Food labelling and advertising:Practical implications of current developments

Gillian Harkess, Associate14 September 2012

Current Developments

• EU Food Information Regulation – update on implementation by food businesses and the European Commission

• UK Department of Health push to agree a UK front-of-pack nutrition labelling format

• The Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation – outstanding health claim applications, additional permitted nutrition claims, the latest on nutrient profiles

During this seminar we will consider:

EU Food Information Regulation

• The Food Information for Consumers Regulation (FIR) follows an EU-wide review of food and nutrition labelling legislation

• FIR brings EU rules on general and nutrition labelling together into a single regulation

• Single Europe-wide regulation rather than state-by-state implementation

• Transitional arrangements mean that most requirements do not apply until 2014 and new nutrition labelling rules will become mandatory in 2016.

The Food Information Regulation

• Minimum font size for mandatory information

• Nutrition labelling

• Mandatory information on allergens

• Extension of rules for origin of food labelling

• Food authenticity

• Distance selling

• Alcohol

What is changing?

Requirements for mandatory information

• The name of the food• The list of ingredients (extended)• Allergens / intolerances from a prescribed

list (eg wheat, eggs, mustard, milk etc).• Quantity of certain ingredients• The net quantity of the food• Date of minimum durability or use by date• Any special storage conditions / conditions

of use

What is mandatory information? Article 9

Mandatory information cont …

• Name / business name and address of the food business operator

• Country of origin / provenance• Instructions for use• The actual alcoholic strength by volume

(beverages containing more than 1.2%)• A nutrition declaration

Requirements for mandatory information

Requirements for mandatory information

• Mandatory food information must be:– marked in a conspicuous place– easily visible, clearly legible– cannot be hidden, obscured, detracted from or

interrupted by any other written or pictorial matter or any other intervening material

• Same field of vision now required for – name and description– net quantity– alcoholic content– NOT now required for ‘best before’ or ‘use by’ date or

signpost

Article 13

Requirements for mandatory information

• Standard rule - any lower case characters must be equal to or greater than 1.2mm

• Largest surface area is less than 80 cm squared the minimum lower case height must be equal to or greater than 0.9mm

• Exemptions– glass bottles– small items (largest surface area is less than 10 cm

squared – only name, allergens, net quantity and use by date need appear. What about the remaining information?)

Presentation - minimum font size

New information to be given with the name of the food

• Existing requirements remain – eg “with sweetener”, “irradiated”

• New requirements– “defrosted” – if has been frozen at some prior stage, unless

• freezing a technologically necessary step in production• defrosting has no negative impact on safety or quality• only an ingredient

– a substituted ingredient, ‘where consumers expect an ingredient to be used’

• clear indication of the substituted ingredient in print at least 75% of font size of name

– products that look like pieces of meat if >5% added water: “contains added water” or similar

– meat and fish products made from pieces which look like single items: “formed meat”, “aus Fleischstueken zusammengefuegt” etc.

– Caffeine• beverages other than tea or coffee with >150 mg/l “High caffeine content.

Not recommended for children or pregnant or breast-feeding women. Caffeine [ ] mg per 100ml”

• non-beverages to which caffeine added for physiological purposes “Contains caffeine. Not recommended for children or pregnant women. Caffeine [ ] mg per 100 g/ml”

Mandatory nutrition labelling

• ‘Back of pack' information will become mandatory on the majority of prepacked foods.

• The nutrition declaration will include:– energy value and– the amount of fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars,

protein and salt• Per 100g/ml, but options to add (or sometimes

substitute) per portion• Information to be presented in tabular format where

possible • Exemptions

Requirements

Nutrition labelling

• It will be possible to voluntarily repeat on ‘front of pack’ information on nutrients of importance to public health:– energy– energy, fat, saturates, sugar and salt

• It will also be possible to provide voluntary nutrition information in the 'front of pack' format on food sold loose (eg on deli counters) and in catering establishments.

• There remains scope for businesses to use Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs) based on reference intakes specified in the regulations and (subject to certain conditions) additional forms of expression and presentation.

Mandatory country of origin / place of provenance labelling

• Mandatory if failure to indicate would mislead• Extension of the rules for origin of food labelling

– fresh, chilled or frozen meat from pigs, sheep, goat and poultry

• If the country of origin of primary ingredient differs then:– country of origin of the primary ingredient shall also be given

or– country of origin shall be indicated as being different to that

of the food• Implementing rules to be produced within two years of the

Regulation’s entry into force.

Requirements

Mandatory country of origin/ place of provenance labelling

• Country of origin labelling could be extended in the future (eg to milk, milk used as an ingredient in dairy products, unprocessed foods, other meats)

• Commission to completean impact assessment

Possible future changes

Mandatory allergen information

• Allergens– includes any ingredient or processing aid

specifically listed in the Regulation (eg wheat, eggs, fish, milk etc)

– the typeset should clearly distinguish the wording and be set out in the list of ingredients

– not required where the name of the food clearly refers to the substance or product concerned

Requirements

Food authenticity

• Food authenticity:– Ban on saying a product does not contain an

ingredient if that kind of product never does – eg fat in wine gums

– Ingredient substitution made clear on packaging

– Added water and proteinmade clear on meat andfish products

Requirements

Timetable for Implementation

• The labelling requirements will come into effect in 2014

• The obligations for nutrition labelling will not apply until 2016

• When will EU and/or national authorities give guidance?

• Implementing legislation in UK• Impact on all labels in the end, but in particular

consider– labelling redesign and product relaunch projects– new product development

Issues

• Supply of raw materials change regularly• Cost and practicality of changing labelling and

packaging• Restrictions on trade• Food costs increase as flexibility diminishes?• Increased bureaucracy for business?• Are consumers benefiting?• Difficult to enforce

Consultation on Front of Pack nutrition labelling

• Government’s 12 week consultation on Front of Pack nutrition labelling ended in August 2012.

• The ultimate aim of the consultation was to seek views on how to

bring more consistency and clarity to the FoP information presented across the UK

• The consultation looked at how:– to maintain and extend the use of front of pack labelling

across the widest possible range of food and drink products– to achieve the greatest possible consistency in the content

and presentation of front of pack nutrition labelling, in a form which is clearest and most useful to consumers

The Department of Health push to agree a UK FOP nutrition labelling format

• Strong evidence on value put forward• Consistency message pushed during consultation

Additional Forms of Expression (AFE)

• Possible to express the nutrition information in different ways to just words and numbers.

• Must satisfy a number of requirements, such as:– they are based on sound and scientifically valid consumer

research– their development is the result of consultation with a wide

range of stakeholders– they aim to facilitate consumer understanding

• Government able to recommend one or more AFE• Member States must monitor the use of AFE in their territory and

report these to the Commission• The Commission will write a report, with the potential for future

harmonisation of AFE across the EU, by end 2017

Nutrition labelling issues

• As sold or as consumed• Energy or energy + 4• Per 100g or per portion ( portion size)• GDAs?• AFEs?• Position on pack• Logos and Europe• FIR and ‘pings’.

Client experience

• Experience in the field• Article 30• Nothing that says that the FOP must be a repeat

of the method of expression used on the back 

Next steps

• What to look out for in the up coming months...

• Consultation summary published

• Government announces next steps

Nutrition and Health claims

• In December 2006 EU decision makers adopted Regulation 1924/2006

• It provides harmonised EU-wide rules for the use of health or nutritional claims on foodstuffs based on nutrient profiles.

• Nutrient profiles are nutritional requirements that foods must meet in order to bear nutrition and health claims.

• One of the key objectives of the Regulation is to ensure that any claim made on a food label in the EU is clear and substantiated by scientific evidence.

The role of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

• EFSA is responsible for verifying the scientific substantiation of the submitted claims, some of which are currently in use, some of which are proposed by applicants – companies who want to submit claims for authorisation in the EU. This information serves as a basis for the European Commission and Member States, which will then decide whether to authorise the claims.

• EFSA has prepared guidance on how to submit claims applications, following an extensive consultation process with industry and other interested parties

Nutrition v health claims

• An increasing number of foods sold in the EU bear nutrition and health claims.

• A nutrition claim states or suggests that a food has beneficial nutritional properties, such as “low fat”, “no added sugar” and “high in fibre”.

• A health claim is any statement on labels, advertising or other marketing products that health benefits can result from consuming a given food, for instance that a food can help reinforce the body’s natural defences or enhance learning ability.

EFSA list of approved health claims

• Commission Regulation (EU) No 432/2012– Deals with the applications made for the

“generic list”– with the exception of botanicals and few

outstanding applications• 3 claims lists were adopted on the EU register:

1. Permitted nutrition claims2. Authorised Health Claims3. Non Authorised Health Claims

EU reaches a botanical health claims cross roads

• Botanical health claims – what are they?

• The food/medicine borderline

• “Traditional use” and surrounding issues

Discussion paper on botanicalsused in foods

• Commission sought Member States’ views in August 2012

• Working group meeting to be held in September (date unconfirmed)

The consultation process

What you need to know

• 6 month transition period • ALL stock on the shelf must comply by the 14th

December 2012?• UK Department of Health is expected to issue

guidance

Trends in the field

• Leading retailers already refusing to accept non compliant stock.

• Retailers passing liability to manufacturers if they provide stock not compliant with the claims after August 2012

Looking ahead

• Anticipate future changes to the approved claims

• Certain claims require further assessment

• Claims that refer to a botanical substance

• 6 month transition period likely to apply to any further changes

Any Questions?