The basic food labelling provisions in the EU date back to 1979 (Council Directive 79/112/EC) and have been modified a number of times over the intervening period, and a consolidation took place in 2000 (Council Directive 2000/13/EC). The main Directive is supplemented by numerous other pieces of labelling legislation that have come into force in a piecemeal manner to address various issues and consumer demands, e.g. allergen labelling and GM labelling. An amendment (EEC/2003/89) to the Food Labelling Directive came into force in 2004 requiring pre-packed foods (including alcoholic drinks) to specify the inclusion  of 12 specific allergens (see www.food.gov.uk). The food ingredients that now have to be labelled are: cereals containing gluten (namely wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut or their hybridised strains), crustaceans, fish, eggs, peanuts, soybeans, milk, nuts (namely almond, hazelnut, walnut, cashew, pecan nut, Brazil nut, pistachio nut, macadamia nut and Queensland nut), celery (& celeriac), mustard, sesame seeds, sulphur dioxide and sulphites at levels above 10mg/kg or 10mg/litre expressed as So₂.This amendment also removed the 25% rule with the result that almost all ingredients now how to be labelled, helping consumers with allergies identify foods that are not suitable for them.

The complexity of existing food labelling legislation can pose problems for regulators and food manufacturers/ retailers alike, and consequently the European Commission (EC) announced in 2004 that it was going to undertake a comprehensive review of EU food labelling, and a consultation document was published in February 2006. The EC is currently assessing comments received form Member States and other interested parties. The review is still underway but proposals are expected from the Commission towards the latter half of 2007.

The current legislation requires that information is easily visible, clearly legible and indelible. Pre-packed foods are also required to make a number of mandatory declarations (see Table 1). Additional information, also listed in Table 1, can be provided voluntarily, so long as the information is accurate and not misleading. Provision of nutrition information is voluntary unless a claim is made on pack, in which case full nutrient labelling (the big 8, namely energy, protein, total carbohydrate, sugars, total fat, saturates, fibre and sodium) becomes mandatory. Foods sold loose or pre-packed for direct sale are largely exempt from mandatory requirements.

Table 1  The main food labelling requirements and examples of information than can be provided voluntarily* by food manufacturers

Mandatory food labelling requirements	Voluntary* information sometimes provided
Name	Nutrition information (if no claims made)
List of ingredients	Nutrition signposting
Quantity of certain ingredients (QUID) e.g. pork (10%)	Guideline Daily Amounts
Net quantity (weights & measures)	Claims such as ‘no artificial additives’
Date of minimum durability (‘best before’ or ‘use by’)	Graphical and pictorial information
The name and address of manufacturer/ packer/ seller	Vegetarian/ vegan labelling
Place of origin (if failure to do so might mislead)	May contain (e.g. nuts) labelling
Instructions for use (if failure to do so might mislead)	Assurance schemes
Allergen information (in the ingredient list)	Method of slaughter  (e.g. Halal)
Alcoholic strength by volume (drinks over 1.2% only)	Free range e.g. eggs
Quinine labelling	Marketing terms e.g. fresh, pure, natural
High caffeine content warning (drinks containing over 150mg/l of caffeine)	Number of servings
Sweeteners labelling	Environmental impact e.g. dolphin friendly
Polyol warning (‘excessive consumption may produce a laxative effect)	Country of origin (where not required)
PKU warning (‘contains a source of phenylalanine’)	Customary or descriptive names
Packaging gases (‘packaged in a protective atmosphere’)	Quality type claims e/g/ ‘100% chicken breast’
Raw milk labelling	Special offer competitions
GMO labelling	Production methods (e.g. organic)
Irradiated food labelling (‘irradiated’ or ‘treated with ionising radiation’)	Logos
Nutritional Panel (where a nutritional claim is made, e.g. low in fat)	Brand information

* Based on information provided voluntarily in the UK

In addition to Regulatory Requirements, best practice guidance also exists. Such guidance can be more responsive than legislation and encourages the adoption of a common approach without placing regulatory burdens on businesses. Conversely, it may be followed by some companies but not others, and although there may be some common elements of guidance across Member States, inevitably there will be many differences.

Consumers therefore have access to an increasingly sophisticated and complex array of information, and food labels can be very crowded, particularly where information is presented in a number of languages.

Simplification is perhaps over due and it is timely to establish what information is required by consumers to inform their purchasing decisions; does this information need to be on the label or could it be provided elsewhere, other than on the label, and how could this best be achieved; what information is essential on the label bearing in mind public health issues and safely?

Foods sold loose

Article 14 of Directive 2000/13 allows Member States to adopt their own rules as to how and what information should be provided for food sold loose and pre-packed for direct sale. In the UK for example, foods sold in this manner need only provide information on whether the food contains irradiated ingredients or ingredients derived from GM sources.

Where does EuroFIR fit in?

The information that appears in the nutrition panel and the information underpinning health claims and sign posting information is reliant on food composition data, which has been in the past collated nationally. This prominent use of food composition data highlights the necessity for such information to be up to date, reliable, consistent from one country to another and complete. These are all key aspects of the work underway by the EuroFIR Network of Excellence, funded by the EU to create the world-leading centre of excellence in food databank systems by:

• Strengthening the scientific & technological excellence in food databank systems and tools in Europe
• Identifying and providing new information for missing data for nutrients and biologically active compounds for all food groups, including traditional foods and Ethnic minority foods
• Training a new generation of European scientists in the development, management and application of food databank systems
• Communicating with all user and stakeholder groups to develop food databank systems for the benefit of European food and nutrition research
• Disseminating and exploiting new scientific and technological knowledge to create a sustainable and durable body.