Label compliance review

All prepacked foods placed on the market in the European Union must be labelled in line with Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 and supplementing national law. For non-prepacked foods and for foods sold at a distance, much of the same information must reach the consumer by other means. A wrong label can lead to a product withdrawal, penalties or rejection by a customer, even when the product itself complies.

What we test

We review the label item by item: the legal name of the food and any statement of its physical condition or treatment, the list of ingredients and the emphasis of allergens, quantitative ingredient declarations, net quantity, the date of minimum durability or use-by date, storage conditions and instructions for use, country of origin or place of provenance where required, and the nutrition declaration.

We advise on nutrition and health claims, which may only be used under the conditions set by law, on origin statements, and on precautionary allergen labelling, which must rest on a risk assessment. Values in the nutrition declaration can be established by laboratory analysis; some of the determinations involved are listed in our RENAR accreditation annex.

Regulatory framework

• Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers (applicable since 13 December 2014);
• Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods;
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/775 on the origin of the primary ingredient;
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014 on information on the absence or reduced presence of gluten in food.

How we work

You send us the label artwork, the recipe and, where available, the ingredient specifications. You receive a report listing the non-conformities found, with proposed corrections. If testing is needed, we agree on it together; accredited tests are marked as such on the test report.