Food labelling and packaging
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1. Overview
To sell food and drink products, the label must be:
- clear and easy to read
- permanent
- easy to understand
- easily visible
- not misleading
You must show certain basic information and list the ingredients. You might also have to show certain warnings.
There are special regulations for labelling wine.
Products sold loose or in catering businesses
If you run a catering business, you sell food loose or package it for sale in your shop, you only need to show:
- the name of the food
- if any of the ingredients have been irradiated, or have come from genetically modified sources
- certain warnings
- any food additive you have added
- allergen information
You must show more information if you sell meat products loose.
Packaging
If you package food yourself, you must use packaging that’s suitable for food use. Suitable packaging is marked ‘for food contact’ or has a symbol on it that looks like a wine glass and a fork.
There are special rules for using plastics, ceramics or cellophane for packaging. You must have written evidence that you’ve kept to them.
This is known as a ‘declaration of compliance’ and you can get it from your packaging supplier. You also have to get one if you buy food that’s already packaged for sale in any of those materials.
Read the national legislation on food contact materials for England, Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland.
Food assurance schemes
You could also join voluntary food assurance schemes such as Red Tractor or Lion Eggs. These schemes let customers know food has been produced to certain standards, for example on food safety or animal welfare.
2. Food labelling - what you must show
You must show the following information:
- the name of the food
- a ‘best before’ or ‘use by’ date
- any necessary warnings
- net quantity information
- a list of ingredients (if there is more than 1)
- the country or place of origin, if required
- the lot number or use-by date
- any special storage conditions
- instructions for use or cooking, if necessary
If you’re selling food in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland), you must also include the name and address of the UK or EU business responsible for the information on the food. If the business is not in the UK or EU, you must include the name and address of the importer.
If you’re selling food in Northern Ireland, you must include the name and address of the Northern Irish or EU business responsible for the information on the food. If the business is not in Northern Ireland or the EU, you must include the name and address of the importer.
Check if there are other food labelling standards you must follow.
Quantity information
You must put the net quantity in grams, kilograms, millilitres or litres on the label of:
- packaged food over 5g or 5ml
- packaged herbs and spices
Solid foods packed in a liquid (or an ice glaze) must show the drained net weight.
The net quantity must be close enough to the name of the food that you can see all this information at the same time. This also applies to the alcoholic strength for alcoholic drinks.
You do not have to show the weight or volume on foods sold by number, for example 2 bread rolls, provided that you can clearly see the number of items inside the packaging.
Read more guidance on quantity labelling.
Information you may have to show
You must also show these if they apply to your product:
- a warning for drinks with an alcohol content above 1.2%
- a warning if the product contains GM ingredients, unless their presence is accidental and 0.9% or less
- a warning if the product has been irradiated
- the words ‘packaged in a protective atmosphere’ if the food is packaged using a packaging gas
Country or place of origin
You must show the country or place of origin for:
- beef, veal, lamb, mutton, pork, goat and poultry
- fish and shellfish
- honey
- olive oil
- wine
- fruit and vegetables
You can label certain food from EU countries and Northern Ireland as ‘origin EU’. Food from and sold in Great Britain can be labelled as ‘origin EU’ until 31 December 2023. Check the rules for when to label meat, fish and shellfish with their country of origin.
You must also show the country of origin if customers might be misled without this information, for example if the label for a pizza shows the leaning tower of Pisa but the pizza is made in the UK.
If the primary ingredient in the food comes from somewhere different from where the product says it was made, the label must show this. For example, a pork pie labelled ‘British’ that’s produced in the UK with pork from Denmark, must state ‘with pork from Denmark’ or ‘made with pork from outside the UK’.
Special rules for some products
There are special rules about what you have to show on the label if you supply any of the following:
- bottled water
- bread and flour
- cocoa and chocolate products
- fats and oils
- fish
- fruit juices and nectars
- honey
- jams and preserves
- meat and meat products
- milk and milk products
- soluble coffee
- sugar
3. Ingredients list
If your food or drink product has 2 or more ingredients (including any additives), you must list them all. Ingredients must be listed in order of weight, with the main ingredient first.
Ingredient quantities
You also have to show the percentage of an ingredient if it is:
- highlighted by the labelling or a picture on a package, for example ‘extra cheese’
- mentioned in the name of the product, for example ‘cheese and onion pasty’
- normally connected with the name by the consumer, for example fruit in a summer pudding
Allergens
You must highlight allergens on the label using a different font, style or background colour. You must also list them in the ingredients.
The allergens you need to highlight and list are:
- celery
- cereals containing gluten - including wheat, rye, barley and oats
- crustaceans - including prawns, crab and lobster
- eggs
- fish
- lupin
- milk
- molluscs - including squid, mussels, cockles, whelks and snails
- mustard
- nuts
- peanuts
- sesame seeds
- soya beans
- sulphur dioxide or sulphites at levels above 10mg per kilogram or per litre
4. Food and drink warnings
You must show an appropriate warning on the label if your food contains certain ingredients.
| Ingredient | Wording you must use |
|---|---|
| Allura red (E129) | ‘May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children’ |
| Aspartame | ‘Contains a source of phenylalanine’ |
| Caffeine over 150 mg/l | ‘Not suitable for children, pregnant women and persons sensitive to caffeine’ |
| Carmoisine (E122) | ‘May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children’ |
| Liquorice | ‘Contains liquorice’ (you may need extra wording for confectionery or alcohol containing liquorice) |
| Polyols | ‘Excessive consumption may cause a laxative effect’ |
| Ponceau 4R (E124) | ‘May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children’ |
| Quinoline yellow (E104) | ‘May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children’ |
| Raw milk | ‘This milk has not been heat-treated and may therefore contain organisms harmful to health’ |
| Skimmed milk with non-milk fat | There’s no fixed wording, but you must show a warning that the product is unfit or not to be used for babies. |
| Sulphur dioxide over 10mg/l | ‘Contains sulphur dioxide (or sulphites/sulfites)’ |
| Sunset yellow (E110) | ‘May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children’ |
| Sweeteners | ‘With sweetener(s)’ |
| Sweeteners and sugar | ‘With sugar and sweetener(s)’ |
| Tartrazine (E102) | ‘May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children’ |
5. Nutrition, health claims and supplement labelling
Nutrition labelling
You must follow nutrition labelling information rules for all pre-packed products unless both of the following apply:
- you’re a small business with under 10 employees and a turnover of less than £1.4 million
- you supply either direct to consumers or to local retailers - local means within your county, your neighbouring county, or up to 30 miles from your county boundary
Nutrition and health claims
You have to follow certain rules if you want to make a nutrition claim (for example, low fat) or a health claim (for example, calcium helps maintain normal bones).
You cannot claim or imply that food can treat, prevent or cure any disease or medical condition.
Food supplements, fortified foods and foods for specific nutritional uses
You must follow certain rules if you are manufacturing, selling or importing:
- a food supplement
- a food fortified with vitamins and minerals
There are also specific rules for ‘parnuts foods’, for example:
- formula milk for infants and young children
- baby food
- meal and total diet replacement for weight control
- medical foods
You must tell the Department for Health if you want to sell infant formula or medical food in the UK.
6. Organic food
If you’re a retailer, you can label products ‘organic’ as long as:
- at least 95% of the farm-grown ingredients are organic
- you sell direct to customers in your shop
Organic certification
You must be certified by one of the organic control bodies if you produce or prepare organic food and you want to sell or label it as organic.
You can decide which body to register with based on your location and needs.
Once registered you’ll have to:
- follow a strict set of guidelines laid down by national and international law
- keep thorough and accurate records of production processes
- allow annual and random inspections
You’ll also have to follow the rules for labelling organic products.