Food labels: rules also for selling online

EU regulation 1169/2011 will go into force starting on December 14th, 2014.

The law was issued in November 2011 to govern the information included on food labels, with the intention of making uniform the information on labels in 27 European countries destined for consumers purchasing pre-packaged food products online, establishing legibility criteria.

The regulation also has the task of enabling consumers to make conscious purchase decisions on the basis of detailed information (nutritional tables, ingredients, allergens, instructions for use). GS1 standards, services and solutions can help concerns comply with the regulations governing the communication of product information necessary in order to sell online. Moreover, all dedicated services and documents are available on the GS1 Italy | Indicod-Ecr website.
Also useful is the analysis published in ItaliaImballaggio, January/February 2014, page 16 at dativoweb.net/en/content/food-labels-new-eu-regulations

Obligatory information on pre-packaged food product labels
- name of food;
- list of ingredients;
- any ingredient or component that causes allergies or intolerances and is used in production or preparation of a food product and is still present in the final product, even in a modified form (a list of allergens that must be declared is supplied in an appendix to the regulation);
- the quantity of a given ingredient or category of ingredients;
- the net quantity of the food product;
- the minimum preservation or final date of use;
- any special condition for preservation and/or use;
- the name and address of the professional food industry operator under whose name the food product is marketed (or the name of the importer if the operator resides outside the EU);
- the place of origin when required, as provided by article 26;
- instructions for use wherever appropriate use of the food product may prove difficult without such instructions;
- in the case of beverages containing more than 1.2% alcohol by volume, the real alcohol content by volume;
- a nutrition declaration.