EnglishKnow the law for food and labelling requirement
On 13 December 2014, the EU Food Information for Consumers Regulation (EU FIC) came into force. These European rules are enforced in the UK by the Food Information Regulations 2014 (FIR).
It is by law that the 14 main allergens must be declared to the consumers by any food businesses, whether used as ingredient or processing aid. This would include prepacked and non-prepacked food or drink.
Pre-packed food refers to any food put into packaging before being placed on sale, their contents cannot be altered without opening the packaging. Loose foods include everything that is not pre-packed. Foods which are wrapped on the same site as they are sold are also known as loose foods.
Pre-packed food
The 14 allergens must be emphasised within the ingredients list of pre-packed food or drink. This can be done, for example, using bold, italic or coloured type which is different to the rest of the ingredients, to make the allergens easier to spot. All written mandatory allergenic information should be easily visible, clearly legible and not obscured in any way.
When a product is not required to provide an ingredients list such as a bottle of wine, any allergenic ingredients within this product must be declared using a ‘contains’ statement followed by the name of the allergenic substance.
There is no need to specifically declare an allergen if it is already clearly stated in the name of the food, for example a box of egg or a bag of peanuts.
It is a good practice to use an allergy advice statement on the product label to explain how allergens are declared within the ingredients list. For example: ‘Allergy advice: for allergens, see ingredients in bold’.
Loose food
When loose food is supplied, the food business is legally required to provide information for every item on the menu that contains any of the 14 main allergens to the consumer.
Details of these allergens can be displayed in the menu, notice board, information pack, or verbally to the consumers.
The allergy information must be easily accessible to all consumers and staffs. It is the responsibility of the food business and manufacture to ensure that all information provided are accurate, up-to-date and verifiable.
Whenever possible, check with customers soon after food is served if everything is okay.
Food will be considered unsafe if this information is missing or inaccurate. Consumers can report any food business that is not meeting the legal requirement to either their local environmental health authority or the Food Standard Agency (FSA).