Handbook on Food Labelling to Protect Consumers
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The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO. ISBN 978-92-5-109547-8 © FAO, 2016 FAO encourages the use, reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. Except where otherwise indicated, material may be copied, downloaded and printed for private study, research and teaching purposes, or for use in non-commercial products or services, provided that appropriate acknowledgement of FAO as the source and copyright holder is given and that FAO’s endorsement of users’ views, products or services is not implied in any way. 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CONTENTS Acknowledgements ................................................................................................... v Preface ....................................................................................................................... vii 1 BASIC CONCEPTS OF FOOD LABELLING ............................................................ 1 1.1 Why food labelling? ............................................................................................ 1 1.2 What is a food label? .......................................................................................... 2 1.3 What is a food labelling policy? .......................................................................... 3 1.4 Stakeholders in food labelling ........................................................................... 4 2 HARMONIZATION OF FOOD LABELS ................................................................... 5 2.1 Codex Alimentarius Commission ...................................................................... 5 2.2 Regional and international agreements ............................................................. 6 2.3 World Trade Organization agreements ............................................................... 6 3 EFFECTIVE FOOD LABELLING: PRINCIPLES AND GOOD PRACTICES ............... 9 3.1 Preventing misleading labelling ......................................................................... 9 3.2 Promoting consumer understanding and use of labels .................................. 10 3.3 Format, language and legibility .........................................................................11 4 FORMULATING A FOOD LABELLING POLICY ................................................... 13 4.1 Costs and benefits of food labelling ................................................................ 14 5 REGULATIONS AND LAWS TO IMPLEMENT LABELLING POLICIES ................ 17 5.1 Mandatory labels ............................................................................................. 17 5.2 Voluntary labelling ........................................................................................... 18 5.3 Support for the implementation and effectiveness of food labelling legislation ........................................................................................................ 18 5.4 Compliance and enforcement mechanisms ................................................... 19 6 COMPONENTS OF A FOOD LABEL .................................................................... 21 6.1 Food identity ................................................................................................... 21 6.2 Ingredient lists ................................................................................................ 21 6.3 Quantitative ingredient declaration (QUID) ..................................................... 21 6.4 Food additives ................................................................................................. 22 6.5 Labelling allergenic ingredients ...................................................................... 23 6.6 Date marking ................................................................................................... 24 7 NUTRITION INFORMATION ON PACKAGES ..................................................... 27 7.1 Nutrient declaration (mandatory and voluntary) ............................................... 27 Mandatory nutrients .......................................................................................................27 7.2 Nutrient reference values................................................................................. 28 7.3 Nutrient claims ................................................................................................. 31 7.4 Front of Pack nutrition labelling ........................................................................ 33 7.5 Health claims ................................................................................................... 35 Summary .................................................................................................................. 39 Resources .................................................................................................................. 41 References ................................................................................................................ 45 iii TABLES ♦ TABLE 1 - The role of governments, food producers and consumers in food labelling .............4 ♦ TABLE 2 - Benefits and costs of labelling ...............................................................................15 ♦ TABLE 3 - Key Nutrition Reference Values (NRV) ....................................................................29 ♦ TABLE 4 - Types of nutrition claims .........................................................................................32 ♦ TABLE 5 - Types of health claims ............................................................................................36 FIGURES ♦ FIGURE 1 - Example of a quantitative ingredient declaration (QUID) .....................................22 ♦ FIGURE 2 - Nutrient declaration labels ...................................................................................30 ♦ FIGURE 3 - Examples of Front of Pack labels from Norway, United Kingdom and Australia ..34 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS FAO wishes to thank the following individuals for their contributions to this book: Janice Albert, Mary L’Abbe, Christina Wong, Carmen Bullon, Mary Kenny, Verna Carolissen, Markus Lipp, Maria Xipsiti and Chiara Deligia. v PREFACE At the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2), held in Rome 19-21 November 2014, governments affirmed that “empowerment of consumers is necessary through improved and evidence-based health and nutrition information and education to make informed choices regarding consumption of food products for healthy dietary practices” (FAO/WHO, 2014a). Food labelling was included among the recommendations in the ICN2 Framework for Action (FAO/WHO, 2014b). Food labelling has been recognized as an effective tool to protect consumer health in terms of food safety and to promote nutritional well-being. Labelling laws prevent fraud and misleading information