Industry progress towards. to Consumers (FIC) Regulation EU 1169/2011

Transcription

1 Industry progress towards COMPLIANCE WITH Food Information to Consumers (FIC) Reguation EU 1169/2011 JULY 2014 Anaysis on a sampe basket of products from the prepared ready meas, meat, confectionery and four and bakery wares categories. This report was created by Campden BRI for GS1 UK

2 Contents 1. Introduction Summary of Key Survey Findings Nutrition abeing mandatory requirements Nutrition abeing vountary repetition of nutrition information How GS1 UK can hep? Contact Us... 9 Discaimer: The information in this report is given after the exercise of a reasonabe care and ski in its compiation, preparation and issue, but is provided without iabiity in its appication or use. 2

3 1. Introduction The Food Information to Consumers Reguation (FIC) is a very significant piece of European egisation, significant in that it means virtuay a food abes wi need changing to a greater or esser extent depending on the food concerned. It aso appies equay to a brand owners from big retaiers to sma producers. The FIC contains some profound changes and there are sti a surprising amount of unresoved issues given that the FIC was pubished in November Three snapshot surveys are being carried out to get a fee for the uptake of FIC compiance as the principa transition deadine of December 13 th 2014 approaches. 3

4 2. Summary of Key Survey Findings This is the second snapshot survey of abes in a series of three examining compiance with the Food Information to Consumers Reguation (FIC) in this critica year of change. It was carried out by Campden BRI, as commissioned by GS1 UK Ltd. It foows up an earier one in Apri and re-examines the same four food categories but does not ook at the same products. Because of this and the very sma sampe size no statistica vaidity can be sensiby reported beyond giving a very broad indication of genera progress towards compiance. Once again there is mixed degree of compiance with the new food abeing aw but there is certainy a genera improvement on the findings of the Apri survey which refects increasing uptake as the principa transition measure deadine approaches. Some product categories showed near compete uptake of the requirements of FIC whereas others gave concern because of a ow eve of change. Major brands incuding retaier own brand are making cear progress in their schedued adoption of new food abeing rues, but it is a mixed picture at the moment for smaer brands incuding imported products where the eve of compiance found was much ower. It shoud be highighted, though, that pans may very we exist for those smaer brand owners to achieve the necessary compiance before the transition measure deadines. Major brand owners wi tend to have a much arger number of SKUs to concern themseves with and, therefore, wi have had to start converting their products at a much earier stage in order to get them changed in time. However, it must be of concern to those yet to commence that there coud be capacity issues at printers ater in the year. Twenty sampes were taken across four food categories, those categories being the same as the ones checked in the Apri survey:- Prepared ready meas; Primary foods (meat and fruit); Confectionery and gift foods; Four and four-based products. A wide range of retai outets were visited to purchase sampes:- Premium retaiers; High street retaier; Discounter; Farm shop; Department store; Garden centre. One of the major abeing changes found in the FIC is in reation to nutrition information The simper aspects such as the reordering of nutrients in the mandatory nutrition pane and the fact that fibre is not one of the mandatory eements are fairy we known but perhaps a itte more obscure are the exceptions when nutrition is not egay required by the FIC at a. A number of products checked in this snapshot survey reveaed interesting aspects of nutrition abeing under the FIC and they are expained in detai beow. For the products inspected it was notabe that the recipe ist stye of ingredient ists where compound ingredient decarations are ocated beneath the main ingredient ists, a stye that was becoming the standard, was not in evidence. This might be a possibe effect of the increased font size for mandatory information meaning space on a abe is at a premium. Presenting ingredients as a singe ist and not as one with subsidiary ingredient ists is certainy a more space efficient way of presenting such information. By doing so an ingredient ist can be reduced in ength by up to fifty percent on more compicated products. One confectionery product checked did not give an address within the EU meaning that iabiity for any abeing issues woud presumaby pass to the business retaiing the product in the first instance. Some aspects of the responsibiities of food business operators in the suppy chain and the kind of things they shoud be doing are discussed beow. Minced meats were inspected in the Apri survey deiberatey as there is a separate and earier transition date for aspects of their compiance. This was foowed up in Juy and a but one of the minced meat ines checked were correcty carrying the new mandatory statements. 4

5 3. Nutrition abeing mandatory requirements Prior to the FIC it was not a ega requirement to put nutrition onto food abes uness there was a nutrition caim being made on the product. The FIC more or ess turns that on its head and makes nutrition a mandatory particuar. It does not, however, make it a mandatory requirement on every singe food product that gets sod, there are a number of exceptions that may appy. In this survey a number of products highighted some of those exemptions: PRODUCT SAMPLED CHARACTERISTIC EXEMPTION THAT APPLIES Pack of six chocoates sices coected together in one tiny gift package. Sma bag of bon-bon sweets with the abe covering the entire useabe part of the argest surface area. Largest surface area under 10cm 2 Largest surface area under 25cm 2 Beneath this size there is no mandatory requirement for nutrition or an ingredient ist and a minimum font size of 0.9mm appies. Under this size nutrition is not a mandatory requirement and a minimum font size of 0.9mm appies. For the two exemptions above it is the argest surface area of the package that needs to be considered and not that of a abe aone. Presumaby this is to avoid a very sma abe being used on a arger product (where more space is actuay avaiabe) in order to make use of these sma pack exemptions. Carrot cake Purchased from a sma farm shop about five mies away from the point of manufacture. It is not necessary to put a nutrition pane on a product when it is directy suppied in sma quantities by the manufacturer to oca retai estabishments directy suppying the fina consumer. Sma quantity is not yet defined so a pragmatic view needs to be taken. Loca is normay considered to be within 30 mies. Unprocessed organic bueberries Unprocessed product comprising a singe ingredient Nutrition was decared on the underside of the abe meaning it was not easiy visibe being marked in a conspicuous pace (a requirement for mandatory particuars). Nutrition is not a mandatory requirement on unprocessed produce such as bueberries, so putting a nutrition pane on is a vountary action. This is aowed but the easiy visibe/ conspicuousy paced restriction does not appy, so if nutrition is decared on products such as fruit and vegetabe it does not need to be decared as prominenty as it is on other products. Minced beef Unprocessed product comprising a singe ingredient In simiar fashion to the unprocessed fruit and vegetabes above, meat does not need to have a nutrition pane on it. 5

6 Two products were noted in the survey that decared nutrition information on the abes but which wi need changing:- PRODUCT SAMPLED CHARACTERISTIC EXEMPTION THAT APPLIES Gift food jar of anchovies purchased from a department store The product was produced in Spain and was abeed for the US market. It was not compiant with the content of FIC and the manner of the nutrition expression was aso incorrect under existing UK egisation. The US format of nutrition is quite different, and consequenty incompatibe, to that used in the EU. It is not uncommon to find US nutrition on packs being sod in the EU. This is often the case on confectionery products being imported from the US. The sampe in question, though, is different as it woud appear to be correcty abeed for export to the US from the EU but is actuay being sod here instead. The FIC makes the responsibiities of food business operators cear in regard to providing food information that is in accordance with appicabe food information aw. It woud not be possibe to remedy this by having the two different format nutrition panes together on one abe so it can satisfy both markets. Mik chocoate coated peanuts. Nutrition decared as four eements ony. Under the Food Labeing Reguations (the aw that wi be phased out in December 2014) it is possibe to decare just four pieces of nutrition information on a abe (energy, protein, carbohydrate and fat sometimes referred to as the big four ). It wi not be possibe to abe just these four nutrients on products manufactured after the 13 th December 2014 when it wi need to become (as a minimum) the new seven mandatory eements of: energy, fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and sat. There is a ater transition date for nutrition compiance in FIC of 13 th December 2016 but that ater date cannot be used to continue with decaring simpy the big four. Contrast these chocoate coated peanuts with a pack of iquorice cabe sweets aso purchased in the survey where there was no nutrition information decared at a. Under FIC nutrition wi be a mandatory requirement for this product but because there is currenty no nutrition on it, it may take advantage of the extended transition so it may remain that way unti 13 th December

7 4. nutrition abeing vountary repetition of nutrition information There is a cear distinction to be found in the FIC between what is commony referred to as back of pack nutrition and that found on the front of pack (sometimes known as traffic ights ). Back of pack nutrition is the mandatory nutrition requirement which must appear on a foods after taking into account any exemptions that might appy as outined above. Putting front of pack nutrition on a pack is not a ega requirement. Doing so is entirey vountary but when it is done there are a number of requirements set out in FIC that must be taken into account. One of them reates to the pacement. Vountariy repeated nutrition information has to appear in the principa fied of vision. This is defined as being the part of the pack most ikey to be seen at first gance by a consumer at the time of purchase. One product inspected as part of this snapshot survey was a bag of four which had not yet been converted to be compiant with FIC. On the pack was both a nutrition pane and traffic ights which had been paced on the top of the pack. When bags of this four are merchandised in a supermarket they are normay paced one on top of the other thereby obscuring the view of the traffic ights in this particuar instance. This pacement does not fufi the definition of principa fied of vision as it is not seen at first gance, so the pane wi need to be reocated to the main face of the four pack when it is redesigned to compy with FIC. Some packs have two main seing faces both of the same design but rotated through ninety degrees from each other. This was noted in the survey on a ready mea and the reason it is done is to aow the product to be sod either stood on its bottom or its side. In this instance it is permissibe to aow for t wo principa fieds of vision and therefore have two paces where nutrition is vountariy repeated away from the mandatory pane. Finay two products purchased had stand-aone energy pings on them in addition to correcty paced and formatted front of pack nutrition. It is possibe to do this but one, a box of popcorn, decared the energy ony as caories. This was on a product which was otherwise competey FIC compiant. The other, a retaier branded ready mea, did the same but decared the ping as both caories and as kiojoues. The atter is a much more acceptabe state of affairs as the correct unit of energy to appy is kiojoues and caories aone may not be used on a food abe. RESPONSIBILITIES The FIC does not confine itsef soey to what information needs to be presented to a consumer it aso tackes who is responsibe for that information at the various different stages. Mass Caterers incuding pubs The FIC requires that aergen information be avaiabe to consumers in a mass catering estabishments. These are any estabishments that prepare food ready for consumption by the fina consumer (incuding stas and vehices). It wi be their responsibiity to have aergen information avaiabe and ensure that it is cear to the consumer how to obtain it. It can be achieved via many methods incuding but not imited to: Backboard Menu Aergen information foder Staff Beer pump cips Responsibiities of the importer when importing products from EU and 3rd Countries When importing food products from a country outside of the EU a food abe or commercia document must name a business operator that is responsibe for the product within the EU. There was one confectionery product found in the survey to have ony an Austraian address on it. In this circumstance if there were probem with the product it woud be the retaier of the product who woud be the first point of contact to remedy the situation. The retaier woud then need to identify their suppier who coud we be acting as the importer as it is them that are responsibe for the product and its abeing. If a product cannot be abeed in accordance with the FIC in the country where it is manufactured then it must be correcty reabeed or overstickered prior to marketing to the fina consumer or mass caterer. It is the responsibiity of the importer into the EU to ensure that a mandatory particuars are on the abe or provided for in commercia documents where appropriate. 7

8 Responsibiities of whoesaers / packers In certain cases, the manufacturer of a product may be unaware of where the product wi end up. In this instance, it is the responsibiity of the manufacturer to provide a the information to the whoesaer in order for them to ensure the abe is accurate and a information is then suppied to their customers. If the whoesaer aters any information that is provided for by the manufacturer then they become entirey iabe for a the information on the product. With regard to packers and distributors they have an obigation in their capacity as food business professionas if they are aware of any product or packaging that does not compy with the reguations to withhod this from distribution. If they knowingy reease product onto the market that does not compy with the reguations then they wi commit an offence. DISTANCE SELLING The focus of these surveys is upon products physicay purchased from a variety of retai outets ranging from arge supermarkets to sma farm shops. It is not uncommon, however, for these products to be aso avaiabe by other means. Distance seing is any transaction without the simutaneous physica presence of the suppier and the consumer. Perhaps not the most hepfu of definitions but in essence it means seing food via a website, cataogue or over the teephone. The common feature here is that the potentia customer does not have the product physicay to hand and so cannot easiy check for themseves any information they might be interested in. Prior to FIC the amount of food information egay required on a website was very itte indeed but the FIC changes this by requiring that a information that is mandatory for a particuar product is avaiabe before a purchase is concuded with the notabe and entirey understandabe exception of the durabiity date, shoud one appy. After that, when the product is deivered to the consumer, a the mandatory information incuding the durabiity date, must be avaiabe. There is, therefore, a two part requirement:- (a) BEFORE THE PURCHASE IS CONCLUDED A mandatory food information with the exception of the durabiity date must be avaiabe. This can be on the materia supporting the distance seing or be provided through other ceary identified appropriate means. For a website this coud be on the product information page; A cataogue coud incude such information or direct a customer to where they coud get more information (eg a free hepine or a webpage) Orders taken over the teephone coud incude a request to the caer to identify if they wish to know any mandatory information such as any aergens that are present and have that information to hand. (b) MOMENT OF DELIVERY A mandatory information must be avaiabe when the product is deivered this wi incude the durabiity date. This is normay easiy fufied by virtue of the fact that the products wi be abeed with a the necessary food information. 8

9 The difficuty faced by website owners is that not a the product information wi necessariy be known when putting mandatory content onto a webpage. This makes it chaenging if not impossibe to achieve (a) in the tabe above if it is considered that the purchase is concuded at this point. For instance the foowing pieces of mandatory information may change:- the country of origin of some foods wi frequenty change ; there might be mixed origin on sae at a particuar time; some products are sod by catchweight not a fixed weight; The vintages and acoho content of wines wi change. Where foods are offered for sae by means of distance seing the responsibiity for providing mandatory information before the purchase is concuded ies with the owner of the website. This means that the owner of the website needs to make a reasonabe precautions to ensure that the information they are providing is present and correct. This can provide another chaenge as the owner of the website may very we not know the technica specification of product that are not theirs and reiance is often paced upon third parties to provide such information. The transmission of such information is most commony done through eectronic means, requiring such systems to hod up to date information that matches the physica abe on the product and be adapted to the needs of the FIC. The deadine for making these changes is the same as for the physica products being 13 th December 2014 so updated information wi need to be made avaiabe before that date. As with capacity issues for physica printers it is easy to see that the equivaent coud appy to computer systems. 5. How GS1 UK can hep? GS1 UK has teamed up with Brandbank to provide training that wi hep you understand the key impacts of the forthcoming Food Labeing Reguation, how these wi impact your business and how you can take steps to become compiant. Who is it for? This course is particuary suitabe for those invoved in product deveopment, brand management, and organisations without dedicated ega or reguatory resources. These sessions wi provide you with: Overview, insights and impications of the reguation Key timeines Key areas of change Practica exampes through a product/abe assessment workshop Lega insights from guest speaker Leatherhead Food Research Next steps Pease contact Ben Carke on or emai training@gs1uk.org to book your pace. 6. Contact Us If you have any questions about the content in this guide, you can contact the GS1 UK service team. Pease note however that each marketpace has different rues and expectations in terms of how merchants shoud operate, so it may be best to approach the specific marketpace directy. You can contact us via the foowing channes: Emai: support@gs1uk.org Phone: or aternativey ca +44 (0) Service team opening hours: Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5:30pm 9

10 GS1 UK Ltd Stape Court, 11 Stape Inn Buidings London WC1V 7QH > T +44 (0) F +44 (0) E info@gs1uk.org Service Team (Freefone)