Every mandatory element checked against the law of each market you sell into, with the provision cited behind each failure and corrected wording supplied.
A food label compliance review checks a label against the food information law of every market the product is sold in, element by element. It covers the mandatory particulars, the ingredient and allergen declaration, the nutrition information, any claims on pack, and the legibility and language requirements that apply. The output is an annotated review citing the provision behind every failure, with corrected wording ready for your designer.
Undeclared allergens and labelling errors are among the leading causes of food recalls, and almost all of them are visible on the artwork before it goes to print. A label review is one of the cheapest pieces of assurance available and one of the most frequently skipped.
Each market assessed against its own rules, each failure cited to the provision behind it, and corrected wording your designer can implement directly. Delivered remotely, in any language, quoted on scope.
These twelve elements are broadly consistent across markets in concept. The detail of each differs, which is why every market in scope is assessed separately.
| Element | What is required | Where it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Name of the food | The legal name where one is prescribed, otherwise a customary or descriptive name. | A brand name used as the legal name, with no descriptive name present. |
| List of ingredients | All ingredients in descending order of weight at the time of use, with compound ingredients broken down. | Compound ingredients left undeclared, or an order that does not match the recipe. |
| Allergen declaration | Regulated allergens emphasised within the ingredient list, named in the required form. | Emphasis missing, or an allergen named in a way consumers cannot recognise. |
| Quantitative ingredient declaration | The percentage of an ingredient where it appears in the name, is emphasised, or is essential to characterise the food. | QUID omitted where an ingredient is pictured or named on front of pack. |
| Net quantity | The quantity in the units the market requires, with the correct format and placement. | Wrong units for the market, or quantity too small to meet legibility rules. |
| Date marking | A durability or use by date in the required format, with the reason for the choice defensible. | A best before date used where the product needs a use by date on safety grounds. |
| Storage and use conditions | Conditions needed to keep the product safe and, where relevant, instructions after opening. | No after opening instruction on a product that needs one. |
| Business operator details | Name and address of the business responsible for the information, established in the market where required. | An address outside the market with no local representative named. |
| Country of origin | Where required by category rules, or where omission would mislead the consumer. | Origin implied by imagery while the actual origin differs. |
| Nutrition declaration | The mandatory nutrients in the required order and units, expressed per the required basis. | Values carried over from an old recipe, or a format from the wrong market. |
| Instructions for use | Where the food could not be used appropriately without them. | Preparation instructions that do not achieve the safety outcome they imply. |
| Claims | Any nutrition or health claim, only where authorised and where conditions of use are met. | A claim the product's composition does not qualify for. |
Six areas where requirements differ between countries. Each is a reason the same artwork cannot be used everywhere.
| Area | What differs | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Which languages the mandatory information must appear in. | Compliant artwork rejected at a border for language alone. |
| Allergen list | Which allergens are regulated. The lists differ between markets in both number and definition. | An allergen regulated in the destination market and undeclared. |
| Nutrition format | The nutrients required, their order, units and the reference basis. | A panel in the wrong format for the market, requiring new artwork. |
| Additive authorisation | Which additives are permitted in which food categories and at what levels. | An ingredient lawful at home and prohibited in the destination category. |
| Claims registers | Which claims are authorised and the wording permitted for each. | A claim authorised in one market and unlawful in another. |
| Category rules | Vertical standards, supplements, fortified foods and foods for specific groups. | Notification required before sale and never made. |
These eight account for a large share of findings, and the first two account for a large share on their own.
The allergen appears in the ingredient list without the emphasis the law requires, or emphasis is applied to some allergens and not others. Among the most frequent causes of label related recalls.
A percentage is needed where an ingredient appears in the name, is emphasised in words or pictures, or characterises the food. Front of pack imagery triggers it more often than businesses expect.
An ingredient made of other ingredients declared as a single item, hiding allergens and additives that have to be visible.
A formulation change made without the nutrition panel being recalculated. The declaration is then wrong and everything derived from it is wrong too.
Type size below the minimum height the market requires, or mandatory information placed where it cannot be read as sold.
A claim used because it is commercially attractive, without checking the conditions of use are met by the actual product.
May contain statements applied without a risk assessment behind them. It devalues the warning and some markets regulate its use.
One design shipped everywhere. Language, allergen lists, nutrition format and permitted additives all differ, so a label compliant at home fails at the border.
Food and beverage manufacturers, food supplement companies, importers, private label suppliers and brand owners. It is particularly relevant to businesses selling into more than one market, where the same product faces different mandatory requirements in each.
You are launching a product and the artwork has not been legally checked.
You are entering a new market and need to know what has to change.
A retailer or distributor has queried your label.
Your recipe has changed and the label has not been reassessed.
You have inherited labels from a co packer or a previous supplier.
You are making a claim on pack and are not certain it is permitted.
Product has been held or rejected at a border.
You are placing a food supplement or fortified food for the first time.
You send the artwork or label text, the full recipe with percentages, and the list of markets the product is sold into.
Every mandatory particular is checked for presence, placement and correct expression against the rules of each market.
Ingredient declaration, QUID, allergens and the nutrition declaration are verified against the recipe, never against the previous label.
Every claim on pack is checked against the authorised register and against the product's actual composition.
Type size, placement, field of vision and language obligations are assessed per market.
Each item is marked compliant or noncompliant with the provision cited, and replacement wording is supplied ready for your designer.
Artwork design, print production and barcode allocation. The review supplies compliant wording and your designer implements it.
Laboratory analysis to generate nutrition values. Where data is missing or looks wrong, the review says so and states what analysis is needed.
Where a finding indicates product already on the market carries an undeclared allergen, you are told immediately, because that is an incident and not a labelling correction.
Every review is quoted against its own scope. One label for one market and twelve labels across four markets in three languages are very different pieces of work. These factors set the price.
These are the primary sources this work is built on. Where a market you sell into has its own requirement, that takes precedence and we assess against it.
As a general position across markets: the name of the food, a list of ingredients, allergen declaration, quantitative ingredient declaration where required, net quantity, date marking, storage and use conditions, the responsible business operator's name and address, country of origin where required, a nutrition declaration, and instructions for use where they are needed. The detail of each differs by market, which is why a label is assessed market by market.
QUID is the quantitative ingredient declaration, the percentage of an ingredient shown in the ingredient list or beside the name. It is generally required where an ingredient appears in the name of the food, is emphasised on the label in words or pictures, or is essential to characterise the food. Front of pack imagery triggers it far more often than businesses expect.
Regulated allergens must be declared within the ingredient list, emphasised so they stand out from the surrounding text, and named in a form a consumer recognises. Which allergens are regulated differs between markets in both number and definition, so an allergen declaration compliant in one country can be incomplete in another.
Rarely. Language requirements, regulated allergen lists, nutrition formats, permitted additives and claims registers all differ. A single artwork shipped everywhere is one of the most common reasons product is rejected at a border or has to be relabelled.
A use by date marks the point after which a food is unsafe. A best before date marks the point after which quality declines. Choosing between them is a safety decision that has to be defensible, and using a best before date on a product that needs a use by date is a serious error.
Precautionary allergen labelling should follow a risk assessment establishing that unintended presence is genuinely possible despite your controls. Applying it as blanket insurance devalues the warning for the people who rely on it, and several markets now regulate how it may be used.
Only where the claim is authorised in the market concerned, the wording used is an acceptable expression of it, and the product's actual composition meets the conditions of use. All three have to hold, and the third is where most claims fail.
Before, and it costs considerably less. A review at text stage catches the same legal problems as one at artwork stage, and correcting text before design work is far cheaper than reprinting. A short check at artwork stage is still worth doing for legibility and placement.
Yes. Supplements carry additional requirements including permitted forms of vitamins and minerals, maximum levels that vary between markets, mandatory warnings, recommended daily portion statements and national notification requirements.
It depends on the failure. An undeclared allergen affecting product already sold is a food safety incident with withdrawal or recall implications. Other failures are typically corrected at the next print run, sometimes with a defined sell through period agreed with the authority.
Any number. Reviewing a range together usually costs less per label than reviewing them individually, because ingredient declarations and claim assessments overlap across a product family.
An annotated review listing every mandatory element, each marked compliant or noncompliant with the provision cited, a market by market view where several markets are in scope, and corrected wording your designer can implement without interpretation.
Confi Food assigns work by subject. HACCP, labelling, certification standards, regulatory compliance, supplier assurance and monitoring are separate disciplines, and each piece goes to someone who works in that area. Every deliverable is reviewed internally by a second specialist before it reaches you.
Our technical positions are built from primary sources, meaning the legislation, the competent authority, Codex Alimentarius, the certification scheme owner or the relevant standards body. We set out how that works in our technical review and editorial policy, and what happens at each stage of an engagement in how Confi Food works.
A focused review of how allergens are declared on pack, which is the single highest risk area on any food label.
Read about Allergen Declaration Review →A review of the nutrition declaration and every claim on pack, checking each claim is permitted, authorised and correctly conditioned.
Read about Nutrition and Claims Review →A review of an existing label against the requirements of a new export market, before you commit to artwork.
Read about Export Market Label Review →Certificated course covering food information law, claims and market specific labelling.
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See EU Food Labelling Consulting →Send the label text or artwork, the recipe and the markets, and receive a written quote covering the scope, the deliverable and the price.