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To sell food and drink products, the information about the product (on the label, on any nearby notices or online) must be:

• clear and easy to read
• permanent
• easy to understand
• easily visible
• not misleading

You must show certain basic information and list the ingredients. You might also have to show certain warnings.

Find out how to display information on prepacked food labels.

There are also special regulations for labelling wine.

Products sold loose or packaged on site

If you sell food loose, you must provide allergen information.

If you package food for sale in your shop, you must provide:

• the name of the food
• an ingredients list
• allergen information

You must show more information if you sell meat products loose.

For some loose or packaged food, you may also need to show:

• if any of the ingredients have been irradiated, or have come from genetically modified sources
• certain warnings
• any food additive you have added

Find out more about labelling:

• loose foods
• Prepacked for Direct Sale (PPDS) foods

Packaging

If you package food yourself, you must use packaging that鈥檚 suitable for food use. Suitable packaging is marked 鈥榝or food contact鈥� or has a symbol on it that looks like a wine glass and a fork.

There are special rules for using plastics, ceramics or cellophane for packaging. You must have written evidence that you鈥檝e kept to them.

This is known as a 鈥榙eclaration of compliance鈥� and you can get it from your packaging supplier. You also have to get one if you buy food that鈥檚 already packaged for sale in any of those materials.

Find out more about:

Vacuum packing

If you vacuum pack (VP) or modified atmosphere pack (MAP) food, you must make sure food is not contaminated when it鈥檚 being wrapped or packaged.

You can do this by:

• using wrapping and packaging material that will not contaminate food
• storing wrapping and packaging material properly
• keeping containers clean and undamaged

Food assurance schemes

You could also join voluntary food assurance schemes such as . Assurance scheme logos can be displayed on food labels to show the product has been produced to certain standards, for example on food safety or animal welfare.

You must show the following information:

• the name of the food
• a best before or use-by date, if required
• any necessary warnings
• net quantity information
• a list of ingredients (if there is more than 1)
• the country or place of origin, if required
• the lot number or use-by date
• any special storage conditions
• instructions for use or cooking, if necessary

You must also include a name and address on the packaging or food label for either:

• the business whose name the food is marketed under
• the business that has imported the food

Read the 鈥楽how the name and address of the food business operator鈥� section of the food labelling guidance.

Quantity information

You must put the net quantity in grams, kilograms, millilitres or litres on the label of:

• packaged food over 5g or 5ml
• packaged herbs and spices

Solid foods packed in a liquid (or an ice glaze) must show the drained net weight.

The net quantity must be close enough to the name of the food that you can see all this information at the same time. This also applies to the alcoholic strength for alcoholic drinks.

You do not have to show the weight or volume on foods sold by number, for example 2 bread rolls, provided that you can clearly see the number of items inside the packaging.

Read more guidance on quantity labelling.

Information you may have to show

You must also include a statement if your product:

• is a drink with an alcohol content above 1.2%
• contains GM ingredients, unless their presence is accidental and 0.9% or less
• has been irradiated
• is packaged using a packaging gas - if so, you must use the words 鈥榩ackaged in a protective atmosphere鈥�

Country or place of origin

You must show the country or place of origin for:

• beef, veal, lamb, mutton, pork, goat and poultry
• fish and shellfish
• honey
• olive oil
• wine
• fruit and vegetables

Check the rules for when to label meat, fish and shellfish with their country of origin.

You must also show the country of origin if customers might be misled without this information, for example if the label for a pizza shows the leaning tower of Pisa but the pizza is made in the UK.

If the primary ingredient in the food comes from somewhere different from where the product says it was made, the label must show this. For example, a pork pie labelled 鈥楤ritish鈥� that鈥檚 produced in the UK with pork from Denmark, must state 鈥榳ith pork from Denmark鈥� or 鈥榤ade with pork from outside the UK鈥�.

Special rules for some products

There are special rules about what you have to show on the label if you supply any of the following:

• bottled water
• bread and flour
• cocoa and chocolate products
• fats and oils
• fish
• fruit juices and nectars
• honey
• jams and preserves
• meat and meat products
• milk and milk products
• soluble coffee
• sugar

If your food or drink product has 2 or more ingredients (including water and additives), you must list them all.

You need to use the heading 鈥業ngredients鈥� or a suitable heading which includes the word 鈥榠ngredients鈥�. Ingredients must be listed in order of weight, with the main ingredient first.

Ingredient quantities

You also have to show the percentage of an ingredient if it is:

• highlighted by the labelling or a picture on a package, for example 鈥榚xtra cheese鈥�
• mentioned in the name of the product, for example 鈥榗heese and onion pasty鈥�
• normally connected with the name by the consumer, for example fruit in a summer pudding

You must follow the net quantity labelling requirements for all packaged foods above 5 grams or 5 millilitres.

You may also need to tell users about the percentage of particular ingredients using a quantitative ingredients declaration (QUID). Read the 鈥榃hen to display the QUID鈥� section of the food labelling guidance.

Allergens

You must highlight allergens on the label using a different font, style or background colour. You must also list them in the ingredients.

The allergens you need to highlight and list are:

• celery
• cereals containing gluten - including wheat, rye, barley and oats
• crustaceans - including prawns, crab and lobster
• eggs
• fish
• lupin
• milk
• molluscs - including squid, mussels, cockles, whelks and snails
• mustard
• nuts
• peanuts
• sesame seeds
• soya beans
• sulphur dioxide or sulphites at levels above 10mg per kilogram or per litre

Find out how to label allergens on prepacked food.

You should use a precautionary allergen label if there鈥檚 a chance that traces of allergens have got into products accidentally.

If you鈥檝e identified a risk of potential allergen cross-contamination which cannot be controlled, you should use precautionary allergen labelling (PAL) to warn consumers.

Allergen cross-contamination is when traces of allergens get into products accidentally. If this happens, you can use wording such as 鈥渕ay contain milk鈥� or 鈥渘ot suitable for people with a nut allergy鈥�.

You should not use general statements such as 鈥渕ay contain allergens鈥�.

If you receive any precautionary allergen information from ingredient suppliers, you should pass this on to the final consumers, unless your risk assessment supersedes that information.

When you should not use PAL

You should not use PAL:

• in combination with a free-from statement for the same allergen - for example, if you鈥檙e telling consumers that a product is free-from milk, you cannot also say it may contain milk
• as a substitute for food hygiene and safety practices

How to use PAL

Precautionary allergen information does not need to be on the food label. It can be communicated in other ways, such as verbal warnings by staff or signs displayed at the food premises.

You should regularly review your PALs, particularly when suppliers or processes change.

Read more detailed guidance on allergen labelling requirements and legislation.

Get help

Contact the hypersensitivity team at the Food Standards Agency (FSA) if you need advice about PAL.

You must show an appropriate warning on the label if your food contains certain ingredients.

Nutrition labelling

You must follow nutrition labelling information rules for all prepacked products unless both of the following apply:

• you鈥檙e a small business with under 10 employees and a turnover of less than 拢1.4 million
• you supply either direct to consumers or to local retailers - local means within your county, your neighbouring county, or up to 30 miles from your county boundary

Nutrition and health claims

You have to follow certain rules if you want to make a nutrition claim (for example, low fat) or a health claim (for example, calcium helps maintain normal bones).

Food supplements, fortified foods and foods for specific groups

You must follow certain rules if you are manufacturing, selling or importing:

• a food supplement
• a food fortified with vitamins, minerals or other substances

There are also specific rules for foods for specific groups (FSGs), formerly known as 鈥榩arnuts鈥�, for example:

• infant formula and follow-on formula
• baby foods
• total diet replacement for weight control
• foods for special medical purposes

In England, Scotland and Wales

You must tell the Department of Health and Social Care if you want to sell infant formula or foods for special medical purposes.

Find out more in the Department of Health and Social Care鈥檚 nutrition legislation sheet.

In Northern Ireland

You must tell the Food Standards Agency if you want to sell infant formula or foods for special medical purposes.

If you鈥檙e a retailer, you can label products 鈥榦rganic鈥� as long as:

• at least 95% of the farm-grown ingredients are organic
• you sell direct to customers in your shop

Organic certification

You must be certified by one of the organic control bodies if you produce or prepare organic food and you want to sell or label it as organic.

You can decide which body to register with based on your location and needs.

Once registered you鈥檒l have to:

• follow a strict set of guidelines laid down by national and international law
• keep thorough and accurate records of production processes
• allow annual and random inspections

You鈥檒l also have to follow the rules for labelling organic products.

You can check how food labelling rules are enforced.