Changes ahead for specialist nutrition product labels Dec 2011

The long awaited Food Information to Consumers Regulation was published in November 2011.  This new Regulation will result in changes to most food and drink labels, including those of specialist nutrition products.  The majority of these label changes will need to be made by December 2014 in accordance with the transition periods for the Regulation.

The new Food Information to Consumers Regulation will apply to specialist nutrition products where there are no specific rules laid down in the ‘PARNUTs Framework Directive’ and the directives that it governs.  Some of the label changes required as a result of the new Regulation include the order in which nutrients are listed on the label, the labelling of salt rather than sodium in the nutrition information, a change to how allergens are declared and the use of a minimum font size for mandatory information.

The labelling of specialist nutrition products is governed by a number of pieces of European legislation:  the PARNUTs Framework Directive and the directives that it governs, the Food Information to Consumers Regulation and the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation.  These pieces of legislation are inter-linked and yet each is being reviewed and developed independently of the other in Brussels.  Now it is the PARNUTs Framework Directive that is under revision and additional changes to the labels of specialist nutrition products are likely to be required.  This will mean that as soon as one set of label changes come into effect, another set of label changes will be necessary.

BSNA is extremely concerned that the Commission fails to recognise that the revision of each piece of legislation in isolation of other inter-related pieces of legislation creates a risk that numerous changes to the labels of specialist nutrition product will be confusing. The information on the labels of specialist nutrition products is of vital importance to health care professionals and the people who rely on them  to meet their nutritional requirements.

BSNA members take the safety of the foods they manufacture and their consumers extremely seriously.  We therefore urge the Commission to ensure that there is joined up legislation which aligns transitional periods for changes to the labels for specialist nutrition products to come into effect.

Further information on the Food Information to Consumers Regulation can be found here.