Consumer Studies - Food labelling

What are labels?

They are a source of information that protects consumers, provides information and helps in making healthy food choices.

What is the basic information that should appear on food labels?

• The product name

  • Clearly legible

  • Description of the product if it is not apart of the name

• A picture of the product

  • Should not be misleading

• The instructions for use and preparation

  • E.g. Cooking method

• List of ingredients

  • Colouring agents listed according to their E-numbers

  • The name of the additive must be listed if allergic reactions can take place

  • MSG and flavour enhancers must be mentioned

  • Common allergies must also be listed

• Storage instructions

  • To ensure that the product’s quality remains before and after it has been opened

• Net/actual mass

• Nutritional information

  • Appropriate units (i.e. kJ)

  • Single portion size

• Logo

  • From an organisation that endorses the food product (i.e. Heart Foundation or SABS)

• Mandatory warning if the product is pressurised

• Name and address of the manufacturer

• Date stamps

  • Day-Month-Year format

  • Packaging/manufacturing date

  • Best before date

  • Sell by date

  • Use by date

• Country of origin

• Batch identification number

• Client service and customer care line

• Bar code/price

• Nutritional claims

What are labels?

They are a source of information that protects consumers, provides information and helps in making healthy food choices.

What is the basic information that should appear on food labels?

• The product name

  • Clearly legible

  • Description of the product if it is not apart of the name

• A picture of the product

  • Should not be misleading

• The instructions for use and preparation

  • E.g. Cooking method

• List of ingredients

  • Colouring agents listed according to their E-numbers

  • The name of the additive must be listed if allergic reactions can take place

  • MSG and flavour enhancers must be mentioned

  • Common allergies must also be listed

• Storage instructions

  • To ensure that the product’s quality remains before and after it has been opened

• Net/actual mass

• Nutritional information

  • Appropriate units (i.e. kJ)

  • Single portion size

• Logo

  • From an organisation that endorses the food product (i.e. Heart Foundation or SABS)

• Mandatory warning if the product is pressurised

• Name and address of the manufacturer

• Date stamps

  • Day-Month-Year format

  • Packaging/manufacturing date

  • Best before date

  • Sell by date

  • Use by date

• Country of origin

• Batch identification number

• Client service and customer care line

• Bar code/price

• Nutritional claims

What are the regulations for food labels?

• Only facts must be provided

• Words or implications that confuse the consumer may not be used

• Must provide the consumer with knowledge

What are the misleading claims about nutritional content?

• Reference to the Department of Health or the Government

• Claiming to have complete or balanced nutrition (implying that the food will give complete nutrition

• Any words, pictures or logos that creates the importance that it is supported by health practitioners etc.

• The words ‘health’, ‘healthy’, ‘wholesome’, ‘nutritious’ or any other words that imply that the food has properties that will ensure health

• The word ‘cure’ or any other medical claims, including preventative and therapeutic claims

• The word ‘wild’ for fish and other marine food products unless it is qualified as ‘wild caught’

• Prohibited nutritional content wording such as: ‘excellent source of…’; ‘enriched with’; ‘added…’

• That nutritional value has been added to a food product when those ingredients have only been added for technical or sensory reasons

• Any claim that it contains something that is not in the packaging

• ‘No added sugar’/’No sugar added’ on food items containing one or a combination of the following: Corn syrup; deflavoured concentrates and fruit juices; dextrose; fructose; glucose; maltose; sucrose or any other syrup

• Any word, statement, logo or image that does comply with legal regulations

• Frozen foods that have been thawed and marketed as ‘fresh’ where the words ‘previously frozen’ must appear on the label

• Any claim that only the food product contains or does not contain a certain property or ingredient when there are similar food products that have the same property

• Any comparative claim regarding total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sugar, sodium, salt, energy value or alcohol level or two or more similar food products