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Food labelling
Expert reviewer, Mr Paul McArdle, Registered Dietitian
Next review due April 2023
Food labels tell you useful things such as the amount of salt, fat and added sugars the product contains and how many calories it has. Knowing what to look for on a nutrition label can help you to make healthier food choices. Here’s a guide to some of the key things to look out for.
Food labelling and the law
Food labels must be clear and easy to read. The information on them is strictly governed by European law. Food labelling laws mean that food manufacturers and retailers are legally obliged to put the following information on their labels.
- A list of ingredients, starting off with the one that the product contains the most of.
- The weight or volume of the product.
- The name of the food – including a description for brand names.
- Storage instructions telling you the best way to keep the food so it doesn’t go off.
- A use-by date or best-before date. Use-by dates show you how long you can safely keep the food if you store it according to the instructions on the label. Stick to the use-by date so your food is safe to eat and you don’t get food poisoning. The best-before date is about the quality of the food, not safety. After this date, the food may lose some flavour or texture so it’s no longer at its best, but it’s unlikely to make you ill.
- Clear instructions on how to prepare and cook the food if necessary.
- The manufacturer's name and address so you can find out more about the product.
- The place of origin so you can clearly see where the food has come from. It could be misleading not to show this – for example, a Greek-style yoghurt made in France.
- Any genetically modified (GM) ingredients. This doesn't apply to meat, milk or eggs that come from animals that have been fed with GM products.
- The alcohol strength if a drink contains more than 1.2% alcohol.
- Nutrition information if nutritional claims are made. See our section: Nutrition and health claims for further details.
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How healthy are you?Safety information
Food labels must also list any key information that could affect the safety of the food. This includes:
- if the food contains an ingredient that some people are allergic or intolerant to (this law applies to a list of known allergens) – see our section: Allergy labelling
- if the food contains ingredients that may be harmful to some people (such as lots of caffeine)
- the lot or batch number to identify batches of food if they have to be recalled (a date mark is sometimes used instead)
Nutritional information
Labels for most pre-packed foods in the UK must show nutritional information. Food manufacturers are also required to show nutritional information on food labels for foods that make a health claim such as ‘low-fat’.
How do I read a food label?
Nutritional information labels show how much energy – in kilojoules (kJ) and kilocalories (kcal) – is in a product. They also list the amount (in grams) of things like:
- fat
- saturated fat
- carbohydrates
- sugars
- protein
- salt
- fibre
This information is usually put in a table on the label on the back of the food. It can be really useful to help you shop more healthily.
Nutritional information can also be displayed on the front of food packaging so you can immediately see how healthy it is. In the UK, the traffic light system is used to show this information.
Traffic light system
The traffic light colours show how much energy, fat, saturated fat (saturates), sugar and salt a food contains, and the grams of each in one serving. You can see at a glance how healthy a food is:
- green = low amount in the food
- amber = medium amount in the food
- red = high amount in the food
The idea is to choose more items with green lights and fewer with red lights.
The label also shows the percentage of your reference intake (RI) a portion provides. This is usually the value for an average adult (unless it's a product for children).
Fat-free claims
If foods make health claims, they need to meet the legal criteria for those claims.
In order to claim that a product is fat-free, it has to contain no more than 0.5g of fat per 100g or 100ml of product.
Low-fat, light or lite claims
A solid food claiming to be low-fat, light or lite, can't contain more than 3g of fat per 100g. A liquid food making this claim can’t contain more than 1.5g of fat per 100ml.
To claim a product is reduced saturated fat, the amount of saturated fatty acids and of trans-fatty acids in the product must be at least 30% less than in a similar product (ie the full fat version). And the trans-fatty acids content in the product must be equal to or less than in a similar product.Low-sugar claims
Low-sugar foods can’t contain more than 5g of sugars per 100g (if solid) or 2.5g of sugars per 100ml (if liquid).
No added sugar claims
To claim there is no added sugar, the product mustn’t contain any added monosaccharides or disaccharides or any other food used for its sweetening properties. We explain the different words for sugar below. If sugars naturally occur in the food, the label should also say, ‘contains naturally occurring sugars’.
Different words for sugar
It can be tricky sometimes to find sugar on food labels, particularly if food manufactures use scientific names for the various types of sugar. Names to look out for include:
- dextrose
- fructose
- glucose
- maltose
- sucrose
- monosaccharide
- disaccharide
- honey
- molasses
- syrups (for example, treacle, corn and maple syrups)
- fruit juice concentrates
Low-salt claims
A food claiming to be low in salt mustn’t contain more than 0.12g of sodium per 100g or 100ml of product. This equates to 0.3g of salt per 100g or 100ml of product. Very low-salt products can’t contain more than 0.04g of sodium (0.1g salt) per 100g or 100ml of product.
You can read more about how much salt we need in our diet in the topic: Salt. For tips and advice on how to cut down, see our blog: How to eat less salt and add more flavour!
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Other helpful websites
- British Nutrition Foundation
020 7557 7930
www.nutrition.org.uk - Food Standards Agency
020 7276 8829
www.food.gov.uk
- British Nutrition Foundation
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Sources
- Looking at labels. British Nutrition Foundation. www.nutrition.org.uk, published December 2016
- Food labelling and packaging. GOV.UK. www.gov.uk, accessed 20 October 2017
- A reference to food composition and labelling legislation. Food Standards Agency. www.food.gov.uk, published March 2017
- Food standards: labelling, durability and composition. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. www.gov.uk, published 11 June 2015
- GM labelling. Food Standards Agency. www.food.gov.uk, last updated 30 January 2013
- Food information to consumers – legislation. European Commission. ec.europa.eu, accessed 20 October 2017
- Technical guidance on nutrition labelling. Department of Health. www.gov.uk, published March 2017
- Guide to creating a front of pack (FOP) nutrition label for pre-packed products sold through retail outlets. Department of Health. www.food.gov.uk, updated November 2016
- Nutrition claims. European Commission. ec.europa.eu, last update 21 November 2017
- Sugar. British Dietetic Association. www.bda.uk.com, published March 2017
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Author information
Reviewed by Rachael Mayfield-Blake, Freelance Health Editor, November 2017
Expert reviewer, Mr Paul McArdle, Registered Dietitian
Next review due November 2020
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