Tighter approach to misleading labels

European Regulation 1169/2011, also known as the FIC or Food Information to Consumers, is ten years old. Since 2011, it describes and regulates the requirements that labels on pre-packaged foods must meet. Although Liesbet Onghena, LabelCompliance Consultant at KTBA, does not immediately expect major changes in the regulations as such, she does see that the emphases of controls are gradually shifting. This will require sharpened attention from producers in several areas.

The label is the central source of information for consumers. Therefore, it goes without saying that it must provide appropriate information about the contents of the package, the specific ingredients, any allergens and shelf life. This is done literally, through the ingredient declaration and the nutrition table, but also indirectly through pictures, slogans and additional labels. European Regulation 1169/2011, like a lot of national and product-specific standards, pronounces on both issues.

Two risks

Errors on a label can take different forms and consequently have different consequences. "If an incorrect expiration date is included or a particular allergen is not mentioned on the package, this can lead to potentially significant health risks for the consumer and consequently heavy losses for the manufacturer, both financially and in terms of reputation. Other misses, such as an incorrect ingredient order, an incorrect Nutri-Score or a misleading photo, are less life-threatening in nature. However, these are still errors against regulations, which result in products having to be removed from shelves and also all pre-printed packaging - and this sometimes involves huge stocks - having to be destroyed and reprinted. That will still leave the manufacturer with a heavy financial hangover."

Preventing Errors

In order to avoid errors, Onghena says attention is needed at several levels. "Regarding the formal requirements for the label, at KTBA we invariably apply the four-eye principle. This means that each label is independently checked for conformity by two people. Since we are part of the international Mérieux NutriSciences group, we can also count on additional support for both translations and specific national regulations." However, as an external party, KTBA cannot check the exact content of the packaging. For this, communication between different departments at the manufacturer is particularly important. "When the product developer makes an adjustment to the recipe, it is essential that he also informs the person who designs the labels. The same applies when a product is suddenly brought onto another production line, where there is a risk of cross-contamination, for example. And at the same time, marketing departments must also be made sufficiently aware of the regulations so that they do not - knowingly or unknowingly - indulge in misleading slogans or visuals."

Gray area

The latter, by the way, will be punished more and more severely, according to Onghena. "It has not escaped the legislators' notice that the strict gaze with which shelf life and allergens are checked already dares to disappear when it comes to matters that affect the marketing of a product, such as images but also things like the clean label or the Nutri-Score. This will therefore be checked more and more strictly in the future." Although Onghena admits that there is certainly still a certain gray area in the rules surrounding the clean label and the Nutri-Score. "For example, it is currently still under discussion whether plant extracts, when used as functional agents, are accepted within the clean label or not. Several manufacturers are therefore already measuring themselves against the label, but it is expected that Europe will publish clear regulations around this in 2022 so that enforcement can also be tightened." With the Nutri-Score, which by the way is not mandatory, it is mainly the method of calculation that can cause discussion. "The rounding rules that traditionally apply to the Nutri-Score table do not apply here, with the result that the calculation can sometimes just produce a better Nutri-Score. However, when the FASFC checks that score based on the nutrition table, the discrepancy will become apparent. I therefore always advise manufacturers to do the calculation with the rounded values. If you still want to get a better score, the main thing is to adjust your recipe. It's a cliché, but honesty still lasts the longest in this one. The more you try to seek out the gray areas, the more likely you are to run into the lamp."