Food Labelling Misc

Labelling of foodstuffs

Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 — food information to consumers

The free movement of safe and wholesome food in the European Union (EU) is of major benefit to the public’s health and well-being and is an essential feature of the single market. In addition to guaranteeing a high level of health protection, EU law ensures consumers have appropriate information to make informed choices in the food they buy and eat.

It guarantees consumers their right to adequate information by establishing the general principles, requirements and responsibilities for the labelling of foodstuffs they consume. It provides sufficient flexibility to respond to future developments in the food sector. It merges the previous legislation, Directives 2000/13/EC on the labelling of foodstuffs and 90/496/EEC on nutritional labelling.

KEY POINTS

—The legislation applies to businesses at all stages of the food chain and to all foods intended for final consumption. That includes food delivered by, or supplied to, mass caterers.
—Responsibility for providing the necessary information, and ensuring it is accurate, lies with the manufacturer marketing the food under their name. If they are based outside the EU, it lies with the importer.
—Certain information is mandatory. This includes the food’s name, list of ingredients, net quantity, use by date, instructions for use if necessary, operator’s name and address and a nutrition declaration.
—The mandatory information must be available, at no extra cost, to consumers who use distance selling to buy food before they make their purchase.
—The actual alcoholic strength must be given for any drinks with more than 1.2 % by volume of alcohol.
—Additional mandatory information must be given for certain types of food, such as those containing sweeteners, ammonium salt or with a high caffeine count.
—The net quantity of food and liquids is expressed in litres, centilitres, millilitres, kilograms or grams.
—Certain foods are exempt from the mandatory nutrition declaration such as herbs and spices, flavourings and herbal teas.
—Others, notably fresh fruit and vegetables, carbonated water, vinegars, and dairy items like cheese, butter, cream and fermented milk, do not need to provide a list of ingredients.
—Food information should not mislead the public, particularly by suggesting it possesses special characteristics or effects it does not have. It should be accurate, clear and easy for the consumer to understand.

From 13 December 2014, with the exception of the introduction of a nutrition declaration (from 13 December 2016) and the specific requirements concerning the designation of ‘minced meat’ which apply from 1 January 2014.

ACTS

Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, amending Regulations (EC) No 1924/2006 and (EC) No 1925/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Commission Directive 87/250/EEC, Council Directive 90/496/EEC, Commission Directive 1999/10/EC, Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Commission Directives 2002/67/EC and 2008/5/EC and Commission Regulation (EC) No 608/2004 (OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, pp.18-63)

Successive amendments to Regulation (EC) No 1169/2011 have been incorporated in the original text.

EU rules on producing and labelling organic products (from 2021)

Regulation (EU) 2018/848 — rules on organic production and labelling of organic products

It aims to revise and strengthen the EU’s rules concerning organic production and the labelling or organic products in relation to:

the control system;
the trade regime;
production rules.

In this way, it seeks to:

create a level playing field for operators;
harmonise and simplify rules;
improve consumers’ confidence in organic products and in the EU’s organic production logo.

The regulation broadens the scope of the existing legislation on the production and labelling of organic products (Regulation (EC) No 834/2007) to cover products closely linked to agriculture such as cork, salt, essential oils, cotton or wool.

It reviews the livestock organic production rules taking into account the experience gained and introduces production requirements for new species such as rabbits.

Principles

Organic production should:

respect natural systems and cycles and maintain and improve the state of soil, water and air, plant and animal health, and the balance among them;
preserve the elements of natural landscapes;
use energy and natural resources responsibly;
produce a wide variety of high-quality products to meet consumer demand;
ensure the integrity of organic production at all stages of the production, processing and distribution processes of food and animal feed;
exclude the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)*, products produced from or by GMOs*, other than veterinary drugs;
restrict the use of external inputs;
design and manage biological processes using methods based on risk assessment and the use of precautionary and preventive measures;
exclude animal cloning;
ensure a high level of animal welfare.

Requirements

Among other things, organic farming must:

maintain and enhance soil life and its natural fertility, stability, water retention capacity and biodiversity;
use seeds and animals with a high degree of genetic diversity, disease resistance and longevity;
choose plant varieties, taking into account the characteristics of specific organic production systems, focusing on agronomic performance and disease resistance;
choose animal breeds to take into account their genetic value, longevity, vitality and resistance to diseases or health problems;
practise site-adapted and land-related breeding.

Production

To avoid adverse effects on the environment and on animal and plant health, producers must:

take preventive measures at each stage of production, preparation and distribution to
preserve biodiversity and soil quality
prevent the occurrence of pests and diseases
control these pests and diseases;
take proportionate and precautionary measures to avoid contamination with products or substances not authorised for use in organic production.

Conversion period

When a farm wishes to produce organic products, it has to go through a conversion period during which it must be managed according to organic production rules, although its products at this stage are not considered to be organic. It can only place its products on the market as organic products once this conversion period has elapsed and has been checked.

Following the conversion period, any EU farm wishing to move to organic production must be fully managed in line with organic production requirements.

The regulation also allows mixed farms (i.e. non-organic, in-conversion and organic) provided that these activities are clearly and genuinely separated.

Certification

Operators (producers, processors and distributors) must notify their activities to the competent authorities to become officially certified that they comply with the organic production and labelling rules.

The regulation introduces a new system of group certification for small farmers making it easier for them to switch to organic farming.

Official controls and labelling

The control system is strengthened by means of stricter precautionary measures and more robust risk-based controls of the supply chain. There are on-the-spot checks on operators once a year or every 2 years if no fraud has been detected over the previous 3 years.

If a control body suspects an operator of trying to place a non-authorised product on the market as ‘organic’, it must formally investigate and temporarily ban the placing on the market of that product pending the investigation’s outcome. In the event of serious or repeated infringements, operators may be prohibited from selling products described as organic for a given period or may have their certificate withdrawn.

Specific controls on organic farming will be complemented by the EU’s general rules on official controls along the agri-food chain.

Imports

A product may be imported from a non-EU country to be sold in the EU as an organic product if certain conditions are met. It must:

comply with production and control rules of the non-EU country recognised under an international agreement as equivalent to those in the EU;
have a certificate issued by the relevant control authorities or control bodies in non-EU countries confirming the product complies with EU standards.

It applies from 1 January 2021. As of 31 December 2020, it replaces and repeals Regulation (EC) No 834/2007.

KEY TERMS

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs): plants or animals bred by modifying their cellular and genetic make-up, for example, to have higher yield or to resist disease.
Products produced from or by GMOs:
(a)products produced from GMOs are derived in whole or in part from GMOs, but do not themselves contain or consist of GMOs (e.g. potatoes produced from GMO seed potatoes);

(b)products produced by GMOs are derived using a GMO as the last living organism in the production process, but do not themselves contain, or consist of GMOs, nor are they produced from GMOs (e.g. sugar and starch manufactured from a GMO vegetable source).

DOCUMENTS

Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 (OJ L 150, 14.6.2018, pp. 1-92)

Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) 2018/848 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products, amending Regulations (EC) No 999/2001, (EC) No 396/2005, (EC) No 1069/2009, (EC) No 1107/2009, (EU) No 1151/2012, (EU) No 652/2014, (EU) 2016/429 and (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Regulations (EC) No 1/2005 and (EC) No 1099/2009 and Council Directives 98/58/EC, 1999/74/EC, 2007/43/EC, 2008/119/EC and 2008/120/EC, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 854/2004 and (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Directives 89/608/EEC, 89/662/EEC, 90/425/EEC, 91/496/EEC, 96/23/EC, 96/93/EC and 97/78/EC and Council Decision 92/438/EEC (Official Controls Regulation) (OJ L 95, 7.4.2017, pp. 1-142)

Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 of 28 June 2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 (OJ L 189, 20.7.2007, pp. 1-23)

Infant and follow-on formula — composition and information

Regulation (EU) 2016/127 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 as regards the specific compositional and information requirements for infant formula and follow-on formula and as regards requirements on information relating to infant and young child feeding. It applies from 22 February 2020, except for the rules about formula manufactured from protein hydrolysates, which apply from 22 February 2021.

It supplements Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 on foods for specific groups, which requires the European Commission to adopt composition and labelling rules for infant formula* and follow-on formula*, through a delegated act, and based on the latest scientific advice.
It bans nutritional and health claims on infant formula to protect and encourage breast-feeding.
It helps national authorities to better monitor the infant formula market through additional notification rules.

KEY POINTS

Directive 2006/141/EC is repealed from 22 February 2020 but will continue to apply until 21 February 2021 to infant formula and follow-on formula manufactured from protein hydrolysates.

Infant formula or follow-on formula not manufactured entirely from cows’ milk or goats’ milk proteins must carry the official names prescribed in each EU language. In English they are respectively ‘Infant formula’ and ‘Follow-on formula’.

Ingredients

Infant formula and follow-on formula must:

comply with this regulation, and with other relevant horizontal rules of EU food law, including Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on providing food information to consumers;
follow the compositional requirements of the regulation that are applicable to products ready for use marketed as such or to products ready for use after preparation as instructed by the manufacturers;
require nothing more than the addition of water if marketed as ready for use or ready after preparation in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions;
be manufactured from protein sources as set out in the regulation and other food ingredients, whose suitability for infants from birth (for infant formula) or for infants aged over six months (for follow-on formula) is established by generally accepted scientific data;
not contain pesticide residues exceeding 0.01 mg/kg per active substance, with certain exceptions;
not be made from agricultural products using pesticides containing the banned substances listed in the regulation, subject to a maximum residue value for the purposes of checking;
No product other than infant formula may be marketed or represented as suitable to satisfy the nutritional requirements of normal healthy infants during the first months of life.

Food information

Formula must comply with Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on providing food information to consumers, with the following additional information:

a statement that the product is suitable for infants from birth when they are not breast fed (infant formula only);
an ‘Important Notice’ (also included in advertising) about the superiority of breast feeding and a statement recommending that the product be used only on professional advice (infant formula only);
a statement that the product is suitable only for infants over 6 months, only as part of a diversified diet, not to be used as a substitute for breast milk during the first 6 months and that the decision to begin complementary feeding should be made only on professional advice based on the individual infant’s specific growth and development needs (follow-on formula only);
instructions for a preparation, storage and disposal of the product and a warning against the health hazards of inappropriate preparation and storage.

The labelling, presentation and advertising of infant formula and follow-on formula must provide the necessary information about the appropriate use of the products. This is so as not to discourage breast feeding, and the information provided must avoid any risk of confusion between infant formula and follow-on formula.

In addition to the information referred to in Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, the mandatory nutrition declaration for infant formula and follow-on formula must include the amount of each mineral substance and of each vitamin listed in annexes to this regulation respectively and present in the product, with the exception of molybdenum and the amount of salt.

The mandatory nutrition declaration may be supplemented with the amounts of components of protein, carbohydrate or fat and the whey protein/casein ratio, and other substances listed in the annexes to this regulation or Regulation (EU) No 609/2013.

Nutrition and health claims must not be made on infant formula.

The statement ‘lactose only’ may only be used where lactose is the only carbohydrate present in the product. The statement ‘lactose free’ is for use only where the lactose content is not greater than 2.5 mg/100 kJ (10 mg/100 kcal).

When the statement ‘lactose free’ is used for formula manufactured from protein sources other than soya protein isolates, it must be accompanied by the statement ‘not suitable for infants with galactosaemia*’. The statement ‘contains Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)*’ or ‘contains DHA’ (as required by the legislation for all infant formula) may only be used for infant formula placed on the market before 22 February 2025.

Advertising and promotion

Advertising of infant formula, which must contain only information of a scientific and factual nature, is restricted to publications specialising in baby care and scientific publications. EU countries can apply stricter rules such as banning such advertising, Advertising must not imply or create a belief that bottle-feeding is equivalent or superior to breast feeding.

There must be no point-of-sale advertising, free samples or any other promotional device to induce sales of infant formula directly to the consumer.

Feeding information

EU countries must ensure that objective information is provided on infant and young child feeding. Informational and educational materials must include clear information on the following:

the benefits and superiority of breast feeding;
maternal nutrition and the preparation for and maintenance of breast feeding;
the possible negative effect on breast feeding of introducing partial bottle feeding;
the difficulty of reversing the decision not to breast feed;
where needed, the proper use of infant formula.
Such information must include the social and financial implications of the use of infant formula, the health hazards of inappropriate foods or feeding methods, and the health hazards of improper use of infant formula. It must not contain any pictures which could idealise the use of infant formula.

Notification

When infant formula is placed on the market, the food business operator’s requirement to notify national authorities of the launch of new products is extended to follow-on formulae, and must include submitting a model of the label used and all relevant information considered necessary to demonstrate compliance with the regulation.

DOCUMENTS

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/127 of 25 September 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the specific compositional and information requirements for infant formula and follow-on formula and as regards requirements on information relating to infant and young child feeding (OJ L 25, 2.2.2016, pp. 1-29)

Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) 2016/127 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013 on food intended for infants and young children, food for special medical purposes, and total diet replacement for weight control and repealing Council Directive 92/52/EEC, Commission Directives 96/8/EC, 1999/21/EC, 2006/125/EC and 2006/141/EC, Directive 2009/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulations (EC) No 41/2009 and (EC) No 953/2009 (OJ L 181, 29.6.2013, pp. 35-56)

Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods (OJ L 404, 30.12.2006, pp. 9-25)

Commission Directive 2006/141/EC of 22 December 2006 on infant formulae and follow-on formulae and amending Directive 1999/21/EC (OJ L 401, 30.12.2006, pp. 1-33)

Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety (OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, pp. 1-24)

Dual quality of products — the specific case of food

Commission notice — applying EU food and consumer protection law to dual quality food products

It clarifies the relevant EU food and consumer protection laws in order to provide guidance to national authorities on how to detect potentially unfair marketing practices in relation to food and on how to apply this legislation to individual cases to ensure its proper enforcement.
It is therefore a first step towards supporting national authorities in bringing about an end to unfair commercial practices relating to the dual quality of products*.

KEY POINTS

The European Commission has received complaints from consumers in several EU countries that the quality of some food products is allegedly lower in their home country compared with seemingly identical products sold by the same food company under the same brand in other EU countries.

While the free movement of goods in the EU does not necessarily mean that every product must be identical throughout the single market, it is a source of concern when products with a significantly different composition are marketed in a way that could potentially mislead consumers to believe that the product is the same across the EU’s single market when this is not the case.

Given the importance of the issue, the Commission has taken decisive action in order to restore citizens’ confidence and trust in the EU’s single market.

This action combines two strands:

dialogue with the food industry, consumer associations and national authorities through the High Level Forum for a Better Functioning Food Supply Chain;
giving national food and consumer protection authorities powers to investigate and to prosecute those who break the law.

To this effect, the Commission has issued an interpretative notice which acknowledges food companies’ right to alternate the composition of their products to better adapt them, for example, to local consumer preferences or to differences arising from geographical and/or seasonal availability, as long as all legal requirements imposed by EU food and consumer protection legislation are met. Most importantly, consumers must not be misled to believe that products, which are marketed under the same brand and/or which are wrapped in the same or very similar packaging, are the same across the single market when this is not true. The notice explains this reasoning and clarifies how national food and consumer protection authorities can make use of the existing EU legislation to tackle the issue of dual quality of products

When investigating potential dual quality cases, national enforcement authorities shall first assess the compliance of a food product with EU food law.

General Food Law Regulation

The general food law regulation ensures that only safe food products are placed on the EU market and that consumers are adequately informed and not misled with respect to the composition or characteristics of products for sale.

Food Information Regulation

Under the regulation on labelling of foodstuffs, information on a food product must not be misleading:

either in respect of its characteristics (nature, identity, properties, composition, origin or provenance, method of manufacture or production); or
by suggesting, by means of its appearance, description or pictorial representations, the presence of a particular ingredient when in fact a component naturally present or ingredient normally used in that food product has been substituted.

This regulation also sets out a list of mandatory information requirements regarding food products which must be provided to the consumer in a clear, accurate and easily understandable format.

After assessing whether food companies have complied with EU food law, enforcement authorities must, as a second step, investigate whether their marketing practices in relation to their food products also comply with EU consumer protection legislation.

Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD)

A commercial practice is in breach of the UCPD where:

consumers have legitimate specific expectations of a product compared to a product of reference* and that the product in question significantly deviates from these expectations;
the food company has omitted or failed to give adequate information to consumers and that they do not realise that there may be a difference from their expectations;
this lack of information is likely to mislead consumers into buying a product they would not otherwise have bought.

Where unfair commercial practices affect or are likely to affect consumers in one or more EU countries apart from the country where the food company is established, the competent national consumer protection authorities also need to coordinate their work with their counterparts in other EU countries under the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation. This regulation requires national consumer protection authorities to mutually assist each other so that the authorities in the country where the food company is established can take all necessary steps to stop infringements of EU consumer law.

In addition to this guidance, the Commission has tasked its in-house scientific service, the Joint Research Centre, to develop and implement a harmonised testing approach and offers specific funding of EUR 1 million to EU countries under the Consumer programme to develop the necessary enforcement capacities.

DOCUMENT

Commission Notice on the application of EU food and consumer protection law to issues of Dual Quality of products — The specific case of food (OJ C 327, 29.9.2017, pp. 1-7)

Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 have been incorporated into the original document. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market and amending Council Directive 84/450/EEC, Directives 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (‘Unfair Commercial Practices Directive’) (OJ L 149, 11.6.2005, pp. 22-39)

Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws (the Regulation on consumer protection cooperation) (OJ L 364, 9.12.2004, pp. 1-11)

Identification and labelling of beef and veal

Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 – EU system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and the labelling of beef and beef products

It requires each EU country to manage a system for identifying and registering cattle. The rules, which include compulsory labelling, are designed to eradicate disease and to make it possible to trace beef and veal throughout the whole food chain.It has applied since 14 August 2000.

KEY POINTS

Every animal, including imported cattle, must have a tag in each ear making it possible to identify them and to determine where they were born.
EU countries must establish a database containing details of all cattle and their movements.

Every animal is given a passport within 2 weeks of being born or imported. This must accompany it whenever it is moved and be handed in on its death.
Every farmer must maintain an up-to-date register and report all births, deaths and cattle movements to the relevant authorities, within 3 to 7 days of the event. The records must be available for up to 3 years.

Labels on all beef and veal on sale in the EU must contain a reference code making it possible to identify its origin and details of where the animal was slaughtered and butchered.
Since 1 January 2002, the labels also state the animal’s country of birth and where it was fattened and slaughtered.
The labels may contain additional voluntary information about the meat being sold, but the wording must first be approved by the competent national authority.

DOCUMENTS

Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 July 2000 establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 820/97 (OJ L 204, 11.8.2000, pp. 1-10)

Successive amendments and corrections to Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

Commission Decision 2006/28/EC of 18 January 2006 on extension of the maximum period for applying eartags to certain bovine animals (OJ L 19, 24.1.2006, pp. 32-33)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 644/2005 of 27 April 2005 authorising a special identification system for bovine animals kept for cultural and historical purposes on approved premises as provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 107, 28.4.2005, pp. 18-19)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 911/2004 of 29 April 2004 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards eartags, passports and holding registers (OJ L 163, 30.4.2004, pp. 65-70 )

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1082/2003 of 23 June 2003 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the minimum level of controls to be carried out in the framework of the system for the identification and registration of bovine animals (OJ L 156, 25.6.2003, pp. 9-12)

Commission Decision 2001/672/EC of 20 August 2001 laying down special rules applicable to movements of bovine animals when put out to summer grazing in mountain areas (OJ L 235, 4.9.2001, pp. 23-25).

EU rules on producing and labelling organic products (from 2021)

Regulation (EU) 2018/848 — rules on organic production and labelling of organic products. It applies from 1 January 2021. As of 31 December 2020, it replaces and repeals Regulation (EC) No 834/2007.

It aims to revise and strengthen the EU’s rules concerning organic production and the labelling or organic products in relation to:

the control system;
the trade regime;
production rules.

In this way, it seeks to:

create a level playing field for operators;
harmonise and simplify rules;
improve consumers’ confidence in organic products and in the EU’s organic production logo.

KEY POINTS

It reviews the livestock organic production rules taking into account the experience gained and introduces production requirements for new species such as rabbits.

Principles

Organic production should:

Requirements

Among other things, organic farming must:

Production

To avoid adverse effects on the environment and on animal and plant health, producers must:

Conversion period

Following the conversion period, any EU farm wishing to move to organic production must be fully managed in line with organic production requirements.

The regulation also allows mixed farms (i.e. non-organic, in-conversion and organic) provided that these activities are clearly and genuinely separated.

Certification

The regulation introduces a new system of group certification for small farmers making it easier for them to switch to organic farming.

Official controls and labelling

Specific controls on organic farming will be complemented by the EU’s general rules on official controls along the agri-food chain.

Imports

A product may be imported from a non-EU country to be sold in the EU as an organic product if certain conditions are met. It must:

KEY TERMS

DOCUMENT

Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) 2018/848 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 of 28 June 2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 (OJ L 189, 20.7.2007, pp. 1-23)

Traceability of pre-packaged foods

Directive 2011/91/EU on indications or marks identifying the lot to which a foodstuff belongs

—It makes sure that consumers can trace the origin of pre-packaged foods.
—It requires these foods to be labelled so that consumers can see which lot they come from.
—It ensures that public health and food safety authorities can find out the origin and identity of pre-packaged foods in the event that these are the subject of a dispute or are a health hazard for consumers.
—It sets out rules for producers, manufacturers, packagers and importers for labelling these foods using a common lot identification system.

Scope

The Directive applies to all pre-packaged foods apart from:

—agricultural products which are:
—in temporary storage, preparation or packaging stations;
—transported to producers’ organisations; or
—collected for immediate processing.
—foods that are not prepackaged when on sale to the final consumer, are packaged at the purchaser’s request or prepackaged for immediate sale;
—packaging or containers whose largest side is less than 10cm2;
—individual portions of ice cream packaged together, where the lot identification must appear on the outside of the combined package.

Labelling of lots

—Each lot must be labelled by the producer, manufacturer or packager, or the first seller based within the EU if it is imported.
—The lot identification must be preceded by the letter ‘L’ except if is clearly distinguishable from the other information on the label.
—The information on the label must be easily visible, clearly legible and indelible.
—There is no need to indicate the lot if the ‘use by’ date appears on the label.

ACT

Directive 2011/91/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on indications or marks identifying the lot to which a foodstuff belongs (OJ L 334, 16.12.2011, pp. 1–5)