Regulation on Labelling on food (EU) No 1169/2011
European Union
Marketing and Regulation, Labelling
Supra-national
Citizens/Consumers, Businesses
Ongoing
Food law establishes the rights of consumers to safe food and to accurate and honest information. This regulation provides the basis for the assurance of a high level of consumer protection in relation to food information, taking into account the differences in the perception of consumers and their information needs, whilst ensuring the smooth functioning of the internal market. This regulation establishes the general principles, requirements and responsibilities governing food information, and in particular food labelling. The information required must be: accurate, easy to see and understand, not misleading and indelible.
Council Directive 90/496/EEC, adopted in 1990, established rules for nutrition labelling in the European Union, making it optional but compulsory if any nutrition claim was made. In 2008, the commission made a new proposal. Stakeholders, advisory group on the food Chain and Anima, the European consumer consultative group, Health Policy Forum were invited to send their responses and were part in of the discussion in 2007. Between 2010-2011: the European parliament had their first reading, agreements with the Council, second reading, and in 2011 it was published. During 2014, the provision entered into application, and the obligation to provide nutrition information has applied since 2016. In 2020, the European Commission adopted the Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system as part of the European Green Deal. In 2021, the European Commission adopted the "Europe's Beating Cancer Plan". The plan announces that the Commission proposed to introduce the mandatory indication of the list of ingredients and the nutrition declaration on labels of all alcoholic beverages.
The Food Information to Consumers (FIC) Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 is the core legal framework that dictates what information must be on food labels, ensuring it is accurate, clear, and not misleading. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) provides scientific advice and technical support for EU legislation related to food and feed safety, which informs the labelling regulations. --> National Authorities: in each EU Member State are responsible for supervising and enforcing the food labelling laws within their own territories. --> Manufacturers and Importers: have the primary responsibility for ensuring that their food products are labelled correctly. This includes providing accurate information on the packaging.
The Commission has to monitor the performance of the EU legal framework on food labelling and can propose updates to the framework and maintain the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed online application (iRASFF), where member states must report food-related risks. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) provides scientific advice and technical support for EU legislation related to food and feed safety, which informs the labelling regulations. National Authorities: in each EU Member State are responsible for supervising and enforcing the food labelling laws within their own territories. Manufacturers and Importers: have the primary responsibility for ensuring that their food products are labelled correctly. This includes providing accurate information on the packaging. All 27 member states have control systems in place and carry out checks on food labelling rules in accordance with annual control plans and multiannual (every 3 to 5 years) national control plans - five member states (Belgium, Denmark, Latvia, Malta and Slovenia) had not updated their control plans at the time of our audit. The Commission has followed this up with the member states concerned, but the issue remains unresolved.