CITY OF GREATER GEELONG
HEALTH SERVICES
FOOD LABELLING REQUIREMENTS
- Summary
SUMMARY OF FOOD LABELLING REQUIREMENTS
Under the labelling requirements, the following information is required on all packaged foods for retail sale or for catering purposes except exempted foods, and where the food is made and packaged on the premises from where it is sold.
Detailed information can be located within the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) website.
Food Identification Requirements
· Name of food. This should be the prescribed name of the food, or where none is declared a name or description of the food sufficient to indicate the true nature of the food.
· Lot Identification.
· Name and address of the supplier (manufacturer/packer/importer/vendor). This must include the name and business address in Australia. A post office box or a telephone number (without an address) is not sufficient.
Mandatory Warning and Advisory Statements and Declarations
· Mandatory advisory statements and declarations (eg: for guarana products a statement to the effect that the product contains caffeine).
· Mandatory warning statements and declarations.
· Mandatory declaration of certain substances in food (eg contain nuts).
· Advisory statement in relation to foods containing polyols or polydextrose.
Please note that this is a complex area that requires careful and detailed consideration.
Labelling of Ingredients
· The label on a package of food must include a statement of ingredients unless specifically exempt.
· The ingredients are to be listed by common, descriptive, or generic name.
· Ingredients are to be listed in the descending order of ingoing weight.
· Declaration of compound ingredients eg the ingredients for canned spaghetti might read; spaghetti (flour, egg, water), meat, sugar, water or may read flour, meat egg, sugar, water. The threshold for declaring compound ingredients is 5%.
· Declaration of alternative ingredients (eg the ingredient list for a biscuit may read; flour safflower oil or sunflower oil, sugar, water).
· Declaration of food additives.
· Declaration of vitamins and minerals.
Date Marking of Packaged Food
· Food must be date marked with either baked for date, baked on date, best before date, or use by date, unless exempt from the requirement. Use by date is only to be used if product must not be consumed after this date because of health and safety reasons, eg: sandwiches).
· Prohibition on sale of food after the use by date.
· Prescribed form of date mark eg: 3 Dec or 3 12 and 3 Dec 11 or 3 12 11.
· Statement of storage conditions.
· This standard does not preclude the addition of the manufacturer’s / packer’s code.
Directions for Use and Storage
· Food must be labelled with directions for use and storage where the food is of a nature as to warrant such directions for reasons of health or safety.
Nutrition Information Requirements
· The label on a package of food must include a nutrition information panel unless specifically exempt.
· Where a nutrition claim is made in relation to the food, a nutrition information panel must be included on the label on the package of food.
· A nutrition information panel must include the following particulars and be set out in the following format unless otherwise prescribed in the Food Standards Code.
· Refer to the Food Standards Code for other specific details in relation to nutritional panels.
Nutrition Information
Servings per package: (insert number of servings)Serving size: g (or ml or other units as appropriate)
Quantity per Serving / Quantity per 100 g
(or 100 ml)
Energy
Protein
Fat, total
- saturated
Carbohydrate
-sugars
Sodium
Insert any other nutrient or biologically active substance to be declared) / KJ (Cal)
g
g
g
g
g
mg (mmol)
g, mg, ug (or other units as appropriate) / KJ (Cal)
g
g
g
g
g
mg (mmol)
g, mg, ug (or other units as appropriate)
The nutritional information can be determined from several sources
1) Nutrition Panel Calculator – http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/industry/npc/Pages/Nutrition-Panel-Calculator-introduction.aspx
2) Food composition tables/ databases eg: Calorie King Australia
3) Laboratory analysis.
Other sites that provide food labelling information are:
www.health.vic.gov.au/foodsafety/downloads/guide_foodlabelling.pdf
and
www.foodstandards.gov.au/whatsinfood/foodlabelling.cfm
Legibility Requirements
· The information contained in the label must be legible, prominent and in English.
· Warning statements must be in a size of type not less than 3mm or not less than 1.5mm for small packages.
Characterising Ingredients and Components of Foods
· The label on a package of food must include a declaration of the proportion of characterising ingredients / components of the food.
· Characterising components include the likes of milk fat in ice cream, or cocoa solids in chocolate.
· Characterising ingredients, for example, would list the amount of strawberries in a product labelled strawberry yogurt
· The proportion of the characterising components/ingredients of the food must be declared as a percentage.
Weight of Packaged Food
· A statement of content weight (or volume, if liquid) must be contained within the label attached to the package in accordance with Trade Measurement requirements.
· For further information refer to the trade measurement information on the National Measurements Institute website
Country of Origin
· Packaged food must state the country where the food was made or processed. If the product is made in Australia and some of the ingredients are imported, a statement that the food is made from local and imported ingredients must be included.
If you require any further information or assistance you may contact the Health Services at the City of Greater Geelong on ( (03) 5272 4411 or via email at