11. On-pack Information

Transcription

1 11. On-pack Information Food Standards Australia & New Zealand (FSANZ) sets out food labelling requirements in the Food Standards Code ( ) with helpful information and links and recommendations on their website ( These standards are enforced by the Australian states and territories. The Food Standards Code includes the general labelling and information requirements (Chapter 1 of the Code) that are relevant to all foods, and sets out which requirements apply in different situations (e.g. food for retail sale, food for catering purposes, or an intra-company transfer). The Code also includes specific labelling and information requirements that apply to certain food products only (Chapter 2 of the Code). In addition to the Food Standards Code, all representations made about food are subject to fair trading laws and food laws in Australia and New Zealand which prohibit false, misleading or deceptive representations (for further information see The information below are summarised guidelines only please refer to the code for the most up to date information. Name or description Nutritional information Processing Getting all the information, graphics and images required on-pack together before briefing designers on label design saves time and money. Legibility: Label text must be in English, be legible, prominent, and distinct from background colours. Font and font size are not prescribed, except for country of origin text which must be at least 5mm, and warning statements which must be at least 3mm (1.5mm on small packages). Allergenic ingredients and Allergen statements must be in bold. Claims: A label must not include words, statements, claims, pictures or graphics that imply how a food is used, rather than what is in-pack, without relevant text such as Recipe, Serving Suggestion or other statement. Information: There are legal requirements about what you say about your product on-pack (Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code). Retailers may have further requirements. Whole and cut fresh vegetables in packages that do not obscure their nature or quality are exempt, but still need to provide: Food identification (name of the food), including any process that the food has undergone, e.g. sliced carrots. Lot identification, i.e. date marking; over-printed at the point of manufacturing. Name and full business address (street number, street name, town/suburb and State) of the manufacturer or packer. 35

2 More complex products also require: Date Marks: Processed vegetables must display a manufacturing date mark that shows at least the day and month. Example: 3 12, 3 Dec, , or 3 Dec 13. A unique batch code may also be required. Shelf-life and Use By dates: In Australia, a shelf-life of 8-20 days is usual for whole/processed fresh vegetable products, depending on the product, retailer and distance to market. This includes time in transit, in-store, and at-home. Throughout shelf-life, the product should be safe and appealing to eat when stored under recommended conditions. An appropriate Use By date will need to be applied to processed/packed vegetable products, to ensure the product is not sold after the date has expired. You will need to overprint packs with date marks/batch codes and Use By dates as they are manufactured. Storage Conditions: For processed vegetable products, you need to state specific storage conditions required for safe shelf-life; e.g. Store below 4 C. You may also need to add any cooking recommendations if a cookstep has been assumed as part of safe shelf-life. Ingredients Lists need to include: A statement of ingredients, including additives. Use generic names, i.e. vegetable instead of carrots and leeks, unless these are characterising* for the product. Be specific about which cereals, nuts, sources of fats and oils, or crustacea (i.e. Allergens) are present, and indicate if ingredients are dried or otherwise processed. List ingredients in descending order of weight (i.e. greatest first). For compound ingredients (i.e. an ingredient that contains more than one ingredient such as vinegar, cheese), list all components that will be 5% or more by weight in the final food. Indicate if alternatives may be supplied, e.g. safflower or sunflower oil. For food additives, the additive name must be declared in the ingredient list, in the following format: - the class name followed by the food additive number e.g. colour (102); or - the class name followed by the full name of the additive e.g. colour (Tartrazine). For flavourings, the word flavouring, flavour or the specific name or description of the flavouring may be used. * Characterising ingredients or components must be declared in the ingredient list as a percentage of the food; i.e. Beetroot Salad Ingredients list: Beetroot (minimum 25%)... Characterising ingredients/components may: - appear in the name of the food - be associated with the food by the consumer - be emphasised on the label in words, pictures or graphics - be essential to characterise the food or distinguish it from another food with which it might be confused. 36

3 Allergens: Gluten, crustacea, eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, soybeans, added sulphites, tree nuts and sesame seeds must be declared in the ingredients list in bold, and as a separate statement (in bold) regarding allergens and whether they are present ( contains ) or as a precaution ( may be present, for example if foods are manufactured in a facility that also processes allergenic foods). Allergens may be ingredients, additives or processing aids, and the suppliers of these components will supply this information to you. Country of Origin Labelling: The Australian Government has introduced a new country of origin food labelling system, which commenced on 1 July Under the new system, country of origin labelling requirements come under Australian Consumer Law. Businesses have two years to change their food labels to comply with the new law before it becomes mandatory on 1 July Information about the new labels is available on the Department of Industry website ( General information about country of origin labelling is available from the ACCC website ( au/consumers/groceries/country-of-origin). In April 2017 the ACCC published its new Guide for business: Country of origin food labelling. ( accc.gov.au/publications/browse-publications). Health Star Rating: The Health Star Rating system is a voluntary front-of-pack labelling scheme that has been endorsed by the Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation (Forum). Many food producers are using this system. All information relating to this can be found at: Including guidance and tools to help food manufacturers and retailers apply the Health Star Rating to their products. It includes the Health Star Rating Calculator, a technical guide for industry with information to help use the Calculator, a Style Guide on applying the label to food products, information about assessing potential anomalies and information about assessing dispute notices. 37

4 The following information may also be required or useful: Pack Weight: For whole or cut vegetable products, this is usually expressed in grams (g). More detailed information is available at Serving Size: There are no strict guidelines for this, except that it has to be realistic for normal consumers, and cannot be manipulated inappropriately to achieve energy or nutrient content claims, per serve. Nutritional Information: Most cut, processed or more complex vegetable products require a Nutrition Information Panel (NIP). Example of Nutritional Information Panel (NIP) NUTRITION INFORMATION Servings per package: [to be inserted based on pack size] Serving size: 75 g Quantity per Serving % Daily intake per serve Quantity per 100 g Energy 92 kj 1% 122 kj Protein 1.8 g 4% 2.4 g Fat, total 0.2 g 0% 0.2 g saturated 0 g 0% 0.0 g Carbohydrate 2.0 g 1% 2.7 g sugars 1.0 g 1% 1.3 g Dietary fibre, total 2.3 g 8% 3.1 g Sodium 2 mg 0% 3 mg % Daily intakes are based on an average adult diet of 8700 kj. Your daily intakes may be higher or lower depending on your energy needs. RDI = Recommended Dietary Intake; ESADDI = Estimated Safe and Adequate Daily Dietary Intake The amount of each nutrient per 100g, and per serve is required. You can also use the % contribution to the standard Daily Intake per serve. A standard disclaimer is presented at the bottom of the NIP panel, as shown. NIPs for many levied vegetables are available at FSANZ ( has a Nutrition Panel Calculator (NPC) to help calculate the average nutrient content of food products and prepare a NIP. Australian Nutrition Panel Calculator: Calculator-introduction.aspx Sources of nutritional information: foodnutrient/pages/default.aspx 38

5 Nutritional Content & Health Claims: Nutrition content claims indicate the presence or absence of certain nutrients or substances in the food, for example, low in fat or good source of calcium. There are strict guidelines for use of these. Addition of the actual content of the relevant nutrient must be added to the NIP. Health claims refer to a relationship between a food and health. Health claims are not permitted on foods that are high in saturated fat, sugar or salt. FSANZ have approved the following for all fruit and vegetable products: - High level health claim: A diet containing an increased amount of both fruit and vegetables reduces the risk of coronary heart disease. - General level health claim: A diet containing a high amount of fruit and vegetables contributes to heart health. See for further information on applying nutritional and health claims. You may also like to check out which has lots of vegetable-centric nutritional and health claim information, as well as info on managing your vegetables to retain maximum nutrients. Barcodes: For most retail products, unique GS1 (Global Trade Item Numbers or GTINs) and EAN-13 Barcodes are required, and can be sourced via GS1 Australia. Once you have your unique GTINs from GS1, a jpeg or image of the barcode is required, which must be presented on-pack at a specific size. Retailers may require GS1 verification reports that this works (i.e. scans at point of sale) prior to you printing labels. Further information can be found at Guidelines.pdf Images: Having good quality images on-pack of how consumers can use your products can increase sales. We suggest you: - Use a professional photographer, and possibly a food stylist. - Make sure you get full copyright to use the images wherever you want. - Show products as they will look when made ready to eat, or cooked via a simple recipe. - Remember to add the text recipe or serving suggestion near the image. - Consider putting the recipe on-pack too. Disclaimer: This document is a summary guide only, and does not constitute legal advice. 39

6 On-Pack Information Example Preparation/ Instructions for Use Nutrition information panel Ingredient list Allergen information Storage conditions Pack weight Name or description of the food Product Descriptor Health Star Rating Country of origin Resources: Sushi innovations 40