Labelling Legislation

The new allergen labelling directive 2003/89/EC became mandatory on 25th November 2005.  This directive makes it much easier for people with coeliac disease and food allergies to identify allergens in foods at a glance, and therefore select food safely.

The key points of the regulations

All deliberate ingredients, regardless of the quantity, must be listed in the ingredients list.  All allergens and ingredients derived from allergens will have to be specified, for example 'flour' will need to be specified as 'wheat flour' or 'corn flour' (1)

In the past, if an ingredient made up less than 25% of the product it did not have to be included in the ingredients list.  This rule has been deleted from the new regulations so all ingredients will now have to be listed unless they are on the exemptions list (1).

Additionally there is guidance for manufacturers to highlight allergens in the food by means of an ‘Allergy Box’.  For example, indicating this with "CONTAINS WHEAT" or "CONTAINS GLUTEN" in a separate box on the label.  All ingredients, including additives, flavourings, processing aids and solvents are included in the new labelling regulations, whereas before these did not have to be listed (1).

Exemptions from labelling

Although there are currently no threshold levels in the Allergen Labelling Directive, the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) has developed a list of ingredients that are exempt from allergen labelling.  These are ingredients that are not allergenic in practice, as processing has removed the allergenic factor (2).

The list of exemptions for gluten, according to the Guidance Notes on the Food Labelling (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2004 are as follows; (3)

• Wheat-based glucose syrups including dextrose
• Wheat-based maltodextrins
• Glucose syrups based on barley
• Cereals used in distillates for spirits

Products that do not comply with this legislation are prohibited from sale.

What you need to know:

• All deliberate ingredients have to be listed on food packaging in the ingredients list.
• If an ingredient containing gluten is used in the food, it must either be clearly listed in the ingredients (e.g. malt extract from barley, or malt extract (contains gluten)).
• Highlighting allergens in a CONTAINS box is recommended but is not mandatory.
• If gluten is not present, the product will not necessarily be labelled as gluten-free, although some manufacturers are choosing to label in this way.

Some manufacturers also use the Crossed Grain symbol to highlight the fact that their products are gluten-free and therefore suitable for a gluten-free diet.  The symbol is well recognised by those on a gluten-free diet and can be used, under licence, on suitable gluten-free foods and drinks.  Click here to find out more.

Further information

You will find specific guidance on the Food Standards Agency website to enable you to comply with the allergen labelling guidelines.  Please click here for further information on the Food Standards Agency website.

References

1 The Food Labelling (Amendment) (England) (No.2) Regulations 2004.

2 Commission Directive 2005/26/EC of 21 March 2005.  Official Journal of the European Union. 22.3.2005.

3 Guidance notes on the Food Labelling (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2004.