Food standards - Print version

The Food & Safety team are also responsible for enforcing several standards that relate to food and aim to ensure that:

• Food is correctly labelled and described and meets quality standards.
• Manufacturers and retailers of food are regularly inspected

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) [http://www.food.gov.uk/] is an independent food safety watchdog set up by Government to protect the public's health and consumer interests in relation to food. Visit the Food Standards Agency website [https://www.food.gov.uk/] for the latest food alerts, including product withdrawal and recall information.

The FSA's National Food Crime Unit also deals with reports from anyone with suspicions about food crime. Food crime involves dishonesty at any stage in the production or supply of food.

To report suspicions in confidence use the Food Standards Agency's report a food problem page [https://www.food.gov.uk/contact/consumers/report-problem] - the facility is particularly targeted at those working in or around the UK food industry.

To report mis-leading labelling such as:

• health claims
• ingredients
• weights
• description
• allergens

please use our online reporting tool [https://myaccount.coventry.gov.uk/service/Food_complaints?complaint=fooditem].

Food labelling

• Find out the information you must give customers on food products and how to give it [https://www.gov.uk/guidance/food-labelling-giving-food-information-to-consumers]
• Link to Lancashire County Council web page on Allergy Information including the story of Megan Lee was 15 - she was taken to hospital after suffering an asthma attack brought on by an allergic reaction [https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/consumer-advice/allergy/]
• Labelling of Alcohol Products [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/food-safety/food-standards/2]
• Free to access allergen resources for food businesses from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. It includes posters, training videos and handouts and is designed for food businesses to help protect their customers by ensuring they are meeting their legal requirements.
• Access allergen training videos in multiple languages [https://www.youtube.com/user/itsaLtd/videos]
• Business Companion guides to food and drink [https://www.businesscompanion.info/en/quick-guides/food-and-drink]

Natasha's Law - Food Pre-packed for Direct Sale (Mandatory October 2021)

• Guidance issued by the Food Standards agency with industry-specific guides [https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/introduction-to-allergen-labelling-changes-ppds]

Nutritional Labelling (Mandatory December 2016)

• Front of Pack nutrition labelling guidance [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/front-of-pack-nutrition-labelling-guidance]
• Technical guidance on nutrition labelling [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/technical-guidance-on-nutrition-labelling]
• List of official feed and food control laboratories in the UK [https://www.food.gov.uk/about-us/official-feed-and-food-control-laboratories]

Labelling of alcohol products

What businesses need to know about the labelling requirements for alcohol.

In the UK, it is an offence for retailers to supply food and drink without English labelling

All alcohol products must be labelled in English (you can display additional languages when some of the customers are likely to be non-English speakers). If you have beer, wine or spirits that do not display the food information in English you must take steps to add this information prior to you displaying for sale. Your supplier should have provided this information to you by means of a commercial document or has already added the correct labelling in English to the food.

The following mandatory information is required on the product packaging or on a label attached to the packaging, in English:

• The name of the food
• The quantitative ingredients declaration (QUID), where needed
• It is not mandatory for alcoholic beverages to have an ingredients list although you are strongly encouraged to include one.
• Allergens must be listed using BOLD or EMPHASISED writing. If the product does not have an ingredients list, the allergens still need to be declared
• The net weight or volume of the food [https://www.gov.uk/food-information-to-consumers]
• ‘Best before’ or ‘use by’ date. Alcoholic beverages with an alcoholic strength greater than 10% volume do not need to include a durability indication
• The name and address of the food business operator (FBO) in the EU responsible for the food information. This must be a UK address from 24 January 2024.
• The alcoholic strength by volume (as a percentage) on drinks containing over 1.2% alcohol by volume
• A nutrition declaration is not mandatory for alcoholic beverages. Manufacturers are encouraged to include a nutrition declaration, which must follow all the rules for a mandatory nutrition declaration if provided

Further information [https://www.businesscompanion.info/en/quick-guides/food-and-drink/food-labelled-in-a-foreign-language].

Displaying the name and address of the Food Business Operator

From 1 January 2024, you must include a business name and address on the packaging or food label of pre-packed food products.

This must be either:

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

The address needs to be a physical address where your business can be contacted by mail. You cannot use an email address, phone number or just a postcode.

AWRS - Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme

From 1 April 2017, it is an offence to buy controlled alcoholic drinks that are intended for sale in the UK unless it is from an Approved Registered Wholesaler (AWRS) - there are few exceptions. You can check the status of a seller by requesting the AWRS URN of the wholesaler and checking it is valid via the online look-up system (accessed via the Government Gateway). For further information please download the guide [https://www.acs.org.uk/sites/default/files/imported_images/2017/02/ACS-AWRS-2-Page-Guide-HR-Web.pdf].

Remember you cannot sell alcohol to any person under the age of 18. Test purchases are carried out to ensure retailers are complying with the law and not selling many age-restricted products to underage persons.

Importing confectionery and drinks

You are responsible for ensuring illegal foods and drinks are not sold from/by your business. You must carry out some basic checks before selling a new product range or accepting new products from your suppliers.

Is the product compliant?

You may not realise a product is non-compliant. If a supplier is highlighting “new” “exciting” “TikTok trend” products, take a moment to ask where they have come from and make sure you can answer 'yes' to the following:

• Does the label have the information on in English? It can have other languages as well but must have English – this can be provided in the form of stickers to be stuck over the current label.
• Does the label have any allergens highlighted within the ingredients list? The 14 allergens are: peanuts, nuts, eggs, celery, molluscs, crustaceans, sesame, milk, fish, lupin, cereals containing gluten, mustard, soya, sulphur dioxide if any of these are ingredients they must be emphasised through a typeset that clearly distinguishes it from the rest of the list of ingredients e.g. in bold or CAPITALS.
• Does the ingredients list, have colours used labelled with the correct E number AND a warning about the adverse effect of colour on children (where required)? For example, Yellow 5 should be written as “Colour (E 102)”, Red 40 should be written as “Colour (E 129)" Food and drink containing any of these six colours (E 110, E 104, E 122, E 129, E 102, E 124) must carry a warning on the packaging. This will say ‘May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children’.
• Does the ingredients list have any other additives listed? Do they have the GB name and function listed? Are they authorised to be used in that type of food category? See the list below for some common additives that are not authorised in food/drink in Great Britain.
• Does the ingredients list have the Nutritional information in the correct format? Values must always be per 100 g or 100 ml. Energy information must be included which must be declared in kilojoules (kJ) and kilocalories (kcal).
• Are the details of the Food Business Operator (FBO) responsible for the food on the label? Is the address a UK address? The address must be a UK postal address, not a phone number or email address. It can be the name of the business whose name the food is marketed under or the address of the business that has imported the food.

If the answer to any of the above is No then you must not sell the food/drink item as doing so is likely to mean a non-compliant and potentially unsafe food/drink is for sale for which you would be responsible.

You must remove anything that is currently for sale that is non-compliant.

Enforcement

Retailers are routinely inspected and officers can take formal enforcement action when contraventions are found. This can range from informal advice, through to seizure and detention of products and prosecution in court.

Traceability

As a food business, you MUST have available the information as to who you have purchased the food/drink that you sell from. The easiest way to do this is to keep all your invoices and receipts. Make sure the supplier/contractor supply fully referenced invoices.

Food Additives

Assimilated EU law Regulation No.1333/2008 only permits certain additives to be used in foods and drinks, restricts the use of some additives and sets maximum levels for others.

The use is controlled because excessive consumption has been linked to allergic reactions and sickness. Food additives must be authorised for use in the particular type of food or drink you are selling – not all additives are approved for use in all food categories.

It is an offence to sell foods which contain additives that do not comply with GB requirements.

Examples of non-authorised additives that have been found for sale:

• Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO) is not an authorised food and is not permitted in flavoured drinks.
• Although Calcium disodium EDTA (E 385) is an authorised additive, it is not permitted in flavoured drinks in GB. This has been found in drinks such as canned American Mountain Dew.
• Some flavoured drinks are found to contain Sodium erythorbate (E 316). Although E 316 is allowed in some foods, it is not permitted in flavoured drinks.
• Tartrazine (E 102) is a food colouring additive not authorised in pickles in GB. This may be called "Yellow 5" on American labels, which is the same as Tartrazine (E 102).
• Use of the colour E 127, Erythrosine (shown on US products as “Red 3”) has been found in breakfast cereals, baking products and confectionery. This colour is only permitted in specified amounts within cocktail and candied cherries.
• Jelly sweets containing konjak are banned.
• ‘Bleached Flour’ or ‘Flour treatment agents’, which includes bleaching agents are not permitted in any food.
• White mineral / mineral oil is used as a glazing agent in some countries - but is not a permitted food additive under the food category “confectionery” in GB. It is found as an ingredient in some US confectionery.
• The use of Konjac (E 425) or Carrageenan (E 407) in mini jelly cups is not permitted as they are a choking hazard. Konjac (E 425) is also not allowed in jelly confectionery.
• Some American drink products have also been found to contain an ingredient zinc aspartate. This is not an approved additive or mineral substance and products containing this cannot be sold on the GB market.

For more information see:

• Food and drink | Business Companion [https://www.businesscompanion.info/en/quick-guides/food-and-drink]
• Food labelling and packaging: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) [https://www.gov.uk/food-labelling-and-packaging]
• Food additives | Food Standards Agency [https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/food-additives]