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Food labelling, ingredients and legislation
Helping you and your team to be compliant
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The UFS Food Labelling Guide 2012 is published by: Unilever South Africa (Pty) Ltd. 15 Nollsworth Crescent, La Lucia Ridge La Lucia Ridge Office Estate La Lucia 4051 www.ufs.com
Copyright Š 2012 This work is the property of Unilever South Africa (Pty) Ltd. This work is protected under the Berne Convention. In terms of the Copyright Act 98 of 1998, no part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from Unilever South Africa (Pty) Ltd. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information published in this work is accurate, Unilever South Africa (Pty) Ltd, the editors, publishers and printers take no responsibility for any loss or damage suffered by any person as a result of the reliance upon the information contained therein.
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Understanding food labels As a chef or manager, the comfort and wellbeing of your guests is always the first priority. Your guests are better informed about their food choices than ever before. They want to know what’s in the meal they’re ordering, so they can make the best selection according to their needs. As legislation advances, you’ll want to be in compliance. That’s why if any of them ask you questions about the exact ingredients in your food, it’s crucial that you, as a food expert, know how to read the label accurately, and that you’re able to answer any dietary queries with confidence. This chapter summarises the information you can find on a food label and provides a practical step plan that will help you to analyse which ingredients and allergens are present in your own dishes.
What information does a food label provide? • Product name and description. • Which nutrients, and in what quantities, are present. • Warnings if a food contains food allergens. • Whether the food is fresh or out of date. • Storage, preparation or cooking advice. • A list of product ingredients. • Information on where the food was produced and by which company.
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Chapter 2 Understanding food labels
A food label contains information that is required by law. Essentially, they are there to provide us with basic information about what is in the food we eat and how best to handle it.
Name and description of food
Country of origin
Ingredients list & food additives Allergen information Nutrition labelling
Food recall information
Date mark Storage requirements
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Food names and descriptions Without exception, food labels must give a name for the food or describe the true nature of the food. For instance it is not acceptable just to brand a product as ‘beef stock’. Correctly, it should be: ‘Beef flavoured stock granules’. The intention is that product names be completely accurate, so that they can’t misinform or deceive the consumer.
The list of ingredients Ingredients: Maltodextrin, flavouring, corn flour, sugar, starch, hydrolysed vegetable protein, salt, flavour enhancers (E631, E627, E920), onion powder, vegetable oil (palm fruit) (contains antioxidant TBHQ), colourant (E150d), thickener (E412), garlic powder, yeast extract.
Ingredients are always listed from greatest to smallest by how much they weigh (including any added water) at the time they are added to the product. In the ingredient list you will also find additives (E-numbers) and allergens listed. Exceptions: On the following products you often do not find any ingredients: • Fresh vegetables, fruit and potatoes. • Water with carbon dioxide. • Fermentation vinegar. • Sour milk and cream. • Alcoholic drinks. • Food that consists of 1 ingredient, e.g. coffee.
Characterising ingredients If you see a percentage in brackets next to a particular ingredient, e.g. apples (26%), this is known as the characterising ingredient. It lists the proportion of the ingredient/component included in the product – in this example, what percentage of your apple pie is actually apple.
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Chapter 2 Understanding food labels
Food additives Food additives are listed in the ingredient list by their functional name and by a number* or chemical name, e.g. flavour enhancer (E621 or monosodium glutamate). *Please note labelling of E-numbers is not mandatory in South Africa.
For further information oningredients food ingredients and additives go to Chapter 3. For further information on food & additives go to Chapter 3
Allergens A further mandatory requirement is that the common food allergens: crustaceans, eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, soybeans, tree nuts, molluscs, cereals containing gluten and their products, are always included in the ingredient list.
Allergens: contains wheat gluten and cow’s milk. This product is made in a factory that also processes soya and egg.
For further information on food allergens go to Chapter 4.
Good to know Some food labels say ‘may contain e.g. nuts’. This means that even though nuts haven’t been included in the food deliberately, the manufacturer can’t be sure that the product doesn’t accidentally contain small amounts of them.
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Nutrition information table The nutrition information table provides information on the amounts of key nutrients in the product using quantity per 100g/ml and per serving.
To learn more about the nutrition table go to Chapter 5.
Claims Claims on pack can be used to promote the main benefits of a product and/ or brand. Claims can either be simple, direct statements but can also be presented in the form of logos and symbols. For chefs, claims on the product application such as ‘bain-marie stable’, ‘freeze thaw stable’ and ‘instant application’ can be as appealing as claims on the product quality such as ‘organic’, ‘made with natural ingredients’, ‘made with cage free eggs’. Also the suitability for various dietary requirements such as ‘lactose-free’, ‘gluten-free’, ‘vegetarian’, ‘without allergens’ or nutrition claims such as ‘high in fibre’, ‘low in fat’, ‘low calorie’ and ‘low in sodium’ can be relevant information for chefs.
Chapter 6 will show you some of the most common symbols and logos you’re likely to come into contact with.
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Chapter 2 Understanding food labels
Storage, preparation and preservability instructions ‘Keep refrigerated’ and ‘Store in a cool, dark place’ are important storage instructions that help you make sure food stays safe. To ensure food is safe for consumption always follow any storage, preparation or cooking instructions shown on the label, including heating and defrosting times.
Date marks Food labels have date marks to tell us about the safe shelf life of foods. These date marks help us tell how long food can be kept before it begins to deteriorate and lose key quality characteristics, like taste and colour. To learn more about different storage instructions and date marks go to Chapter 7.
Preparation instructions Preparation and/or dosing instructions tell you how to prepare/ dose the product. They are developed to ensure the best flavour and quality, and the optimal use in your kitchen. Based on the dosing instruction the nutrition data of the prepared product is shown in the nutrition table. When you follow this preparation instruction you know the nutrition data of your prepared food. The yield of the prepared product is also calculated based on the on-pack preparation instruction. This information helps you to ensure that you use the amount of product which is most cost efficient and delivers great taste.
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Country of origin If you want to understand more about where the food you buy comes from, you can look for the ‘Country of Origin’ information on pack. This information describes the country or countries where your food was manufactured or packaged.
Net quantity indication The net quantity indication of the product is provided in ml, litre, g or kg. This is the weight of the product excluding the weight of the packaging material.
Traceability information To enable full traceability, it is a legal requirement that food labels show the name and business address of the manufacturer or supplier (packer, vendor or importer), together with the lot and batch number of the food (or date coding).
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Chapter 2 Understanding food labels
Step plan – How to write your own ingredient and allergy declaration This step plan helps you to write an ingredient and allergy declaration for your dishes. This will help you to answer questions from guests with dietary requirements (e.g. food allergies).
Ingredient statement 1. List the ingredients you use in your dish in their raw state in the order of their quantity – from highest quantity to the lowest. 2. Copy the ingredient list of every processed ingredient. 3. Write the ingredient statement for your dish in the order of the ingredients listed in step 1 (highest quantity to the lowest).
Good to know • Your menu may contain both processed and nonprocessed ingredients. Non-processed ingredients often don’t have an ingredient list. In this case just include the name of the ingredient. • Each ingredient should be separated by a comma. • Ingredients should be listed with the product and brand name to ensure that the statement is accurate and the ingredient can be clearly identified.
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Allergen statement 1. Check for the ‘Common Food Allergens’ in the ingredient statement of the dish (Chapter 4). 2. Write the allergen statement for your dish by listing the allergens in alphabetical order.
Good to know • Most processed ingredients list allergens on the packaging, helping you to identify which are the allergens in your dish. If not please contact your supplier’s helpdesk. • Most naturally grown ingredients do not have allergen information on pack. For these ingredients please check if they are classified as common food allergens. • For detailed information on common allergens please refer to the Dietary requirements chapter. • Remember that allergens can enter a dish through cross contamination during preparation and serving.
The ingredient and allergen statement is only accurate if the exact ingredients in exact quantities are utilized when cooking the dish. Update your statement as needed (e.g. change in ingredients, change in quantities used etc).
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Chapter 2 Understanding food labels
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Storage continued... Answers Corporation, 2012. Is it safe to eat expired canned food? [Online] http://wiki.answers.com/Q/ Is_it_safe_to_eat_expired_canned_food [Retrieved 04 December 2012] University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2012. Refrigerated and Freezer Storage. [Online] http://food.unl.edu/ web/safety/refrigerator-freezer. [Retrieved 04 December 2012] State Government of Victoria, 2012. Food safety – storage. [Online] http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/ bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Food_safety_storage. [Retrieved 04 December 2012] Still Tasty, 2012 . Three ways to defrost food safely. [Online] http://www.stilltasty.com/articles/view/9. [Retrieved 05 December 2012] Favorite Freezer Foods, 2008-2011. Can you refreeze food that thawed? [Online] http://www. favoritefreezerfoods.com/refreeze-food.html [Retrieved 05 December 2012] State Government of Victoria, 2012. Food safety when cooking. [Online]. http://www.betterhealth. vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Food_safety_ when_cooking. [Retrieved 05 December 2012] CBS Interactive, 2012. How long does fresh fish keep in the fridge? [Online] http://chowhound. chow.com/topics/276180 [Retrieved 05 December 2012]
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