaterials shall be clearly
indicated in the list of ingredients. The
names of such ingredients shall be followed
by the word "nano" in brackets.
Additional mandatory
information
“contains a source of phenylalanine”
if aspartame/aspartame-acesulfame salt
is designated in the list of ingredients
by its specific name.
“contains aspartame (a source of
phenylalanine)”
if aspartame/aspartame- acesulfame salt
is designated in the list of ingredients
only by reference to the E number.
Additional mandatory
information
Beverages with caffeine content > 150 mg/l (other
than ‘coffee” or “tea”)
"High caffeine content. Not recommended for
children or pregnant or breast-feeding women" +
caffeine content
Foods other than beverages, where caffeine is
added with a physiological purpose
"Contains caffeine. Not recommended for children
or pregnant women" + caffeine content
Same field of vision as the name
• Member States permitted to recommend to
food business operators one or more
additional formats to provide nutritional
information & shall provide the Commission
with such additional approved formats
• is permitted the indication of the energy
value and the quantities of nutrients by means
of other forms of expression (pictograms or
symbols, such as the traffic light system)
By 13 December 2017 Commission will report on effect of
schemes and need for further harmonisation, informed by
information from Member States
• Traffic Lights?
Mandatory labelling: Foods which
are exempted from nutritional
labelling
• Alcoholic beverages containing more
than 1.2% by volume in alcohol are
currently exempt from the requirement
to declare nutritional information and
the list of ingredients.
• Food which is not pre-packed is also
exempt from nutritional labelling, unless
the Member States decide otherwise at
national level
Guideline Daily Amount (GDA)
• Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs) are guidelines for
healthy adults and children on the approximate
amount of calories, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate,
total sugars, protein, fiber, salt and sodium required
for a healthy diet
• .
Mandatory labelling: Lot number
• Is the identity of the product!
Is a code number of similar products that can help
the traceability of product in each case where we
might need.
Traceability archives are required to be complied by
food businesses within the HACCP system.
In case the lot number is the same with the expiry
date or when all products have the same expiry date
have also the same lot number then it can be omitted.
Clarity of Mandatory Particulars
• The general mandatory particulars must
be printed in characters using a font
SIZE where the 6th-height is at least
1.2mm
Exception!
• If the maximum surface of the package is
less than 25 cm², nutritional information is
not obligatory. On packages with a maximum
surface area of less than 10 cm ², neither the
nutritional information nor the list of
ingredients is required.
• Nevertheless, the name of the food, the
presence of possible allergens, net quantity
and the minimum shelf life must always be
displayed, irrespective of the size of the
package
GM food
• The presence in foods of genetically
modified organisms (GMOs) or
ingredients produced from GMOs must
be indicated on the label.
• Small amounts of GM ingredients (below
0.9% for approved GM varieties) that
are accidentally present in a food do not
need to be labelled.
PDO - PGI
More Labeling….
Confusing labeling.. ?
Confusing labeling.. ?
• Thank you for your
attention!
• Any questions?