Five labelling rules

As a freelancer in food, I see a growing number of small-scale manufacturers who are impassioned about making unique products. I have a soft spot for passion-filled products from small manufacturers. Their quality is often above average, they have a genuine ‘story’ behind them and they increase the diversity of food categories. 

However, the way these small-scale manufacturers label their products does not always comply with food labelling laws. The errors are usually innocent but there are also some cases which you could call misleading, such as the omission of additives that would detract from an otherwise appealing list of ingredients. And I occasionally see downright dangerous mistakes, such as allergens that are labelled incorrectly (or even not at all). 

Because these companies are relatively small, they often fly below the radar of the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA). Since NVWA’s budget is limited it tends to focus on larger operations which would cause relatively more damage in the case of a labelling error, and Dutch consumer watchdogs such as Foodwatch and Consumentenbond generally don’t have small artisan producers in their sights.

I know that many (small) manufacturers don’t label their products incorrectly on purpose. It is nearly always the result of ignorance – they’ve either failed to do their legal homework or have misinterpreted the law. Here are five important labelling rules to help you avoid the most common mistakes: 

1.    If you add a composite ingredient, it is mandatory to break this down into its component parts (in brackets) in the list of ingredients.  
2.    The ingredients must be listed in order of quantity: most is first, least is last.
3.    If you actively name ingredients or show an image of them on the label, you must include the percentage they account for in the list of ingredients.
4.    If any allergens are present, they must be listed in the list of ingredients in bold type.
5.    It is mandatory to list the nutritional values for at least six substances: fats, saturated fats, carbohydrates, sugar, proteins and salt. 

Putting together a good list of ingredients is not rocket science, but if you want to do it properly then you will need to do a little research – or enlist specialist help. 

www.firmavier.nl