Food labelling requirements.

Two of the most shocking events in recent years happened at Byron Burger and Pret A Manger, two prominent high street chains, where food labelling was arguably at fault. 

Owen Carey died in April 2017 on his 18th birthday after an allergic reaction to buttermilk at Byron Burger at the O2 Arena in London – you can read more here.

The other high profile case of recent years was that of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, who went into cardiac arrest on a flight after buying and eating a sandwich at Heathrow Airport in 2016. This tragic case led to a new food labelling law after it was discovered that Pret’s labelling was inadequate.

The following information must appear by law on food labels and packaging:

The name of the food must be clearly stated on the packaging and not be misleading.

If there is a name prescribed in law this must be used.  

In the absence of a legal name, a customary name can be used. This might be a name that has become commonly understood by consumers and established over time such as ‘BLT’ for a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich.

If there is no customary name or it is not used, a descriptive name of the food must be provided. This must be sufficiently descriptive to inform the consumer of the true nature of the food and to enable it to be distinguished from products with which it might otherwise be confused. Most products will fall into this category and require a descriptive name.

If the food has been processed in some way, the process must be included in the title, for example ‘smoked bacon’, ‘salted peanuts’ or ‘dried fruit’.

A processed food is any food that has been altered in some way during preparation.

Additionally food products must clearly show the 14 allergens:

The 14 allergens are: celery, cereals containing gluten (such as wheat, rye, barley and oats), crustaceans (such as prawns, crabs and lobsters), eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs(such as mussels and oysters), mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites (if they are at a concentration of more than ten parts per million) and tree nuts (such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts).

These are, of course, legal requirements with food labelling that will hopefully prevent tragic deaths of those of Owen and Natasha, as well as others. 

If you need more regulatory advice on food labelling, contact David today.