Labelling and Packaging

The Food Standards Agency is concerned not only with the food we eat but with what it is sold in. We are responsible for making sure that the rules on the safety of materials that come into contact with food are enforced. Food contact materials include the containers food is sold in, the packaging, as well as the articles used to handle food, from food processing machinery to cutlery.

From 1 September 2010, responsibility for certain aspects of labelling in England has been transferred from the Food Standards Agency to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). In England, the Agency retains responsibility for food safety-related labelling issues, while Defra is now responsible for labelling policy on issues other than food safety and nutrition. The Agency is still responsible for all labelling and standards policy in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The content of these pages will be amended during September to reflect these changes. Visit our consumer advice website eatwell for more information about materials that come into contact with food. Details of our day-to-day work are set out below.
oday it is increasingly unusual for food not to have some form of packaging, and as well as packaging food comes into contact with a wide variety of surfaces – for example, utensils in the home, conveyor belts in food manufacture, and boxes and vehicles when it is distributed around the country.
Find out more
Adhesives

We often see sticky labels on fruit and vegetables. These labels usually provide information on the country that the fruit or vegetable comes from, and the type of fruit, such as a Granny Smith apple.
Aluminium

Aluminium can be present naturally in food and it is sometimes added during processing. But aluminium can also pass into food from cookware and packaging.
Bisphenol-A (BPA)

The resins that are used to coat the insides of some food cans contain the chemical bisphenol-A. This coating allows canned food to be heated to kill off bacteria without the metal in the can contaminating the food contents.
Cling film

Is cling film safe to use and should you avoid using it in certain situations? Find out more.
Phthalates

Phthalates are a group of chemicals called phthalic acid diesters. They have a variety of industrial uses and are found in lubricating oils and a wide range of household and consumer goods. In food packaging, phthalate use is limited, mainly to the manufacture of materials such as adhesives and some printing inks.
Plastics

Regulations on plastic materials and articles apply to those that consist exclusively of plastics, or that are made up of two or more layers of plastic material bound together by adhesives or any other means. In their finished state, these plastics must be intended to be brought into contact with food.
Re-using packaging

Many people re-use the containers that their food comes in, or the wrapping around it. Some re-uses of food packaging may be perfectly safe, but often packaging is designed to be used once with one food and it might not be safe to use it with others, or for a different purpose.
Food contact materials
salmon packed in trays

The Agency is responsible for ensuring the public is adequately protected against chemicals that might transfer into your food from these materials, causing you harm or affecting the quality of your food.

The Food Contact Materials Unit carries out scientific research and surveillance designed to improve techniques for detecting chemicals that have transferred to the food and to enforce controls.
Working with EU bodies

The unit also represents the UK's interests in negotiations with the European Commission and other EU Member States.

The objective is to put the same controls on substances and materials in place in all member states, so that even if you go to Europe on holiday you will be equally well protected.

Once proposals for regulating materials and substances have been agreed, the unit ensures they are enforceable in UK food law. This work involves close consultation with organisations that represent all interested people, including groups representing consumers.
Specific materials

The new European Regulation (EC) number 1935/2004 replaces the existing controls on materials and articles in contact with food. The European regulation is now applicable throughout the EU and came into force on 3 December 2004.

Provisions in the regulation include so-called 'active' and 'intelligent' food contact materials and articles, intended to come into contact with food. In essence, 'active' materials and articles are those that are designed to actively release a substance into the foodstuff with the intention of extending its shelf-life, or maintaining or improving its condition. 'Intelligent' materials and articles are those that monitor the condition of the food or its surrounding environment in the packaging.

Provisions also apply to materials and articles that can reasonably be expected to come into contact with foods or to transfer their constituents to food (such as printing inks and adhesive labels). However, this does not include covering or coating substances that are part of the food and that may be eaten with it, such as sausage skin.

These general rules are supplemented by specific rules governing particular materials, such as food contact plastics.

Other materials – such as ceramics and babies' rubber dummies – are covered by the rules made by the Department of Trade and Industry.

Future provisions likely to arise from European measures should complete the work on plastics used in contact with food, with the possibility of regulating materials and articles made from recycled plastics for the first time. After this, provisions on other substances such as coatings on food contact items, rubber, paper and board, glass, metals and alloys, wood and cork, textiles and also waxes will be put in place.

Understanding labelling rules

From 1 September 2010, responsibility for certain aspects of labelling in England has been transferred from the Food Standards Agency to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

* Labelling rules
* The Food Labelling Regulations 1996
* Food compositional legislation
* European Marketing Standards
* Surveillance and research
* Enquiries about labelling

In England, the Agency retains responsibility for food safety-related labelling issues, while Defra is now responsible for labelling policy on issues other than food safety and nutrition.

The Agency is still responsible for all labelling and standards policy in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The content of these pages will be amended during September to reflect these changes.
Labelling rules

Falsely describing, advertising or presenting food is an offence, and there are a number of laws that help protect consumers against dishonest labelling and misdescription.

Consumers should be able to be confident with their choice of foods and be able to buy according to their particular requirements, be it for diet and health, personal taste and preferences, or cost. They want to be able to make comparisons with similar products, knowing the information on the label is correct.

They have a right to expect that the food bought matches the description given on the label and that they get what they pay for.

Part of the Food Standards Agency's role is to help prevent mislabelling or misdescription of foods. Mislabelling does not normally give rise to safety issues; nevertheless, when done deliberately it constitutes the crime of fraud.

In some cases, the names of foods we buy are protected by law, and must comply with certain compositional regulations.

In other cases, such as fish fingers, there may be no such standards, but the food still needs to be described accurately and should not be misleading.

Food authenticity is all about whether a food matches its description. If food is misdescribed, not only is the consumer being deceived, but it can also create unfair competition with the honest manufacturer or trader. The description of food refers to the information given as to its name, its ingredients, its origin or processes undergone.

Misdescription in itself is nothing new. Food fraud has been around for a very long time – probably as long as food itself has been sold.

In the past, basic foods such as flour, spices and beer were adulterated with cheaper ingredients. Nowadays misdescription can take many forms:

Not having the necessary composition for a legal name – in order to be called 'chocolate', for example, the food must have a certain amount of cocoa solids. Similarly, in order to be called a 'sausage', it must have certain amount of meat in it.

Substitution with cheaper ingredients – adding low cost ingredients to a more expensive product, such as diluting olive oil with vegetables oils.

Extending a food – perhaps with water or other fillers, such as adding water to orange juice, or offal to meat products and not declaring it.

Incorrect origin – incorrectly labelling the true origin of the food or ingredients in terms of:

* animal species – misdescribing the meat species in a product or not declaring other meat present
* plant variety – adding cheaper varieties to a premium rice such as Basmati
* geographical origin or country – giving the incorrect country or floral origin of a honey or region for a wine
* Incorrect or failure to describe a process or treatment – not declaring if food has been irradiated or previously frozen, or the use of mechanically separated meat (MSM)

Incorrect quantitative declaration – giving the wrong amount of an ingredient e.g. declaring the wrong amount of meat in burger

Legally, there are a number of areas that regulate labelling:
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The Food Labelling Regulations 1996

This requires food to be marked or labelled with certain requirements such as:

* the name of the food
* a list of ingredients (including food allergens)
* the amount of an ingredient which is named or associated with the food
* an appropriate durability indication (e.g. 'best before' or 'use by')
* any special storage conditions or instructions for use
* the name and address of the manufacturer, packer or retailer
* the place of origin (where failure to do so might mislead)
Food compositional legislation

There are more detailed compositional and labelling rules for certain foods, including:

* bread and flour
* cocoa and chocolate
* soluble coffee
* evaporated and dried milk
* fruit juice
* honey
* infant formula
* jams
* meat products: sausages, burgers and pies
* natural mineral waters
* spreadable fats
* sugars

European Marketing Standards

These define what can be properly described as:

* canned sardines and tuna
* olive oil
* alcoholic spirit drinks: whisky, gin, and so on
* eggs in shell
* organic food
* fresh fruits and vegetables (for more information visit the Rural Payments Agency website at the link below)
* foods of designated geographic indication or origin, such as Parma ham, West Country Cheddar (for more information visit the Defra website at the link below)
Surveillance and research

Occasionally, misdescription can affect your health or safety. People who cannot eat certain foods because they are intolerant or allergic to them may suffer severe or life threatening reactions.

It makes it much more difficult to avoid these foods if they have incorrect or inaccurate labels. A contaminated product could also cause illness if it was deliberately being passed off as authentic.

The FSA has a programme of surveillance specifically devoted to food authenticity where we carry out ad hoc checks on foods to identify adulteration and misdescription.

We also have a research programme devoted to developing new methods and techniques to support the surveillance programme.

sumber:http://www.food.gov.uk/foodlabelling/researchandreports/