New Regulations on Labelling of Food Allergens
From 13th December, new legislation (the EU Food Information for Consumers Regulation 1169/2011) will require food businesses to provide allergy information on food sold unpackaged. There will also be changes to existing legislation on labelling allergenic ingredients in pre packed foods.
Guidance regarding allergens and intolerances is designed to help food businesses provide information to customers who need to avoid certain ingredients because of an allergy. It includes general advice and information on allergy and intolerance, the food labelling rules and specific voluntary best practice guidance on cross-contamination controls for pre-packed foods and loose foods.
What are the changes?
The changes are:
- Any of the 14 allergens that are on the regulatory list will be emphasised on the label, if they are used as ingredients in a pre-packaged food. Businesses can choose what method they want to use to emphasise these allergens, for example, by listing them in bold, italics, highlighted or underlined, to help identify them.
- Information about allergenic ingredients will be located in a single place, i.e. the ingredients list on pre-packed food. This means that the voluntary use of the current types of allergy boxes (such as: ‘Contains nuts’) that provide a short cut to allergen information also given in the ingredients list, will no longer be allowed.
- Currently, loose foods (that can be bought without packaging) for example in supermarkets, delis, cafes and restaurants; don’t have to provide information you need about food allergens. However, from 13th December, information on any of the 14 allergens used as ingredients will need to be provided for these foods.
For more information please visit the Food Standards Agency website.
