Vitafoods Europe 2015 Food Information for Consumers Regulation.

1. CLEARER LABELS FOR
CONSUMERS:
UNDERSTANDING THE EU
FOOD INFORMATION FOR
CONSUMERS REGULATION
Vitafoods Europe, Geneva
5 May 2015
Sofie van der Meulen
www.axonlawyers.com

2. Introduction
Axon Lawyers
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• Amsterdam based law firm with international focus
• Fully dedicated to life sciences, familiar with food business
• Assisting high tech companies bringing innovative food products to the
market
• International network through European Alliance of Life Sciences Law
Firms
• Reporting current food law developments at our blog Food Health Legal

3. Agenda
• Background and current status
• Understanding the requirements
• Expectations of the industry and early findings
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4. Introduction Regulation 1169/2011
Why? modernizing, simplifying and clarifying current food labelling
scene. How?
• Recast horizontal labelling provisions by merging various
Directives into one single Regulation.
• Ensure coherence with other applicable legislation.
• Clarification conditions for national legislation.
• Support consumers’ ability to choose a
healthy diet.
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5. Introduction Regulation 1169/2011
Scope of Food Information Regulation:
• applies to food business operators in all stages of the food chain;
• applies to all foods intended for the final consumer;
• deliberately includes food supply via the Internet.
Relation with other food legislation
• Novel Foods / Medical Foods (consideration 25 nano)
• Health and Nutrition Claims (art. 49  new wording art. 7 Health
Claim Regulation)
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6. Food information..
shall, both in presentation and advertising:
• not be misleading;
• be accurate;
• not attribute pharmaceutical characteristics to food.
Who is responsible for food information?
• Food business operator under whose name food is marketed; OR
• The importer into the Union market.
Consequences of non-compliance?
• Administrative sanctions
• Prosecution under criminal law for forgery
• Enforcement by Dutch Food Safety
Authority? Focus on misleading information
on prepacked foods in 2015.
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7. Guidance documents
(1) FoodDrinkEurope: Guidance on the Provision of Food Information
to Consumers, September 2013
(2) Commission’s Health and Consumer Directorate General: Questions
and Answers on the application of the Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011
on the provision of food information to consumers, 31 January 2013
(3) Commission Guidance in the form of Q&A’s re. general labelling and the
nutrition declaration, 21 February 2014
(4) Guidance documents on national level by national Food Safety
Authorities or Industry associations.
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8. What’s new per 13 December 2014?
Some highlights:
• List of mandatory particulars (art. 9)
• Additional requirements to list of ingredients (info on allergens on
non-prepacked food, nano).
• Detailed legibility requirements.
• Country of Origin labelling for unprocessed meats (per 1 April 2015)
• Nutrition declaration (required
as per 13 December 2016).
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9. Legibility requirements
Where should mandatory food information be stated?
• prepacked food: directly on product or label attached thereto;
• non-prepacked food: MS may adopt national measures to define
the communication and content of mandatory info. (art. 44).
How should mandatory food information be shaped?
• Easily visible and clearly legible;
• Minimum font size 1.2 mm or 0.9 mm if packaging is smaller
than 80 cm2.
Language? A language easy understandable in the Member State.
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10. Country of Origin Labelling
Art. 26 FIC and Regulation 1337/2013 (from 1 April 2015)
Main rule: Country of Origin or Place of Provenance must be
mentioned:
• where failure to do so might mislead the consumer;
• Specific rules for particular types of packaged unprocessed meat
(swine, sheep, goat, poultry)
Country of Origin? The country in which the animal was born,
reared and slaughtered (art. 23 -26 Regulation 2913/92).
The following statement may be used on label if correctness can be
proven:
‘Origin’: (name of Member State or third country)
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11. Country of Origin Labelling
• Animal born, reared and slaughtered in different countries?
An indication of the country (Member State or third country) where
the animal was reared and the country where the animal was
slaughtered have to be specified on the label.
• Pieces packed together?
If pieces of meat, of the same or different species, are packed
together and correspond to different labelling indications, the label
has to indicate the list of relevant countries for each species (art
5(3)).
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12. Nutrition declaration
• As of 13 December 2016, a nutrition declaration is mandatory for
most of the food products.
• Such declaration includes (art. 30)
• the energy value (calories) and
• the amounts of fat, saturates, carbohydrates, sugars,
protein and salt.
• Exceptions apply to food supplements and mineral waters.
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13. Nutrition declaration
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Energy value and amount of nutrients (art. 31 – 33):
• Shall relate to food as sold or food as prepared if detailed preparation
instructions are given.
• Expressed per 100 g or 100 ml.
• In addition: expression per portion (also state quantity per portion and
number of portions.
Presentation? Tabular or linear.
Tabular is preferred, but when space does
not allow: linear.
Other forms allowed when meeting the
criteria in art. 35.

14. Claims on your label?
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Regulation 1925/2006 on nutrition and health claims for food products.
NL: Database Claimsverordening from KOAG-KAG (Dutch self-regulatory
body that advises on advertisements for health products including food).
Label-check by KOAG-KAG could be interesting. Approval is
communicated with Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety
Authority (NVWA).
! Nutrition declaration is mandatory (art. 49 FIC)

15. Conclusions & expectations
1. Food information Regulation brings along many changes!
2. Most important ones are (i) many new mandatory particulars,
(ii) nutrition declaration and (iii) requirements re. legibility.
3. However, not ful harmonization due to language requirements
and room for national measures, for example on allergens.
4. Increasing administrative burden for the industry. Plan to
introduce COOL for processed meats (contrary to report in
December 2013!).
Resolution February 2015: EP urges European Commission to
come with a legislative proposal regarding mandatory COOL for
processed meats. Why? Rebuilt consumer confidence in the wake
of the horsemeat scandal.
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16. Sofie van der Meulen
Axon Advocaten
Piet Heinkade 183
1019 HC Amsterdam
+31 88 650 6500
+31 6 53 44 05 67
sofie.vandermeulen@axonlawyers.com
www.foodhealthlegal.com
@FoodHealthLegal
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION