1. What's in a label?

2. What you will be learning today
•You will learn about labelling within the
food industry.
•You will learn about the legal information
present on food products.
•You will learn about the voluntary
information present on food products.

3. Introduction
• Information is provided on food
packaging of to help us choose
between different foods, brands
and flavours.
• Food labelling is regulated under
the Food Safety Act 1990, where the
responsibility of the food industry is to
ensure that food is labelled,
advertised and presented in a way
that is not false of misleading.

4. What’s on a label? - Legally required labelling
Name of food
Ingredients
Net values -
Weight / Volume Date-mark
Additives
Place of origin
Storage / Preparation
instructions
Name and address
Processing treatments. Special claims

5. Name of food The name of the food must be clearly
stated. Some foods have made-up
names, which give no information
about what is in them or how they
have been processed. In such cases,
a description of the food must be
given so that it is neither ambiguous
nor misleading.
The name must also describe the
differences between apparently
similar products. For example, a ‘fruit
yogurt’ must be flavoured using real
fruit, whereas a ‘fruit flavoured yogurt’
can be flavoured using artificial
flavourings.

6. Ingredients
• Ingredients are listed in order of
weight, starting with the largest
ingredient and ending with the
smallest.
• All components, including water
and food additives, must be included
in the list if they have been added.

7. Additives
• These are usually named and
also include E numbers.
• There is an increasing
demand for food without them
as some can cause allergic
and intolerant reactions.
• Clean labels – food containing
few E numbers

8. Storage/Preparation Instructions
• Information must be provided on how
long a product is likely to last once it
has been bought and/or opened, and
under what conditions it needs to be
kept to ensure its freshness.
•Time and temperature control
guidelines to help the consumer
• When necessary, instructions on how
to prepare and cook the food must be
given on the label. If the food has to be
heated, the temperature of the oven
and the cooking time should usually be
stated. Instructions may also be given
for heating in a microwave oven.

9. Weight or volume
What does net mean?
• The net weight and volume of
most pre-packed food.
•If food is not sold pre-packed, the
quantity of volume must be shown.
•This allows customers to compare
the weight with the price of
different brands enables
consumers to make choices on
value for money between brands.
.

10. Name and address
• The name and address of the
manufacturer, packer or seller
must be stated on the label.
• This gives consumers the
opportunity to contact the
manufacturer if they have a
complaint about the product or if
they wish to know more about it.

11. Place of origin
• Explains where the food is
from.
•The label must display clearly
where the food has come from
if it would be misleading not to
show it, e.g. a tub of Greek
yogurt which was made in
France.

12. Special claims
• These inform the consumer
about the suitability of the food
product for people with
intolerances and allergies.
• Any specific nutritional claims
must be supported with
evidence to justify the claim.

13. Processing treatments
• The name of the food must
include and indication of its
physical condition or
treatment, such as:
UHT milk, smoked fish,
unpasteurised cheese,
frozen vegetables

14. Date mark • Foods that spoil quickly, such
as cooked meat and fish, have
a use by date. If kept for too
long these foods can cause
food poisoning even though
they may not taste any
different.
• Other foods have a best
before date, after which foods
may not be at their best, with
regard to flavour, colour and
texture, even though they will
probably be safe to eat if they
have been stored according to
the instructions on the labels.

15. In addition to the information that is
legally required, the following may also
be found on a food label.

16. Display until – Sell by date
• It’s used by the food
manufacturer to inform stock
rotation as a critical control
point.
• Food manufacturers will
remove the product from the
shelves / chill cabinet / freezer
when this date is reached.
• The date is usually a few days
before the used by date

17. Nutrition information
• Manufacturers are not obliged by law to provide
nutrition information, unless they make a nutrition
claim. For those that do provide nutrition
information, they must provide:
* The energy value in kilojoules (kJ) and
kilocalories (kcal);
* The amount of protein, carbohydrate
and fat in grams (g).
• Unless a claim is made, the amounts of sugars,
saturates, fibre and sodium can also be optionally
provided.
• Information must always be given as values per
100g or per 100ml of food. Values for a portion or
serving can be given as well, provided that the
number or size of portions/servings is given.

18. Nutrition information
In the UK, some pre-packaged foods also
provide information about guideline daily
amounts (GDAs).
GDAs are derived from the Estimated
Average Requirements for energy for men
and women aged between 19-50, of normal
weight and fitness (2500kcal and 2000kcal
respectively).
GDAs are intended as guidance to help
consumers in their understanding of their
recommended daily consumption of energy
(calories), fat and saturates and a base
against which the content of individual
foods can be compared.

19. Further information
• Serving instructions
• Disposal of packaging
• Special diets
• Opening instructions
• Barcodes
• Advertising and marketing.

20. What do these symbols mean?

21. Which are legally required and which are voluntary
information?
Additives
Display until or
sell by date. Name of food
Ingredients
Net values -
Weight / Volume Date-mark
Further information
Place of origin
Storage / Preparation
instructions
Name and address
Special claims
Processing treatments. Nutrition information

22. Label and annotate this label – explain what is legally
required and what is optional

23. Homework
• Investigate the labelling schemes used by
some manufacturers to promote healthy
eating.
• Investigate and explain how sustainability
information is conveyed to the consumer
through food labels, give examples.