ACS is urging retailers to be prepared for the implementation of the EU Food Information for Consumers Regulation coming into force today (13th December).
The law will change the way customers need to be alerted to allergenic ingredients in food, especially loose foods or goods you package yourself. The law is designed to protect customers that suffer from allergic reactions to food, and will be enforced by Trading Standards Officers. Breaches of the law may lead to enforcement action being taken against retailers.
ACS Chief Executive, James Lowman, said: “It is important that retailers are aware of these changes to the law and how it will affect their business. In most cases, the responsibility will lie with suppliers. However, if retailers produce their own food in-store, or source loose food products from suppliers, it is very important they know how to comply with the new EU law”.
The 14 allergic ingredients which will be covered by the new legislation are: celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans (such as crab, lobster, etc), eggs, fish, lupin (sometimes found in bread, pasta and pastries), milk, molluscs (such as mussels, squid, etc), mustard, nuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, soya and sulphur dioxide/sulphites (often in dried fruits, wines and other alcohol).
ACS has released advice on how to comply with the EU Food Information for Consumers Regulation, which can be viewed here: http://www.acs.org.uk/advice/food-regulations-allergens/ ACS will also be releasing Assured Advice on Food Regulation in early 2015. More information about Assured Advice and how to sign up can be found here: http://www.acs.org.uk/assured-advice/
