LABELLING
It is a legal requirement to inform customers about the food products they are buying. The food labelling Regulations 1996 states the information that manufacturers/retailers are required to display on a food product label.
By law the information on margarine and spread labels should include the following:
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The name of the product which must tell consumers what the product is.
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A list of all ingredients, placed in descending order of weight.
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Storage instructions, which give details of the best conditions in which to keep the margarine or spread to prevent spoilage, and an indication as to whether the product is suitable for home freezing.
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An indication of how long the margarine or spread will stay fresh. There are two ways of marking this information either by using a ‘use by’ date or a ‘best before’ date.
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The weight of the product. The average system of quantity control is mainly for pre-packed goods and is indicated next to the weight declaration on the pack by the symbol
‘e’.
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The name and address of the producer or, in the case of ‘own label’ products, the retailer.
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Voluntary Information
Manufacturers may decide to provide the following additional information:-
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Bar Codes - stores information e.g. price and description of product, can be read with a scanner.
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Lot or Batch Mark - used to identify each stage of the food product production process. Records details such as the date of production, production line and the packaging system. Can be used by manufacturers to trace the production process back to raw ingredients.
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Special information - additional words or symbols may appear on the label e.g. "Suitable for vegetarians" or "suitable for home freezing".
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Nutrition Labelling - Nutrition labelling is voluntary, however, if a claim is made nutrition information must be given. The margarine and spreads industry is keen to inform consumers and therefore labels will typically include the following details:
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Energy
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Protein
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Carbohydrate
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(of which sugars)
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Fat
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(of which saturates)
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Sodium
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Salt
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Other information
The label may also include information on the proportion of Recommended Daily Allowance
(RDA) of minerals or vitamins. RDAs are laid down in the Food Labelling Regulations. The use of claims of any description are very strictly governed by law. A bar code, for use at the checkout, will often be included on the label, along with a lot/batch code to assist in tracing the lot or batch that the product has come from.
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