Understanding Food Label Regulations

If you have a food product and want to sell it in retail stores, then this report is for you. Mettler Toledo recently published a very informative article on current label requirements for dairy and non dairy products.

http://us.mt.com/us/en/home/supportive_content/White_Papers/product-organizations/pi/CIV-Label-Regulations.html

The following is a summary of the report. For the complete report, click the link down below:

http://us.mt.com/us/en/home/supportive_content/White_Papers/product-organizations/pi/CIV-Label-Regulations.html

US Regulation Overview

Food Name	Country of Origin	Net Quantity	Nutrition acts	Ingredient List	Expiration Date	Label Inspection
Required	Required	Required	Required	Required	Not Required	Not Required

1. The Name of the Product:

There are different regulations that determine what names are allowed for the product—some terms are only allowed for specific

types of products; however, every product needs to have its name on the label.

2. The Name and Address of the Manufacturer:

The name and address of a company is required—more specifically, the name and address of whomever owns the product (the facility that produced the product is not required).

3. List of Ingredients:

Some countries have stricter requirements about the order of ingredients and how many ingredients need to be listed. Regardless of the country, some type of ingredient list needs to be listed on the product.

4. Allergen Warnings:

All regulations list the common allergen ingredients that need to be listed as a warning; however, the placement and wording of the warning can vary depending on the regulation.

5. Net Quantity:

How much of the product is in the container? You will need to list the volume or weight measurement of the product. The alcoholic content sometimes also has to be listed as well.  Make sure that you do not over or under-represent the total amount of product on a label as this can cause controversy with your customers and manufacturers.

All five of these elements are required in some capacity on a product’s label, although they are not necessarily required to be on the same label–multiple labels can be present on a product package.  Depending on the guidelines being followed, there are variances in where those labels are located and what they must look like

Read more of the report and US Regulations including display information, naming the food, country of origin, net quantity statements, ingredient list and allergen information, nutritional facts and best before date.  Contact Darryl he can assist you in proper and legal product labeling.