Food
1. Name of the food
2. List of ingredients, including additives, and the quantity of certain ingredients or categories of ingredients.
3. An indication of durability, i.e. ‘Best Before’ or a ‘Use By’ date
4. Special conditions for use or storage.
5. Name or business name of the manufacturer or packer of an EU based seller, together with a contact address.
6. Place of origin (if omission would mislead)
7. Instructions for use, e.g. cooking instructions on pre-prepared meals.
8. Any manufacturer who makes claims for a product (such as ‘high in fibre’ or ‘less in fat’) must support the claims using nutritional labelling.
9. The Food (Lot Marketing) Regulations set out the requirements for the making of batch numbers on foodstuffs.
10. The labelling of products as organic is strictly controlled.
11. All foods that contain a GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) should be clearly labelled.
Clothing and Footwear
1. There are few regulations on what clothing labels must contain, though an EC Directive and subsequent UK legislation cover fibre content.
2. Regulations require information on the country of origin, and the flammability of nightwear and baby clothes.
3. The International Textile Care Labelling Code (ITCLC) - the washing instructions - is voluntary in many countries, though it is a statutory requirement in some.
4. The Footwear (Indication of Composition) Labelling Regulations 1995 were implemented as a result of an EC Directive on Footwear. The Regulations lay the foundations for a common labelling system for the EU and are enforced by Trading Standards Officers under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968.
Do's and Dont's:
Do:
Contact all labelling regulations are enforced by local Trading Standards Departments; their advice can be sought on any matter of doubt.
The Department of Trade and Industry will be able to point out areas of concern in the labelling of many types of product, especially where EU Directives may apply.
The Food Standards Agency will advise on labelling regulations affecting foodstuffs.
Details of the local Environmental Health Department and Trading Standards Department will be listed in the telephone directory.
Don’ts:
Do not mislead the purchaser in any way. If a customer relies on the label’s description and the label is not accurate it may constitute a breach of contract. In some cases a criminal offence can occur.
If stock is being re-labelled, care should be taken not to infringe the intellectual property rights (trade marks or trade names) of the original manufacturers.
If you are a manufacturer who supplies to overseas markets do not ignore other countries’ environmental labelling legislation, e.g. Germany operates a system for recycling which requires product packaging to carry a ‘Green Dot’ label.
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