38|Retail News|July/August 2014|www.retailnews.ie
Labelling
New Labelling Laws On the Way New Food Labelling Requirements in EU Food Information Regulation 1169/2011 come into play in December 2014, writes Raymond O’Rourke, Food & Consumer Lawyer. EP & Council Regulation 1169/2011/EC merges while at the same time amends EP & Council Directive 2000/13/EC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs and Council Directive 90/496/EEC on nutrition labelling for foodstuffs. The first issue to note is that the Regulation covers food information rather than food labelling. The definition of food information is “information concerning a food and made available to the final consumer by
means of a label, other accompanying material, or any other means including modern technology tools or verbal communication”. In that case, any information industry provides by means of website or via social media will now fall within the ambit of this Regulation and therefore, you could be prosecuted for using information on a website that is not in line with the obligations contained in the Regulation. Mandatory Nutrition Declarations One of the major reforms in this
legislation is that Nutritional Declarations [Nutrition Facts box] will now be mandatory and must include: • energy value; • amounts of fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt [N.B. – order has changed with fats first etc.]; • the following items can be added to the declaration as a supplement mono-unsaturates; polyunsaturates; polyols; starch; fibre; vitamins or minerals (in Annex XIII); • trans-fats – the European Commission is to complete a report by the end of 2014 on the scientific evidence in Member States, diets, dietary guidelines etc as a means of assessing the need for a mandatory declaration for trans-fats; • Declaration in addition to per 100g/100ml shall also include: a per portion basis or per consumption unit; • All nutrition particulars will be presented in the same field of
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Labelling vision, in a set font size ; Additional nutritional information can be provided once it is based on sound and scientifically valid consumer research, is objective, non-discriminatory and does not create obstacles to the free movement of goods. Nutritional information can be provided front-of-pack whether in a Guideline Daily Allowance (GDA) or traffic lights format as suggested by Member States. During the adoption of this Regulation, consumer groups and the UK Government wanted traffic lights to become mandatory, while industry wanted GDAs to be mandatory. The outcome was the ‘status quo’ – Member States being permitted to recommend to food business whatever front-of-pack nutritional format they prefer, once notified to the Commission. •
Country Of Origin Labelling Country of Origin labelling will now be mandatory not only for beef as at present, but also for lamb, pork, goat and chicken. The Commission Implementing Rules on how the place of origin or provenance of lamb, pork, goat or chicken will be indicated [place of rearing and place of slaughtering] have been rejected by the European Parliament. The Commission will have to respond to the new Parliament in the coming months on this issue. The European Commission published a Report on origin labelling meat used as an ingredient in processed foods (e.g. sausages, salamis) in December 2013, which contained no Implementing Rules. In the opinion of the Commission, there wasn’t sufficient evidence that consumers sought such information and in addition, it was likely to be very costly for industry. The French Government sought
Food & Consumer Lawyer, Raymond O’Rourke.
a debate on this Report at the Agriculture Council on March 24, 2014. There were diverging views,
CBE Solution Assists with Allergen Labelling CBE, Irelands largest supplier of retail IT systems, has launched an innovative solution which will allow retailers, deli managers and butchers to comply with new legislation around allergens, ingredients and country of origin. The Food Information to Consumers legislation (Regulation 1169/2011/EU) replaces the current labelling rules and will apply from December 13, 2014. Key points for deli operators are: • All foods, whether packaged or sold loose, must indicate the presence of allergens. Therefore, any product (sold over the counter or pre-packed) must inform the customer if any allergens exist; • The legislation requires that all ingredients must now be listed on pre-packaged
foodstuffs and that the presence of recognised allergens must be clearly labelled. For retailers, deli operators and butchers, these new legislation changes could prove extremely difficult to implement as in some cases, they have no way of entering the information and in other cases, the deli scales are unable to print large amounts of data. Fortunately, CBE’s new Scale to Sale innovation will manage this new legislation change. The Scale to Sale package includes a Bizerba XC Deli Scales and a software add-on module to their WinRetail back office package. The scales uses a ‘linerless’ label with limitless space to display information for each PLU and all allergen and ingredient text can be directly
CBE’s Scale to Sale package includes a Bizerba XC Deli Scales and a software add-on module to their WinRetail back office package.
All allergen and ingredient text can be directly inputted and amended from the back office without the need to set up the products on both the scales and the tills.
inputted and amended from the back office without the need to set up the products on both the scales and the tills. “With more and more legislation coming on board, deli managers will have to implement systems that will enable them to comply with future directives,” noted Sean Kenna, CBE’s MD. “Thankfully, CBE’s Scale to Sale technology will allow them to do this and, more importantly, allow them to do it in a clear and simple way.” To find out more about CBE’s Scale to Sale technology call 1890 373000, email sales@cbe.ie or visit www.cbe.ie