Food Labelling
Prepared by: Charry Jane R. Ventura
Objectives
• Define food label
• Describe nutritional facts
• Enumerate international food
labeling standards
• Discuss the elements of food label
food label
• the information presented on food product,
is one of the most important and direct
means of communicating information to
the consumer.
• The internationally accepted definition of a
food label is any tag, brand, mark, pictorial
or other descriptive matter, written,
printed, stencilled, marked, embossed or
impressed on, or attached to, a container of
food or food product.
• This information, which includes items such
as ingredients, quality and nutritional value,
can accompany the food or be displayed
near the food to promote its sale.
• In the USA, the Nutrition Labeling and Education
Act of 1990 (NLEA) requires nutrition labeling for
What is in
most food and authorizes the use of nutrient content
claims and approved health claims.
• The nutrition label should indicate approved health
claims to clear up confusion. Proper nutrition label
your food
helps consumers choose more healthful diets and
offers an incentive to food companies to improve the
nutritional qualities of their products.
• In the Philippines and other countries in the
label? Southeast Asian Region, there is no mandatory
nutrition-labeling requirement for foods. However,
several food manufacturers, especially the
multinationals voluntarily, include nutrition
information on their food products.
• It provides consumers easy-to-use nutrition
information guide as follows:
The Nutritional • The serving size in both household and metric
measures, which shows the amount of product the
Facts portions people actually eat.
- The amount of calories from the product is also
shown.
are found at the - The amounts of nutrients and their % Daily
Values (% DV) important to the health of today's
consumers are also listed. The % DV shows how
back of food food fits into overall daily needs. For instance, if
the percent daily value of food for fat is 25%, the
remaining 75% can be obtained from other foods
labels. eaten throughout the day. These are reference
amounts set by the government for daily intakes.
- The label also tells the number of calories per
gram of fat, carbohydrates, and protein.
• In 2014 at the Second International Conference on
International
Nutrition (ICN2), governments affirmed that
“empowerment of consumers is necessary through
improved and evidence-based health and nutrition
information and education to make informed
Food
choices regarding consumption of food products for
healthy dietary practices”.
• FAO works in partnership with WHO to advise the
Labelling
Codex Alimentarius Commission on technical and
policy matters related to food labelling.
• The Codex Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL) is
Standards
the Codex subsidiary body responsible for setting
standards and guidelines on labelling that is
applicable to all foods and the
Codex General Standard for Labelling of Prepackage
d Foods (CXS 1-1985)
is the key Codex instrument for delivering
information about food to the consumer.
• The Codex standard is used by countries as
guidance for harmonization and has also been used
as the basis for new food labelling policies.
NUTRITION
LABELLING
• One of the main drivers for nutrition labelling is the
increased prevalence of diet-related non-
communicable diseases.
• These labels can be effective instruments in helping
consumers to make healthful food choices.
• To maximise the potential of nutrition labels and
health claims to improve public health, awareness
campaigns and education programmes should be
provided on an ongoing basis to help consumers to
understand and use labels appropriately.
• The Codex Alimentarius guidelines recommend the
following types of nutrition labelling: Nutrient
Declaration, Nutrient Reference Values,
Quantitative declaration on ingredients (QUID),
Nutrition Claims and Health Claims.
• Food manufacturers use date marking to advise
subsequent food chain operators on the appropriate
shelf-life of a food. The Codex Alimentarius provides
FOOD
guidance on two key date marks “Best before date” or
“Best quality before date” and ”Use-by-Date” or
“Expiration date”.
• Date marking on labels is also linked to food waste. A
LABELLING
study carried out by the European Commission
estimated that approximately 10% of food waste in
the EU is linked to date marking. Food waste can be
the result of misinterpretation by the consumer, or it
TO REDUCE
can be due to the way date marks are utilised by food
business operators and regulatory authorities.
Educating all supply chain stakeholders on the
difference between "best before" and "use by" dates
can help to prevent and reduce food waste.
FOOD • In response to high levels of food waste, many
countries have established food recovery and
redistribution (R&R) systems. Some of the R&R
operations rely heavily on date marks on labels, as
WASTE
they “recover” food items that are past the “best
before” date. In countries where the food legislation
allows, such foods can be “redistributed” for human
consumption because there are no safety implications
even if consumed after that date.
• One of the main aims of a labelling policy is to
prevent food sellers from deliberately
misleading consumers through false
representations on a package.
• FAO is following this situation carefully and is
FOOD
engaged in a number of activities to
contribute to the preparedness of countries
to prevent food fraud or to mitigate its
impacts.
• FAO is particularly concerned with the
FRAUD
provision of information and analyses that
inform policies and programmes across
sectors and in raising awareness in
developing countries on the issue and its
relevance to them.
• Recently, FAO commissioned
a review of fraud in the fisheries sector, which
is one of the most vulnerable sectors to food
fraud, providing recommendations for future
actions.
• Geographical Indication (GI) labels,
boasting an annual trade value of
over$50 billion worldwide, are legal
tools that link food products to their
ORIGIN place of origin, providing both
economic, social and environmental
value to rural regions. These labels
LABELLING are given to products with specific
attributes, qualities or reputation
stemming from their geographical
OF FOOD origin. Through the preservation of
food culture and the promotion of
healthy diets, linking food products
to their origin through labels
supports the achievement of the
Sustainable Development Goals.
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
regulates food labeling and has guidelines for
different types of claims that can be on a food
Key
label – health, nutrient content, and
structure/function.
• Health: Used to describe a relationship
Elements of
between a food, food component or dietary
supplement ingredient, and “reducing [the]
risk of a disease or health-related condition.”
a Food Label • Nutrient content: Characterizes the level of
a nutrient in a food product like high, free,
more, reduced, etc.
• Structure/function: Used to describe the
role a nutrient or dietary ingredient that is
intended to affect normal structure or function
in humans, for example, “calcium builds
strong bones.”
• The FDA also has requirements for how to
format a Nutrition Facts table and what
information should be on it. Although the FDA
doesn’t test the nutrition of every food
Nutrition
product, you must report accurate information
on your label. Below is a list of information
that should be on your product’s Principal
Display Panel (the area most likely to be
Facts
seen by consumers) in order to comply with
labeling regulations:
• Food ingredients
• Minerals
table • Caloric value
• Typical serving size
• If it contains any of the top 8 allergens (milk,
eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts,
peanuts, wheat and soybeans)
Below is a diagram of the key elements that should be on your food label:
Thank you for
Listening and
Participating
• Food Labelling | FAO | Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations
References • What is in your food label? (dost.gov.ph)
• Key Elements of a Food Label To Know | Foo
d Labeling Info (consolidatedlabel.com)
