Food Labelling Regulations 1996
These Regulations consist of five parts and various schedules.
Part I - Interprets the terms used in the Regulations and lists specific exemptions.
Part II - Specify the labelling requirements under the Regulations
Part III -
Part IV - Defines the offences under the Regulations and specific defences available.
Part V - Miscellaneous
The Labelling requirements in Part II relate to food which is ready for delivery to the ultimate consumer or to a catering establishment and state that it must be marked or labelled with:
· the name of the food
· a list of the ingredients
· an appropriate durability indication
· any special storage conditions or conditions of use
· the name and address of the manufacturer or packer or of a seller
and in certain cases:
· particulars of the place of origin of the food and
· instructions for use.
“An appropriate durability indication” means:
an indication of minimum durability – a “best before” date
or, in the case of food which from the microbiological point of view, is highly perishable and, in consequence, likely after a short period to constitute an immediate danger to human health – a “use by” date.
“Best before” on the label or marking should be followed by the date up to and including which the food can reasonably be expected to retain its specific properties if properly stored and also any storage conditions which need to be observed if the food is to retain its specific properties until that date.
The date shall be expressed in terms of a day, month and year (in that order) with variations as follows:
a. if the expected “shelf life” of a food is three months or less then the date can be a day and month only.
b. if the expected “shelf life” is more than three months but not more than 18 months then the date can be expressed as a month and year only, provided the words “best before” are replaced by the words “best before end” and
c. if the expected “shelf life” is more than 18 months then the date can be expressed either in terms of a month and year only or in terms of a year only, provided (in either case) the words “best before” are replaced by the words “best before end”.
“Use by” on a label or marking must indicate the date up to and including which the food, if properly stored, is recommended for use and any storage conditions that need to be observed.
“Use by” must be followed either by a day and month (in that order) or of a day, a month and a year (in that order) or alternatively by a reference to the place where the date (and storage conditions, if appropriate) appears.
Regulation 29 in Part II deal with food sold from vending machines and prescribes the additional labelling requirements of this category of food. For advice contact your local trading standards authority or the Helpline.
Part II of the Regulations also sets out other specific labelling requirements that apply in particular circumstances and provides a list of foods which need not bear an appropriate durability indication (i.e. “best before” or “use by” date). The reason for this is that the foods listed have their own particular Regulations. For more details contact your local trading standards authority or the Helpline.
Part III of the Regulations restricts claims that can be made about the “benefits” of certain foods, nutrition labelling and misleading descriptions in labelling or advertising of a food. Again detailed advice can be obtained from Trading Standards or the Helpline.
Part IV of the Regulations specifies the offences and penalties:
1. If any person:
a. sells any food which is not marked or labelled in accordance with the provisions of Part II of these Regulations, or
b. sells or advertises for sale any food in respect of which a claim is made, nutrition labelling is given or a description or a name is used in contravention of the provisions of Part III of these Regulations, or
c. sells any food from a vending machine in contravention of regulation 29, or
d. sells any food after the date shown in a “use by” date relating to it, or
e. being a person other than whichever of
i. the manufacturer,
ii the packer, or
iii the seller established within the European Community,
was originally responsible for so marking the food, removes or alters the appropriate durability indication relating to that food,
he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
2. Where an offence under these Regulations is committed in Scotland by a Scottish partnership and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, a partner, he as well as the partnership shall be guilty of the offence and be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
It will be noted that there is a specific offence of selling food after the date shown in a “use by” date but no such offence is committed if food is sold after the date shown in a “best before” date.
However, there are offences for selling food “not of the quality” demanded. The manufacturer has no responsibility for the quality of the food after the “best before” date has passed so, after that date, the retailer would be liable if the food sold was of inferior quality. Best practice requires that no food is sold after the “best before” date unless the retailer is certain about its quality and the customer is aware of the situation.
The offence of removing or altering the “best before” or “use by” date (see 1(e) above) can be defended if the removal or alteration was authorised in writing by the manufacturer.
Where incorrect or incomplete labelling occurs it will usually be the manufacturer or packer who is charged but there are cases where the retailer has also been held liable. Those convenience store retailers with a symbol group can feel confident that the question of labelling is being handled for them but there will be instances, for example in sourcing “organic foods” or “local produce” where special care must be taken.
A good starting point for the retailer is to request his supplier to provide a written declaration that to the best of the suppliers knowledge and belief all products supplied that are subject to the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 have been properly marked or labelled in accordance with the provisions of those Regulations.
The exercise of due diligence, good stock rotation, close monitoring of “use by” and “best before” dates and proper staff training will all help to ensure compliance with the Regulations.
All PBS information sheets are designed to provide the detail you need to implement best business and employment practices. They are not a detailed commentary on the current law and where advice is needed in a specific case you should contact PBS for expert consultation.
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