FSA Annual Update EventsAutumn 2012

The Food Information Regulation with a focus on allergens

Sue HattersleyFood Standards Agency

Overview

• Food Information Regulation

• Regulation on ‘gluten free’ claims

• Mixed nut powders – a particular allergy concern

Food Information Regulation

Headline changes in the law• EU Allergen labelling rules are changing –

Regulation 1169/2011 published on 22 Nov 2011 and entered into force on 13 Dec 2011

• Existing requirements for pre-packed foods are retained – but new requirement to emphasize allergenic foods in the ingredients list

• Introduction of new requirement to provide allergy information for unpackaged foods

• Up to individual Member States to set out national measures on how this should be done

Detailed changes that have implications for food allergy

labelling

Article 1

• Covers business operators at all stages of food chain concerning provision of information to consumers:o Food intended for the final consumero Foods delivered by mass catererso Foods intended for supply to mass caterers

• Also applies to catering services provided by transport leaving from the EU Member Stateso airline catering

Article 9 - mandatory particulars

9(1)c - Any ingredient or processing aid listed in Annex II, or derived from a substance or product listed in Annex II causing allergies or intolerances, used in the manufacture or preparation of a food and still present in the finished product, even if in an altered form

• 9(2) - The specified allergenic foods to be indicated with words and numbers - they may additionally be expressed by means of pictograms or symbols

EU list of allergens (new Annex II is the same as previous Annex IIIA)

Articles 12 + 13 – clarity and legibility

• 12(1) - Mandatory food information to be available and easily accessible for all foods

• 12(2) – For prepacked foods, mandatory information to appear directly on the package or on a label attached to it

• 13(1) - Mandatory information to be marked in a conspicuous place, be easily visible, clearly legible and, where appropriate, indelible. It should not be hidden, obscured, detracted from or interrupted by other written or pictorial matter

Article 13 – Presentation of mandatory information

• 13(2) - The mandatory information listed in Article 9(1) to be printed on package or label

• to ensure clear legibility, use characters with a font size where the x-height is at least 1.2mm

• 13(3) - In the case of packaging or containers, the largest surface of which has an area of less than 80 cm2, the x-height of the font size to be at least 0.9mm

Article 14 – distance selling

• In the case of foods offered for sale by means of distance communication, mandatory food information to be available before purchase is concluded and to appear on the material supporting the distance selling or be provided through other appropriate means clearly identified by the food business operator

• All mandatory information to be available at the moment of delivery

Article 21(1)

• The particulars referred to in Article 9(1)c (ie the allergenic ingredients) to be indicated in list of ingredients with clear reference to name of the substance or product as listed in Annex II

• The allergenic ingredients to be emphasized through a typeset that clearly distinguishes it from the rest of the ingredients, for example by means of the font, style or background colour

Article 21(1) - continued

• In the absence of a list of ingredients, the indication of the allergenic ingredients to comprise the word ‘contains’ followed by the name of the substance or product listed in Annex II

• Where several ingredients or processing aids in a food originate from a single allergenic ingredient, the labelling shall make it clear for each ingredient or processing aid concerned

Article 21 - continued

• 21(1) - Where the name of the food clearly refers to the allergenic ingredients concerned, there is no need for a separate declaration of the allergenic food

• 21(2) - The Commission shall systematically re-examine and, where necessary, update the list in Annex II, by means of delegated acts

Article 36(3)a – voluntary information

• The Commission has option to introduce new rules on the following voluntary information: – ‘information on the possible and unintentional

presence in food of substances or products causing allergies or intolerances’

• Suggestion that conditions for gluten claims currently set out in Reg 41/2009 could also be set out here following revision of Parnuts framework legislation

Article 44(1) – national measures for non-prepacked foods

• Where foods are offered to sale to the final consumer or to mass caterers without prepackaging, or where foods are packed on the sales premises at the consumer’s request or prepacked for direct sale, the provision of the information about allergenic ingredients is mandatory

Article 44(2) – national measures for non-prepacked foods

• Member States may adopt national measures concerning the means through which the allergen information is to be made available and, where appropriate, the form of expression and presentation

Articles 54 and 55:transition period and entry into

force• 54(1) - Foods placed on the market or

labelled prior to 13 December 2014 which do not comply with the requirements of this Regulation may be marketed until the stocks of food are exhausted

• 55 - This Regulation entered into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal – ie on 13 December 2011

Next steps

• Need to put in place national legislation to provide for enforcement powers and produce guidance for businesses on compliance with the legislation

• The draft national legislation, guidance to compliance and Impact Assessment are currently being drafted and are being issued for public consultation

Next steps - unpackaged foods

• Considering need for detailed technical guidance on food allergy aspects and holding stakeholders meeting to discuss how to take this forward, covering issues such as:– how to highlight allergenic ingredients in the

ingredients list– how to provide allergen information for non-

prepacked foods

Next steps - unpackaged foods (continued)

• Use best practice guidance we have already produced for non-prepacked foods as a basis

• Plan dissemination and publicity to reach and inform small catering businesses

Gluten Legislation

Commission Regulation on foods for people with gluten intolerance

• Aims to ensure that all foods labelled to indicate suitability for people intolerant to gluten use harmonised labelling terms:

– Applies to specialist (Parnuts) and mainstream foods

– Applies to pre-packed and unpackaged foods

– Reduces consumer confusion about these products

– Facilitates better consumer understanding about how much gluten is in the foods they buy and thereby helps to improve the health of these consumers

Commission Regulation on foods for people with gluten intolerance

• Made under framework legislation on foods for particular nutritional uses (PARNUTS)

• Aligns EC law with the agreed Codex standard for foods targeted at people intolerant to gluten - so the term ‘gluten-free’ will have the same meaning around the world

• Came into force on 1 January 2012

Provisions in the Regulation (1)

• The labelling provisions set out in the Regulation are:

• ‘very low gluten’ = only for PARNUTS foodstuffs consisting of, or containing one or more ingredients made from wheat, rye, barley, oats or their crossbred varieties that have been especially processed to reduce gluten, and that contain no more than 100 mg/kg gluten in the food as sold to the final consumer

Provisions in the Regulation (2)

• ‘gluten free’ = for specialist foods that contain either gluten-reduced ingredients or substitute ingredients and contain no more than 20 mg/kg gluten in the food as sold to the final consumer

• ‘gluten free’ = for foods for normal consumption that meet the 20ppm gluten limit as sold to the final consumer

Advice for businesses and consumers (1)

• General guidance to compliance with the requirements of the legislation is available from the Agency at:

http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/glutenguidance2012

Advice for businesses and consumers (2)

• A fact sheet is available to help caterers who want to provide information about gluten to their customers. This includes a flow chart to take a caterer though a series of questions to determine the claims that can or cannot be made. This can be found at:

http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/glutenfactsheet.pdf

Advice for businesses and consumers (3)

• There is also a fact sheet for consumers to help them understand how to use the information they may see on a pre-packed food or in a catering establishment. This includes a number of questions that they can ask a caterer to help them decide what is safe for them to eat. This fact sheet can be found at:

http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/publication/glutenconsumer.pdf

Issues arising from increasing use of mixed nut powders in

catering businesses

Peanut and tree nut allergy

• Some people are allergic only to peanuts and can safely eat tree nuts, such as almonds

• Some foods traditionally use a single nut ingredient – eg almonds in korma sauces

• Customers who are only allergic to peanuts and have safely eaten korma dishes previously, particularly in the same restaurant, may not ask about the ingredients used on every occasion

Concerns arising from increasing use of mixed nut powders

• Agency aware that some businesses – particularly in catering businesses - are now using mixed nut powders that can contain up to 90% peanut and only 10% almond

• This is completely legal but businesses need to be aware of what they are buying so that they can provide customers with accurate information about the ingredients they use

Concerns arising from increasing use of mixed nut powders (continued)

• Has person in the business responsible for ordering ingredients informed other staff (chefs and waiting staff) of the change?

• Is the nut ingredient accurately labelled when stored within the business?

• Will customers who ask about ingredients get accurate information about which nuts are used?

FIR and enforcement (general)• The Food Information (England) Regulations 2013 to provide

enforcement powers – expected to come into force from April 2013

• Full public consultation – Oct 2012.

• Views wanted (in particular on enforcement implications of name of food no longer required for non-prepacked foods and proposal to use Unfair Commercial Practices Directive)

• Further information will be posted on the Knowledge Hub – Food Labelling and Standards https://knowledgehub.local.gov.uk/

Enforcement guidance for authorities

• Guidance to compliance with FIR – part of the consultation (not detailed)

• Technical sector specific guidance for FIR produced by Industry, DEFRA, FSA and DH - currently being drafted

• Enforcement guidance published – Practice guidance – reference to Compliance notices.

• FSA courses now available (Nov/Dec 2012; Jan/Feb 2013). E-learning tool for officers 2013

Sue Hattersley

Address: Food Allergy Branch, Aviation House

125 Kingsway, London, WC2B 6 NH, UK

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7276 8509

Email: sue.hattersley@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

Contact Details