OVERVIEW
Food labelling is one of the most visible and tightly regulated parts of the food industry. Every packet, jar, bottle and box that reaches a consumer carries information that the law requires to be present, accurate, clear and not misleading. That information is not decoration: it is how consumers decide what to buy, how to store it, how long it is safe to eat, and — for the growing number of people living with food allergies and intolerances — whether a product is safe for them at all. Getting labelling wrong is not a minor administrative slip. It can lead to product recalls, enforcement action, prosecution, reputational damage and, in the worst cases, serious harm or death.
You will work through the legal framework (the Food Information Regulations 2014 and retained EU FIC), the four ways food is sold (prepacked, PPDS, non-prepacked and distance), mandatory particulars — the food name, ingredient list, QUID, the 14 major allergens, net quantity, date marks ('use by' versus 'best before'), storage conditions, the nutrition declaration and country of origin — and how to apply them correctly to avoid enforcement action.
