Food labelling - what you must show

You must show the following information: the name of the food a best before or use-by date, if required any necessary warnings net quantity information a list of ingredients (if there is more than 1) the country or place of origin, if required the lot number or use-by date any special storage conditions instructions for use or cooking, if necessary You must also include a name and address on the packaging or food label for either: the business whose name the food is marketed under the business that has imported the food Read the ‘Show the name and address of the food business operator’ section of the food labelling guidance . This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg) . Quantity information You must put the net quantity in grams, kilograms, millilitres or litres on the label of: packaged food over 5g or 5ml packaged herbs and spices Solid foods packed in a liquid (or an ice glaze) must show the drained net weight. The net quantity must be close enough to the name of the food that you can see all this information at the same time. This also applies to the alcoholic strength for alcoholic drinks. You do not have to show the weight or volume on foods sold by number, for example 2 bread rolls, provided that you can clearly see the number of items inside the packaging. Read more guidance on quantity labelling . Information you may have to show You must also include a statement if your product: is a drink with an alcohol content above 1.2% contains GM ingredients, unless their presence is accidental and 0.9% or less has been irradiated is packaged using a packaging gas - if so, you must use the words ‘packaged in a protective atmosphere’ Country or place of origin You must show the country or place of origin for: beef, veal, lamb, mutton, pork, goat and poultry fish and shellfish honey olive oil wine fruit and vegetables Check the rules for when to label meat, fish and shellfish with their country of origin . You must also show the country of origin if customers might be misled without this information, for example if the label for a pizza shows the leaning tower of Pisa but the pizza is made in the UK. If the primary ingredient in the food comes from somewhere different from where the product says it was made, the label must show this. For example, a pork pie labelled ‘British’ that’s produced in the UK with pork from Denmark, must state ‘with pork from Denmark’ or ‘made with pork from outside the UK’. Special rules for some products There are special rules about what you have to show on the label if you supply any of the following: bottled water bread and flour cocoa and chocolate products fats and oils fish fruit juices and nectars honey jams and preserves meat and meat products milk and milk products soluble coffee sugar

If your food or drink product has 2 or more ingredients (including water and additives), you must list them all. You need to use the heading ‘Ingredients’ or a suitable heading which includes the word ‘ingredients’. Ingredients must be listed in order of weight, with the main ingredient first. This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg) . Ingredient quantities You also have to show the percentage of an ingredient if it is: highlighted by the labelling or a picture on a package, for example ‘extra cheese’ mentioned in the name of the product, for example ‘cheese and onion pasty’ normally connected with the name by the consumer, for example fruit in a summer pudding You must follow the net quantity labelling requirements for all packaged foods above 5 grams or 5 millilitres. You may also need to tell users about the percentage of particular ingredients using a quantitative ingredients declaration (QUID). Read the ‘When to display the QUID’ section of the food labelling guidance . Allergens You must highlight allergens on the label using a different font, style or background colour. You must also list them in the ingredients. The allergens you need to highlight and list are: celery cereals containing gluten - including wheat, rye, barley and oats crustaceans - including prawns, crab and lobster eggs fish lupin milk molluscs - including squid, mussels, cockles, whelks and snails mustard nuts peanuts sesame seeds soya beans sulphur dioxide or sulphites at levels above 10mg per kilogram or per litre Find out how to label allergens on prepacked food . You should use a precautionary allergen label if there’s a chance that traces of allergens have got into products accidentally.

Precautionary allergen labelling (PAL)

If you’ve identified a risk of potential allergen cross-contamination which cannot be controlled, you should use precautionary allergen labelling ( PAL ) to warn consumers. Allergen cross-contamination is when traces of allergens get into products accidentally. If this happens, you can use wording such as “may contain milk” or “not suitable for people with a nut allergy”. You should not use general statements such as “may contain allergens”. If you receive any precautionary allergen information from ingredient suppliers, you should pass this on to the final consumers, unless your risk assessment supersedes that information. This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg) . When you should not use PAL You should not use PAL : in combination with a free-from statement for the same allergen - for example, if you’re telling consumers that a product is free-from milk, you cannot also say it may contain milk as a substitute for food hygiene and safety practices If you use PAL when no genuine risk to the consumer has been identified, you could be misleading consumers and therefore breaking food law. How to use PAL Precautionary allergen information does not need to be on the food label. It can be communicated in other ways, such as verbal warnings by staff or signs displayed at the food premises. You should regularly review your PALs, particularly when suppliers or processes change. Read more detailed guidance on allergen labelling requirements and legislation . Get help Contact the hypersensitivity team at the Food Standards Agency ( FSA ) if you need advice about PAL . FSA hypersensitivity team hypersensitivitypolicy@food.gov.uk

Food and drink warnings

You must show an appropriate warning on the label if your food contains certain ingredients. This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg) . Ingredient Wording you must use Allura red (E129) ‘May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children’ Aspartame (E951) ‘Contains a source of phenylalanine’ if you name aspartame in the ingredients list, or ‘Contains aspartame (a source of phenylalanine)’ if you use the E number instead of the name in the ingredients list Caffeine over 150 mg/l ‘Not suitable for children, pregnant women and persons sensitive to caffeine’ (find out more about the labelling requirements for caffeine in the caffeine section of the food labelling guidance ) Carmoisine (E122) ‘May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children’ Liquorice ‘Contains liquorice’ (find out if you need extra wording for confectionery or alcohol containing liquorice in the liquorice section of the food labelling guidance ) Plant sterols and stanols Find out about the labelling requirements for added phytosterols, phytosterol esters, phytostanols or phytostanol esters in the plant sterols and stanols section of the food labelling guidance Polyols over 10% ‘Excessive consumption may cause a laxative effect’ Ponceau 4R (E124) ‘May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children’ Quinoline yellow (E104) ‘May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children’ Raw milk ‘This milk has not been heat-treated and may therefore contain organisms harmful to health’ Skimmed milk with non-milk fat There’s no fixed wording, but you must show a warning that the product is unfit or not to be used for babies. Sulphur dioxide over 10mg/l ‘Contains sulphur dioxide (or sulphites/sulfites)’ Sunset yellow (E110) ‘May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children’ Sweeteners ‘With sweetener(s)’ Sweeteners and sugar ‘With sugar and sweetener(s)’ Tartrazine (E102) ‘May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children’

Nutrition, health claims and supplement labelling

Nutrition labelling You must follow nutrition labelling information rules for all prepacked products unless both of the following apply: you’re a small business with under 10 employees and a turnover of less than £1.4 million you supply either direct to consumers or to local retailers - local means within your county, your neighbouring county, or up to 30 miles from your county boundary This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg) . Nutrition and health claims You have to follow certain rules if you want to make a nutrition claim (for example, low fat) or a health claim (for example, calcium helps maintain normal bones). You cannot claim or imply that food can treat, prevent or cure any disease or medical condition. Food supplements, fortified foods and foods for specific groups You must follow certain rules if you are manufacturing, selling or importing: a food supplement a food fortified with vitamins, minerals or other substances There are also specific rules for foods for specific groups (FSGs), formerly known as ‘parnuts’, for example: infant formula and follow-on formula baby foods total diet replacement for weight control foods for special medical purposes In England, Scotland and Wales You must tell the Department of Health and Social Care if you want to sell infant formula or foods for special medical purposes . Find out more in the Department of Health and Social Care’s nutrition legislation sheet . In Northern Ireland You must tell the Food Standards Agency if you want to sell infant formula or foods for special medical purposes.

If you’re a retailer, you can label products ‘organic’ as long as: at least 95% of the farm-grown ingredients are organic you sell direct to customers in your shop This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg) . Organic certification You must be certified by one of the organic control bodies if you produce or prepare organic food and you want to sell or label it as organic. You can decide which body to register with based on your location and needs. Once registered you’ll have to: follow a strict set of guidelines laid down by national and international law keep thorough and accurate records of production processes allow annual and random inspections You’ll also have to follow the rules for labelling organic products . You can check how food labelling rules are enforced .

Food labelling and packaging

Overview

To sell food and drink products, the information about the product (on the label, on any nearby notices or online) must be:

clear and easy to read
permanent
easy to understand
easily visible
not misleading

You may be prosecuted if you falsely describe, advertise or present a food product.

You must show certain basic information and list the ingredients. You might also have to show certain warnings.

Find out how to display information on prepacked food labels.

There are also special regulations for labelling wine.

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

Products sold loose or packaged on site

If you sell food loose, you must provide allergen information.

If you package food for sale in your shop, you must provide:

the name of the food
an ingredients list
allergen information

You must show more information if you sell meat products loose.

For some loose or packaged food, you may also need to show:

if any of the ingredients have been irradiated, or have come from genetically modified sources
certain warnings
any food additive you have added

Find out more about labelling:

Packaging

If you package food yourself, you must use packaging that’s suitable for food use. Suitable packaging is marked ‘for food contact’ or has a symbol on it that looks like a wine glass and a fork.

There are special rules for using plastics, ceramics or cellophane for packaging. You must have written evidence that you’ve kept to them.

This is known as a ‘declaration of compliance’ and you can get it from your packaging supplier. You also have to get one if you buy food that’s already packaged for sale in any of those materials.

Find out more about:

Vacuum packing

If you vacuum pack (VP) or modified atmosphere pack (MAP) food, you must make sure food is not contaminated when it’s being wrapped or packaged.

You can do this by:

using wrapping and packaging material that will not contaminate food
storing wrapping and packaging material properly
keeping containers clean and undamaged

Food assurance schemes

You could also join voluntary food assurance schemes such as Red Tractor. Assurance scheme logos can be displayed on food labels to show the product has been produced to certain standards, for example on food safety or animal welfare.

View a printable version of the whole guide

Food labelling and packaging

Overview

Products sold loose or packaged on site

Packaging

Vacuum packing

Food assurance schemes

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Food labelling and packaging

Overview

Products sold loose or packaged on site

Packaging

Vacuum packing

Food assurance schemes

Related content

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Help us improve GOV.UK

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