Q.01

What information must appear on food labels in the UK?

On prepacked food sold in the UK, the label must give 12 things: the name of the food, the ingredients list, the 14 allergens emphasised, quantities of certain ingredients (QUID), net quantity, a "best before" or "use by" date, storage conditions, the business name and address, country of origin where required, instructions for use where needed, alcoholic strength above 1.2% vol, and a nutrition declaration [1]. The main legal difference across the UK is the business address. Food sold in Great Britain must show a UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man address (since 1 January 2024). Food sold in Northern Ireland must show an NI or EU address (FSA guidance).

Approach: I read Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 (food information to consumers, consolidated to 1 April 2025) and the FSA's packaging, labelling and PPDS guidance. I couldn't open the GB version of the Regulation on legislation.gov.uk. The FSA says Great Britain applies the assimilated (retained) version, so the article wording below is the EU text, with GB differences taken from the FSA.

Mandatory particulars, Article 9(1) [1]

#ParticularDetail
(a)Name of the foodFSA: it must be clearly stated and not misleading
(b)Ingredients listFSA: needed where there are two or more ingredients, in descending order of weight
(c)AllergensAnnex II substances still present in the finished product, even if altered
(d)Quantity of certain ingredients (QUID)FSA: needed for highlighted ingredients
(e)Net quantityFSA: all packaged foods above 5 g or 5 ml
(f)Date of minimum durability or "use by" date
(g)Special storage conditions and/or conditions of use
(h)Name or business name and address of the responsible food businessArticle 8(1) operator; see GB/NI split above
(i)Country of origin or place of provenanceWhere Article 26 requires it; FSA: where leaving it out might mislead
(j)Instructions for useWhere the food would be hard to use properly without them
(k)Actual alcoholic strength by volumeDrinks over 1.2% vol
(l)Nutrition declarationEnergy value plus fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt (Article 30(1)) [2]; FSA: per 100 g/ml

Annex III adds further particulars for specific types of food (Article 10) [3]. I did not review Annex III for this answer.

Allergens

  • The 14 allergens (Annex II):

    1. cereals containing gluten
    2. crustaceans
    3. eggs
    4. fish
    5. peanuts
    6. soybeans
    7. milk
    8. nuts
    9. celery
    10. mustard
    11. sesame
    12. sulphur dioxide and sulphites above 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/litre as total SO2
    13. lupin
    14. molluscs

    Several entries have listed exemptions, for example wheat-based glucose syrups and fully refined soybean oil [4].

  • How they must appear: they "shall be emphasised" within the ingredients list, for example by font, style or background colour. If there is no ingredients list, the label must say "contains" followed by the allergen. No allergen statement is required where the name of the food clearly refers to it (Article 21) [5].

How the information must be presented

  • Placement: in a conspicuous place, easily visible, clearly legible and, where appropriate, indelible. It must not be hidden or interrupted by other material.
  • Font size: minimum x-height of 1.2 mm, or 0.9 mm where the largest surface of the pack is under 80 cm².
  • Same field of vision: name, net quantity and alcoholic strength (Article 13) [6].
  • Language: one easily understood by consumers where the food is marketed (Article 15) [7].

Exemptions (Article 16) [8]

  • Packs whose largest surface is under 10 cm²: only the name, allergens, net quantity and date are required on the pack. The ingredients list must still be provided by other means or on request.
  • Indelibly marked reusable glass bottles: only the name, allergens, net quantity, date and nutrition declaration.
  • Drinks over 1.2% vol: no ingredients list or nutrition declaration is required.
  • Annex V foods: no nutrition declaration is required.

PPDS and loose (non-prepacked) food

  • Article 44: for non-prepacked food, food packed at the customer's request and food prepacked for direct sale (PPDS), only allergen information is mandatory. Other particulars are left to national rules [9].
  • PPDS ("Natasha's Law", from 1 October 2021): in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, PPDS labels must show the name of the food and a full ingredients list with the 14 allergens emphasised (FSA PPDS guidance). Scotland has separate guidance from Food Standards Scotland, which I did not review.
  • Loose food: the name of the food, any of the 14 allergens present, and a QUID declaration for products containing meat (FSA).

Legislation the FSA cites:

  • Great Britain: assimilated Regulation 1169/2011
  • England: the Food Information Regulations 2014
  • Wales: the Food Information (Wales) Regulations 2014
  • Northern Ireland: the Food Information Regulations 2014 in Northern Ireland
  • PPDS amendments: the Food Information (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2022, the Food Information (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020, and the Food Information (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020

Sources:

Q.02