Labeling Update: March 2021

Certain foods and ingredients can cause severe allergic and other adverse reactions in some people. The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code) requires these to be declared on labels when they are present in food. As it currently stands, the Code requires the 11 known foods and ingredients that can cause severe allergic reactions to be declared on labels when they are present in food. But until now there were no requirements on how these declarations must be made.
 
On February 25, 2021, the Code was amended to introduce new requirements for the labeling of allergens in food. These requirements include that allergen information is to be declared:

The P1044 —Plain English Allergen Labelling (PEAL) has been designed to make allergen labeling more transparent and consistent on Australian food packaging. Under this regulation, the allergens must be stated using mandatory specified terms in bold font and the allergen label must also follow specified guidelines regarding the format, wording and location of the declaration.
 
Businesses have been given three years from February 25, 2021, to implement the new requirements. During this transition period, food businesses can comply with either the existing allergen declaration requirements in the Code, or the new requirements. A two-year stock-in-trade period will follow the transition period. Any food packaged and labeled with existing allergen declarations before the end of the transition period may be sold for up to two years after the end of the transition period.

According to the action plan for the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy, the European Commission intends to submit, by the end of 2022, a proposal for harmonized mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labeling and for the setting of nutrient profiles to restrict the promotion of food high in, for example, salt, sugars and/or fat.
 
The European Commission has asked the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to provide scientific advice on:

The request to EFSA does not include developing a nutrient profiling model or advising on current profiling models already in use for different purposes. EFSA is required to deliver its scientific opinion by March 2022. The agency stated that there will be a public consultation on the draft by the end of 2021.

More Information.

On February 11, 2021, the Scottish Parliament has approved new legislation, which will require food businesses in Scotland to include the product name and full ingredients, including allergen information on pre-packed for direct sale (PPDS) foods.
 
The new legislation should improve information about allergens and other ingredients in food packed in advance, mainly at the same place from which it’s sold, before being offered to consumers. On pack information will include the 14 ‘most common’ allergens specifically listed in food information law, as well as other ingredients which can trigger reactions.
 
The new law is intended to come into force on October 1, 2021, to align with the rest of the UK.

More information.

According to EUROACTIV, the Committee of the Regions (CoR), an EU institution with an advisory role, has proposed an ad hoc label for food products belonging to the Mediterranean diet during the plenary session of the Euro-Mediterranean regional and local assembly (ARLEM).
 
In a report by the deputy mayor of the French city of Nice, Agnès Rampal, she proposes the development of a “Mediterranean products” or “Mediterranean diet” label with a specific set of criteria and a broad communication plan.
 
The model would draw on the SIQO model (AB, PGI, PDO) used, for instance, to show on the front-of-pack label if a product originates from organic farming or has received the protected geographical indication from the EU.