Labels 101
10 things that MUST be on a food label
Food Labels carry quite a lot of useful information to help us make the right choices to support our bodies needs but sometimes we need to be aware of what information matters most. Calories and % carbs? Nah man, to me it’s all about that ingredients list. Let’s go over the label in detail.
Food labels required by law to;
Protect public health and safety by displaying information and warning statements.
Tell you if the food contains an additive or allergen
Advise when to use it by, how to store and prepare it, what it is made of, its size and weight, and the manufacturer’s contacts.
The 10 things that MUST be on every label
Here is the compulsory info that is required by law on every food pack in Australia and New Zealand:
Description or technical name of the food or drink (not the brand)
Net weight or volume – amount of food or drink without the weight of the packaging
Date mark
Ingredient List, including additives
Nutrition information panel
Allergy warning or Allergen declaration
Name and address of manufacturer, distributor or importer
Country of origin (Australia only)
Storage Instructions e.g. keep refrigerated at 4°C
Lot or batch number.
The 10 things in detail
1. Name and description of the product
If the name of the food doesn’t make it obvious what it actually is, there must be a description which is meaningful enough to portray the true nature of the food. For example:
You may recognise the brand when you spot a tetra pack of Up and Go, but its true technical name is “Formulated Milk Drink”.
A jar with 100% strawberry looks and functions like jam. Technically though it’s a “Fruit Spread” as it doesn’t have the sugar content to be classified as a jam.
2. Net weight
This is the actual weight or volume of the food without the extra weight of any packaging. For canned foods, it includes any liquid – it is not the drained weight.
3. Date mark
This tells you the time of best eating by means of a ‘Best-Before’ or ‘Use-By’ or for bread a ‘Baked-On’ date.
Use-By dates are generally found on perishables and short-shelf life foods such as fresh meat packed at the supermarket, chilled fish, milk and yoghurt. Products should be eaten or thrown away by the use-by date as after that date the food is not safe to eat, even though you may not see any signs of spoilage like mould or an off-smell.
Best-Before dates apply to most cereals, biscuits, snack foods, flour, eggs, canned and frozen foods and other long shelf-life foods. It tells you the time of best eating quality. The food is not spoiled immediately after the date and can be sold if stored properly and in good condition, but its quality has begun to decline.
4. Ingredient list
All ingredients must be stated in descending order by ingoing weight from most to least. The ingredient in the highest proportion is listed first, followed by the second, the third, and so on.
Additives are included here by their functional name, say PRESERVATIVE, followed by either their chemical name, say (SODIUM METABISULPHITE), or by their code number (223).
Small packs don’t have to carry ingredient lists e.g. individual confectionery items, sauces and condiments, sugars and sweeteners.
5. Nutrition information panel
This shows the energy in kilojoules (calories), protein, fat (total and saturated), carbohydrate (total and sugars) and sodium in an average serve and in 100 grams of the food. Some foods also show fibre, potassium, monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat and trans fat depending on whether they make a claim about these.
6. Allergy warning or Allergen declaration
For allergy sufferers, the presence of fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, peanut, tree nuts, sesame, wheat, soy and lupin must be declared. It is usually in or near the list of ingredients e.g. ‘Contains egg’. Sometimes the allergens are shown in bold in the Ingredient List e.g.‘ ... milk solids ...'.
7. Name and address
The name and street address of the manufacturer, packer, distributor or importer must be clearly identified for consumers (not a P.O. box).
8. Country of origin
This identifies the country or countries in which the food was grown, made or processed. In Australia, if the food is made from imported ingredients or from local plus imported ingredients, this must be listed. New Zealand does not require country of origin labelling.
9. Storage instructions
For best quality and safe eating, follow all instructions e.g. for example, keep chilled at 4◦C or less before opening OR Refrigerate after opening.
10. Lot or batch number
There needs to be a lot or batch number (or the date if there’s only one batch made a day) so a product can be recalled in the event of a problem or accidental error.
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