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Reglament re the labelling of food products has been in place since 2011, with a three year adaptation period, which ended this month. As of December 13th 2014 the new ´normativa´ has to be put into practice.
Listing of some of the novelties.
Country of origin has to be mentioned for fruit, vegetables, honey, olive oil and fresh meat. Used to be only obligatory for beef (since the mad cow crisis), but now for pork, lamb, goat and chicken as well. Exactly how this info will be included on labels will be established in the coming 2 years, by European Disposition.
Allergens have to be clearly mentioned on the list of ingredients on labels, in a different font or colour, so that they stand out. Info about allergens has to be made available for unpackaged products as well.
Oils or fats from vegetable origin can either be grouped under ´vegetable fats´ or ´vegetable oils´.
Elements that are present as ´artificial nanomaterial´ must be indicated as such on the label, most of them additives to improve taste, colour or to prevent premature spoiling.
The label must be clear and legible. Minimum fontsize 1,2 mm except for packages that have less than 80 cm2 surface, on those a fontsize of o,9 mm can be used.
In all cases, however small the product, the label must contain the product´s name, netto weight, info re possible alergens and ´best use before´ date.
Consumer Organisations have lobbied to get info re quantities of sugar, salt, (trans)fats, calories, carbohydrates and proteins included as well, but these won´t be obligatory until December 2016.
The processed food industry´s lobby has been so successful that no decision has been made about the inclusion of information on hydrogenated transfats on foodlabels in Europe at all, as yet.
LINK to the EU Directive.
