Basic labeling requirements for prepackaged foods

In this week’s article we explore what the requirements for labels are when food items are imported into Fiji. In Fiji, the labeling of prepackaged food is governed by the Food safety Act 2003 and the Food Safety Regulation of 2009; in situations where standards are not available the Codex Alimentarius is refereed as the paramount reference standard. Food labels can provide a wide range of information to help consumers make food choices. Food labels also help to protect public health and safety by displaying information such as use by (expiry) dates, ingredients, certain allergens, instructions for storage and preparation and advisory and warning statements. The Codex Alimentarius is a collection of internationally recognized standards, codes of practice, guidelines and other recommendations relating to foods, food production and food safety. Its texts are developed and maintained by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, a body that was established in early November 1961 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), was joined by the World Health Organization (WHO) in June 1962 and held its first session in Rome in October 1963. The Commission’s main goals are to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the international food trade. The Codex Alimentarius is recognized by the World Trade Organization (WTO) as an international reference point for the resolution of disputes concerning food safety and consumer protection. The Codex Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL) drafts provisions on labeling applicable to all foods; considers, amends, and endorses draft specific provisions on labeling prepared by the Codex Committees drafting standards, codes of practice, and guidelines; and studies specific labeling problems assigned by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The Committee also studies problems associated with the advertisement of food with particular reference to claims and misleading descriptions. This article will focus on the food labeling standards, terms used in food labeling, mandatory labeling on prepackaged foods, requirements of ingredient list, country of origin of prepackaged products, general label requirement and language of labeling. Prepackaged food: shall not be described or presented on any label or in any labelling in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive or is likely to create an erroneous impression regarding its character in any respect. They shall also not be described or presented on any label or in any labelling by words, pictorial or other devices which refer to or are suggestive either directly or indirectly, of any other product with which such food might be confused, or in such a manner as to lead the purchaser or consumer to suppose that the food is connected with such other product.

Food labeling

The name shall indicate the true nature of the food and normally be specific and not generic. Where a name or names have been established for a food in a Codex Alimentarius Standard, at least one of these names shall be used.

Ingredient list on food labels:

Except for single ingredient foods, a list of ingredients shall be declared on the label. The list of ingredients shall be headed or preceded by an appropriate title which consists of or includes the term ‘ingredient’. All ingredients shall be listed in descending order of ingoing weight at the time of the manufacture of the food. Where an ingredient is itself the product of two or more ingredients, such a compound’s ingredient may be declared, as such, in the list of ingredients, provided that it is immediately accompanied by a list, in brackets, of its ingredients in descending order of proportion. Where a compound ingredient (for which a name has been established in a Codex standard or in national legislation) constitutes less than 5% of the food, the ingredients, other than food additives which serve a technological function in the finished product, need not be declared. The following foods and ingredients are known to cause hypersensitivity and shall always be declared: • Cereals containing gluten; i.e., wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt or their hybridized strains and products of these; • Crustacea and products of these; • Eggs and egg products; • Fish and fish products; • Peanuts, soybeans and products of these; • Milk and milk products (lactose included); • Tree nuts and nut products; and • Sulphite in concentrations of 10 mg/kg or more The presence in any food or food ingredients obtained through biotechnology of an allergen

transferred from any of the products listed above shall be declared.

As an alternative to the general provisions of this section, for dehydrated or condensed foods which are intended to be reconstituted by the addition of water only, the ingredients may be listed in order of proportion in the reconstituted product provided that a statement such as “ingredients of the product when prepared in accordance with the directions on the label” is included.

Added water shall be declared in the list of ingredients except when the water forms part of an ingredient such as brine, syrup or broth used in a compound food and declared as such in the list of ingredients. Water or other volatile ingredients evaporated in the course of manufacture need not be declared.

Country of origin of prepackaged foods:

When a food undergoes processing in a second country which changes its nature, the country in which the processing is performed shall be considered to be the country of origin for the purposes of labeling.

The country of origin of the food shall be declared if its omission would mislead or deceive the consumer. Each container shall be embossed or otherwise permanently marked in code or in clear to identify the producing factory and the lot.

The name and address of the manufacturer, packer, distributor, importer, exporter or vendor of the food shall be declared

General labelling requirement:

Labels in prepackaged foods shall be applied in such a manner that they will not become separated from the container. Statements required to appear on the label by virtue of this standard or any other Codex standards shall be clear, prominent, indelible and readily legible by the consumer under normal conditions of purchase and use. Where the container is covered by a wrapper, the wrapper shall carry the necessary information or the label on the container shall be readily legible through the outer wrapper or not obscured by it. The name and net contents of the food shall appear in a prominent position and in the same field of vision. he “date of minimum durability” shall be declared. This shall consist at least of: the day and the month for products with a minimum durability of not more than three months; the month and the year for products with a minimum durability of more than three months.

Language of food labelling:

The language used in the label of food produced in Fiji for use in Fiji shall be in English. For imported food the mandatory information shall at least be in English language.

In the case of either relabeling or a supplementary label, the mandatory information provided shall fully and accurately reflect that in the original label.

Basic Definitions used in food labeling:

I. “Date of Manufacture” means the date on which the food becomes the product as described.

II. “Date of Packaging” means the date on which the food is placed in the immediate container in which it will be ultimately sold.

III. “Sell-by-Date” means the last date of offer for sale to the consumer after which there remains a reasonable storage period in the home.

IV. “Date of Minimum Durability” (“best before”) means the date which signifies the end of the period under any stated storage conditions during which the product will remain fully marketable and will retain any specific qualities for which tacit or express claims have been made. However, beyond the date the food may still be perfectly satisfactory.

V. “Use-by Date” (“Recommended Last Consumption Date”, “Expiration Date”) means the date which signifies the end of the estimated period under any stated storage conditions, after which the product probably will not have the quality attributes normally expected by the consumers. After this date, the food should not be regarded as marketable. VI. “Food Additive” means any substance not normally consumed as a food by itself and not normally used as a typical ingredient of the food, whether or not it has nutritive value, the intentional addition of which to food for a technological (including organoleptic) purpose in the manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packing, packaging, transport or holding of such food results, or may be reasonably expected to result, (directly or indirectly) in it or its by-products becoming a component of or otherwise affecting the characteristics of such foods. The term does not include “contaminants” or substances added to food for maintaining or improving nutritional qualities. VII. “Ingredient” means any substance, including a food additive, used in the manufacture or preparation of a food and present in the final product although possibly in a modified form.