Consumers and nutrition labelling 147 The amounts declared must be for the food as sold. However, where appro- priate they may relate to the foodstuff after preparation, provided that sufficiently detailed instructions for preparation are given and the information relates to the food as prepared for consumption The Directive provides for the use of the Standing Committee procedure in the event of discrepancies being found between the declared values and those estab- lished during the course of official analysis. The Standing Committee is convened from experts from all Member States who will adjudicate on the matter(s) placed before them. In the UK, the term'typical' is preferred toaverageand is more gen erally used as a more representative indication of value than the average. 6.2.5 Nutrition claims As stated earlier, the provision of nutrition information is voluntary unless a claim is made. So, for example, if a claim is made that a product is"low in fat', at least Group I information must be given. Very often the full Group 2 information is given, but this would only be compulsory if the claim were for one of the ' Little 4 nutrients, i.e. ' saturated fat rather than fat The directive defines as a nutrition claim any representation and any advertising message which states, suggests or implies that a foodstuff has particular nutrition properties due to the energy(calorific value)it provides provides at a reduced or increased rate or and/or due to the nutrients it contains contains in reduced or increased proportions or does not contain Only generic advertising is excluded from this, so if a producer decided to launch a campaign to persuade people to eat more fresh green vegetables and claimed hat green vegetables are low in fat, he would not have to include the nutrition information alongside his images of leafy green 6.2.6 Timescale e Directive came into force in September 1990 and required that trade in prod- ucts complying with the Directive be permitted by 1 April 1992 and that prod ucts not complying with the Directive be prohibited with effect from 1 October 1993. The Directive also required that, eight years from its notification, the Com mission would submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the application of the Directive and any appropriate proposals for amendment This review, due in autumn 1998, has not yet taken place at the time of writing and will be discussed further in sections 6.5 and 6.6
The amounts declared must be for the food as sold. However, where appropriate they may relate to the foodstuff after preparation, provided that sufficiently detailed instructions for preparation are given and the information relates to the food as prepared for consumption. The Directive provides for the use of the Standing Committee procedure in the event of discrepancies being found between the declared values and those established during the course of official analysis. The Standing Committee is convened from experts from all Member States who will adjudicate on the matter(s) placed before them. In the UK, the term ‘typical’is preferred to ‘average’and is more generally used as a more representative indication of value than the average. 6.2.5 Nutrition claims As stated earlier, the provision of nutrition information is voluntary unless a claim is made. So, for example, if a claim is made that a product is ‘low in fat’, at least Group 1 information must be given. Very often the full Group 2 information is given, but this would only be compulsory if the claim were for one of the ‘Little 4’ nutrients, i.e. ‘saturated fat’ rather than ‘fat’. The Directive defines as a nutrition claim: ‘any representation and any advertising message which states, suggests or implies that a foodstuff has particular nutrition properties due to the energy (calorific value) it – provides, – provides at a reduced or increased rate or – does not provide and/or due to the nutrients it – contains, – contains in reduced or increased proportions or – does not contain.’ Only generic advertising is excluded from this, so if a producer decided to launch a campaign to persuade people to eat more fresh green vegetables and claimed that green vegetables are low in fat, he would not have to include the nutrition information alongside his images of leafy greens. 6.2.6 Timescale The Directive came into force in September 1990 and required that trade in products complying with the Directive be permitted by 1 April 1992 and that products not complying with the Directive be prohibited with effect from 1 October 1993. The Directive also required that, eight years from its notification, the Commission would submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the application of the Directive and any appropriate proposals for amendment. This review, due in autumn 1998, has not yet taken place at the time of writing and will be discussed further in sections 6.5 and 6.6. Consumers and nutrition labelling 147
148 The nutrition handbook for food processors 6.2.7 Implementation Most legislation is only as good as its implementation and enforcement and the application of these procedures has been variable in the case of the Nutrition Labelling Directive. Some Member States were tardy in including it in their national legislation and some, the UK being a prime example, did it so clumsily hat it would have been a deterrent to use had the Directive itself not already been familiar to most UK food and drink manufacturers and its provisions already widely used on a voluntary basis. Reports from elsewhere in Europe suggest that national implementing rules, which invariably entail a degree of interpretation, have indeed been a deterring factor and have acted as a disincentive in provid- ing nutrition information voluntarily. The UKs record of some 80% of manu- factured food and drink products voluntarily carrying nutrition information remains a matter of surprise, admiration and consternation in other Member UK implementation of the Nutrition Labelling Directive is via the Food Labelling Regulations 1996(as amended). These are complex Regulations cov ering all the essentials of food labelling from batch marking to medicinal claims Implementation of the Nutrition Labelling Directive, which took place in 1994. carried with it the usual burden of complexity that comes with turning the posi tive approach of EU legislation(you are not allowed to do it unless the Directive says so) into the negative style of UK Regulations (you can do what you like unless the Regulations state that No person shall. ) The transposition of Article 4.1 of Directive 90/496/EEC, which states simply that Where nutrition labelling is provided, the information to be given shall consist of either group I or group 2 in the following order: Group I (a) energy value; (b) the amounts of protein, carbohydrate and fat. Group 2 (a) energy value b) the amounts of protein, carbohydrate, sugars, fat, saturates, fibre and became in Schedule 6A Part I of The Food Labelling(Amendment) Regulations 1994 a half page single table listing both Group I and Group 2 nutrients, plus all the additional nutrients allowed to be mentioned, such as polyols under carbo- hydrates and polyunsaturates under fats, with a complex set of cross references to Part Il of the Schedule and subsequent paragraphs of Part I to explain the two separate groups and how they should be set out. It is no wonder that MAFF needed to issue explanatory guidance notes to accompany the amendment to the 2 MAFF Guidance Notes on Nutrition Labelling, issued 18 March 1994
6.2.7 Implementation Most legislation is only as good as its implementation and enforcement and the application of these procedures has been variable in the case of the Nutrition Labelling Directive. Some Member States were tardy in including it in their national legislation and some, the UK being a prime example, did it so clumsily that it would have been a deterrent to use had the Directive itself not already been familiar to most UK food and drink manufacturers and its provisions already widely used on a voluntary basis. Reports from elsewhere in Europe suggest that national implementing rules, which invariably entail a degree of interpretation, have indeed been a deterring factor and have acted as a disincentive in providing nutrition information voluntarily. The UK’s record of some 80% of manufactured food and drink products voluntarily carrying nutrition information remains a matter of surprise, admiration and consternation in other Member States. UK implementation of the Nutrition Labelling Directive is via the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 (as amended). These are complex Regulations covering all the essentials of food labelling from batch marking to medicinal claims. Implementation of the Nutrition Labelling Directive, which took place in 1994, carried with it the usual burden of complexity that comes with turning the positive approach of EU legislation (you are not allowed to do it unless the Directive says so) into the negative style of UK Regulations (you can do what you like unless the Regulations state that ‘No person shall . . .’). The transposition of Article 4.1 of Directive 90/496/EEC, which states simply that ‘Where nutrition labelling is provided, the information to be given shall consist of either group 1 or group 2 in the following order: Group 1 (a) energy value; (b) the amounts of protein, carbohydrate and fat. Group 2 (a) energy value; (b) the amounts of protein, carbohydrate, sugars, fat, saturates, fibre and sodium.’ became in Schedule 6A Part I of The Food Labelling (Amendment) Regulations 1994 a half page single table listing both Group 1 and Group 2 nutrients, plus all the additional nutrients allowed to be mentioned, such as polyols under carbohydrates and polyunsaturates under fats, with a complex set of cross references to Part II of the Schedule and subsequent paragraphs of Part I to explain the two separate groups and how they should be set out. It is no wonder that MAFF needed to issue explanatory guidance notes to accompany the amendment to the Regulations.2 148 The nutrition handbook for food processors 2 MAFF Guidance Notes on Nutrition Labelling, issued 18 March 1994
Consumers and nutrition labelling 149 6.2.8 General requirements It is important that nutrition information is correct. Not only is it a legal require ment that any labelling information must be accurate and not misleading, but peri- odically consumer organisations run checks on the values given for the various nutrients and publicise embarrassing inaccuracies. The manufacturer also has an obligation to ensure that the label is understandable in the market(s) in which the product is sold. However, this requirement has not yet been extended to ensure that the consumer understands the nutrition information per se, only the language in which it is provided. Regrettably, it cannot be assumed that consumers through out the eu understand the nutrition information if given in the language of the country of manufacture even though it is set out in a recognised format and order of nutrients. On the other hand, consumers may well express interest in the nutri tional attributes of the product, whether or not nutrition information is provided Many manufacturers and retailers produce leaflets to help explai labelling and how it can help them to choose a balanced diet, or refer their cus tomers to some of the tions and resources referred to in section 6.7 6.3 Consumer expectations and understanding of nutrition labelling Of the many factors governing food choice, of which price is likely to be quite high on most people's lists, nutrition information may not figure strongly for many. But the enormous number and variety of food products available on the market today including imports of exotic foods and ingredients from all over the world, resulting from the increasing interest in ethnic dishes generated by long haul travel and TV cooks, not to mention new ranges of products inspired by these developments, means that the consumer needs ever greater knowledge and information to allow him or her to choose from this vast range. At point of pur- chase it is the food label that provides the information that will enable the con- sumer to make the choice between products. If diet and health are important to the consumer, the provision of nutrition information on the pack may be a decid- ing factor between purchasing the product and leaving it on the shelf or a more careful study of the nutrition panel later in the home may influence a repeat purchase A further influence on the provision(or not) of nutrition information may be the intermediate customer, namely the retailer, rather than the end consumer. The najor UK supermarket chains exert an enormous influence on the highly com petitive retail market for food and therefore on food production. All major retail ers stock a wide range of own label products, manufactured to their own specification by a variety of food manufacturers. The specification will cover not only the composition of the product but also the details of the food label. This will almost certainly include 'full nutrition labelling, i.e. theBig 4 and ' Little 4 nutrients( see section 6.2. 1)and possibly additional, supplementary voluntary information. which is discussed in detail in sections 6.5 and 66. Most retailers
6.2.8 General requirements It is important that nutrition information is correct. Not only is it a legal requirement that any labelling information must be accurate and not misleading, but periodically consumer organisations run checks on the values given for the various nutrients and publicise embarrassing inaccuracies. The manufacturer also has an obligation to ensure that the label is understandable in the market(s) in which the product is sold. However, this requirement has not yet been extended to ensure that the consumer understands the nutrition information per se, only the language in which it is provided. Regrettably, it cannot be assumed that consumers throughout the EU understand the nutrition information if given in the language of the country of manufacture even though it is set out in a recognised format and order of nutrients. On the other hand, consumers may well express interest in the nutritional attributes of the product, whether or not nutrition information is provided. Many manufacturers and retailers produce leaflets to help explain nutrition labelling and how it can help them to choose a balanced diet, or refer their customers to some of the organisations and resources referred to in section 6.7. 6.3 Consumer expectations and understanding of nutrition labelling Of the many factors governing food choice, of which price is likely to be quite high on most people’s lists, nutrition information may not figure strongly for many. But the enormous number and variety of food products available on the market today including imports of exotic foods and ingredients from all over the world, resulting from the increasing interest in ethnic dishes generated by longhaul travel and TV cooks, not to mention new ranges of products inspired by these developments, means that the consumer needs ever greater knowledge and information to allow him or her to choose from this vast range. At point of purchase it is the food label that provides the information that will enable the consumer to make the choice between products. If diet and health are important to the consumer, the provision of nutrition information on the pack may be a deciding factor between purchasing the product and leaving it on the shelf or a more careful study of the nutrition panel later in the home may influence a repeat purchase. A further influence on the provision (or not) of nutrition information may be the intermediate customer, namely the retailer, rather than the end consumer. The major UK supermarket chains exert an enormous influence on the highly competitive retail market for food and therefore on food production. All major retailers stock a wide range of ‘own label’ products, manufactured to their own specification by a variety of food manufacturers. The specification will cover not only the composition of the product but also the details of the food label. This will almost certainly include ‘full’ nutrition labelling, i.e. the ‘Big 4’ and ‘Little 4’ nutrients (see section 6.2.1) and possibly additional, supplementary voluntary information, which is discussed in detail in sections 6.5 and 6.6. Most retailers Consumers and nutrition labelling 149