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This lecture will touch on the world of food labeling. This is a really interesting area of food and health, where you the consumer can really engage in food choices, by understanding what is in the products you purchase and what they mean to you.

Labeling of food stuffs is meant to be there to provide you, the consumer, with key information on the properties of the packaged food being purchased or consumed. This information is there for you to look at so that you can make an informed choice as to whether you want to consume that food or not based on information such as ingredients, origin etc. Detailed labelling informs consumers as to the exact nature and characteristics of the foodstuff and enables them to make an informed choice when purchasing food Labeling of foods covers a broad area, and while I will focus on nutrition labeling and health claims in this lecture, it is important to remember that labels contain information on many aspects where the food was made, how to cook the food, how to store the food All of this is there for you to make an informed choice. So you can buy the food that suits you.

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Who governs the labeling of our food. It is important to note that if labels are put on foods, that they are regulated meaning that they follow strict guidelines set by the governing body and are checked for compliance. This means that we as a consumer can have confidence that what it says on our packaged food is true. We can believe it. Labeling in the EU is governed at 2 levels. Firstly the European Food Safety Authority, which is made up of experts from all EU member states, gives recommendations to the Commission who pass these onto each member state. These recommendations can range from the content of the nutrition and health claims allowed, to guidance in terms of how the information should be presented. These recommendations are then taken on board by the member states regulatory bodies. In Ireland ours is known as the Food Safety Authority of Ireland FSAI. The FSAI helps to interpret and implement recommendations that come from Europe and other rules that come from the government and other bodies in Ireland. The FSAI gives advice to food manufacturers in Ireland and those selling in Ireland. It then monitors products to make sure they comply to the rules they set down.

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So what is on a label? The FSAI have some general details which seem obvious but are important. The information must be clear and not misleading. It must be legible and easy to understand. When dealing with the general public we need to use words that are commonly used, not scientific terms or industry jargon. In terms of language in Ireland, English is the language that products much be labeled in, if they want to include Irish, they can do so in addition to English. The FSAI have laid down some compulsory labeling rules what you have to say, and suggest 10 items which are mandatory. Ill go through these in the next couple of slides. In addition there may be a nutrition claim relating to the amount of a nutrient in or not in the food product e.g. the amount of folic acid There may also be a health claim linking the consumption of the food to a reduced risk of disease e.g. helps maintain heart function. The nutrition claim and health claim are governed by very strict guidelines given by EFSA and enforced in each member state. Interestingly if you further afield, outside of Europe, these regulations may change, and you may have claims on a product which would have less regulation or enforcement than those in Europe. But for the purpose of this lecture, we will deal with European guidance and the rules set by the FSAI.

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This slide outlines the 10 point list of requirement for labeling - as set by the FSAI (in 2011). Some are very obvious it must have a name (so people can identify what it is) you might know its spaghetti, but if its packaged, then it must state spaghetti or pasta on the packet. All packaged products must list their ingredients and declare any allergens which may be in their foods. Allergens are things people may be allergic to such as nuts, shellfish etc. We will talk about these in more detail shortly. Products must outline the quantity of some ingredients, and also give the quantity of the total food in the packet. It must give details of minimum durabiltiy i.e. the date to consume by, and also instructions on how to store it. It should also give the name and address of manufacturer and the place of origin of the food stuff. Some instructions for use need to be given if necessary and finally, if alcoholic then this needs to be declared.

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In addition to the compulsory 10 other particulars are sometimes required e.g If it is packaged with packaged gases, then is must state packaged in a protective atmosphere If sweeteners are added then the package needs to state with sweeteners and should include the name of the sweetener being used. Other particulars are listed here. Remember these are only listed when needed on the product and as such do not appear often. The information on the previous slide, MUST appear on all packaged foods.

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So lets look at a label here a humble Steak and Kidney pie I know this, because it says so in the name there is also a picture. If we follow the numbers 2 and 3 you can then see the list of ingredients and the quantify of some ingredients in the detailed text, which is given at the back of the pack. 4 outlines the instructions for use how to cook, serve etc. Sometimes it might include recommendations to serve it with. E.g. cereal and cold milk, soft drinks and ice. 5 is the use by and/or best before dates letting you know if the product is still fit for consumption or sale. Storage instructions and the manufacturers details are given in 6 and 7. 8 lets you know the place of origin. The net quantity i.e. how much of the product there is, is given in 9 here it is 500g. And finally, although not listed here, if a product contains alcohol it would have to tell you the amount Such a lot of information on such a small space!!

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With respect to allergens labelling is very important. An allergen is a ingredient or substance in a food wihich can cause allergies or intollerances in certain people. There are common foods and ingredients which are known to cause allergies, such as shellfish, nuts, milk or gluten. For the full list see the FSAI report. If an allergen(s) is in the food it must be indicated on the label with a clear reference to the name under which the allergen is known either in the name of product, e.g. cake with almonds, in the list of ingredients or somewhere else on the label, e.g. contains eggs, contains nuts. Not all allergens are declated on the labe. There are some exceptions where the nature of the food indicates it contains an allergen. For example if someone is allergic to milk, dairy products such as cheese, butter or yoghurt are clearly milk products and milk would not need to be declared separately as an allergen. Somecommon sense is simply applied in the indviduals food choice.

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Currently not all foods have to be labelled with nutrition information. Currently, the provision of nutrition information is voluntary unless a nutrition related claim is made when the declaration then becomes mandatory. From 13th December, 2016, nutrition information will be mandatory for most pre-packaged foodstuffs. As it stands - Nutrition labelling is voluntary* but is compulsory where a nutrition claim is made on the label. However, if a label carries nutrition labelling, even when it is not required, it must comply with the Regulations.

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So when labelling is there, it must follow rules governed by the FSA

The information must be clear and readable, presented in a clear format. It must be permanent and not hidden somewhere on the packaging it needs to be obvious.

The nutrition information must be expressed per 100g or per 100ml. It may be given per serving/portion provided that the number of portions contained in the package is stated. Often information is given in both forms.

The information should relates to the foodstuff as sold. However, it may relate to the product after preparation, provided preparation instructions are given and the label clearly states it relates to the food as prepared for consumption e.g. noodles cooked.

Another rule is what is given in the information. When nutrition labeling is present, it must given at a minimum Group 1 (sometimes known as Big 4) energy, protein, carbohydrate and fat. As you can see at the top here, the units (kcal, or g etc.) will also be given. When food manufacturers want to give more information, they can expand this grouping to give additional details such as Carbohydrates, of which sugars; Fats, of which saturates. Information on fibre and salt can also be given. This grouping is often known as Group 2. In essence if the product makes a claim or reference to a particular part of the fat or carbohydrate then they need to indicate it on the label.

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With respect to vitamins and minerals, these are only declared if they are present in significant amounts within the food. A micronutrient (vitamin/mineral) is only considered present in significant amounts if it exceeds 15% of the recommended daily allowance (the recommended intakes we discussed in our last lecture). Again, the manufacturers need only declare the vitamins they are interested in the example here focuses on vitamins A and C and iron. It doesnt list all vitamins, only those it wants to highlight.

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Up to now, we have talked about nutrition information on the package where information on amount of carbohydrate, fat or protein etc is listed. We will consider next how this information is sometimes then used to make a claim. There are two types of claims nutrition claim and health claim. The nutrition claim is any claim that states, suggests or implies that the food has a particular beneficial nutritional property e.g. that it is low in fat, has no added sugar, high in vitamin C etc. A nutrition claim relates specifically to the nutritional properties of the food. If this claim goes beyond just talking about the nutritional content, and links the consumption of the food to health it becomes a health claim. A health claim is any claim that states, suggests or implies that a relationship exists between a food category, a food or one of its constituents and health. Examples here could be; This product contains fibre, which is good for your heart or rich source of calcium, which is good for bones. The difference is that we dont just talk about what is in the food, but relate the contents of the food to a health benefit. If a product makes either a nutrition or health claim, then they must make sure the nutrient they are referring to is listed in the nutritional information on the pack. Such claims (either a nutrition claim or a health claim) are closely regualted by the European Food Safety Auhority, and the Food Safery Authority of Ireland.

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When either a nutrition claim or health claim is being made it is important to note that the food bearing the claim being made, must have what we call a favorable nutrient profile. EFSA state that foods products bearing nutrition claims cannot be inherently unhealthy as to what they deam a healthy or unhealthy food, is yet to be decided. In essence the message is that you probably wont be able to put a claim on a food that is considered unhealthy e.g. Sweet confectionery, such a chocolate or savoury snacks such as crisps. But they may allow a claim on low fat or sugar free versions of these. At the moment we dont know and only time will tell. In addition EFSA will also restrict comparative claims. Comparative claims compare one product to another. Or state that a product has a lower/higher nutrient content compared to another. It is important to note that if comparative claims are being made that a comparison may only be made between foods of the same category, taking into consideration a range of foods of that category. The difference in the quantity of a nutrient and/or the energy value must be stated and the comparison must relate to the same quantity of food.

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Looking more closely at nutrition claims, if a product has a nutrition claims such as high in fibre, low in added sugar etc. Then is must state this on the pack and support this information in the nutritional information panel on the back. Nutrition claims can relate to the energy content of the food, where it can state that the product provides a specific amount of kcal or provides a reduced amount of kcal compared to a similar product. The same applies to other nutrients where it can state is contains a nutrient, for example fibre, has reduced quantities of something, say fat, or doesnt contain something for example free from trans fat. But whatever it states in the claim you must be able to go to the back of the pack and look at the nutritional information and be able to see this in the nutritional information panel.

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So lets look at some nutrition claims. You may have seen some of these on packs before, but mightnt have fully understood what they mean. You may not have also realized how the product must comply to a particular rule in order to make the claim. For example if a product wishes to state it is fat free it must have no more than 0.5 g per 100g or 100ml of the product. If the product is natrually fat free then you can state it. .e.g cucumber is naturally fat free, etc. As of recently, claims stating X% fat free are no longer allowed. The rationale was that they thought it a little misleading for something to state that is was say 95% fat free which would mean 5% of the product was fat but was this 5% in weight, 5% in energy etc. As this is up for misinterpretation such claims are no longer permitted. Similar to total fat, there are specific rules for saturated fat. The product should contain no more than 1.5g saturated fat/100g or 0.75g saturated fat/100ml. To state that something is low in saturated fat, saturated fat must not contribute to more than 10% of energy.

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In terms of sugar again the product must contain no more than 0.5 g per 100g/ or 100ml. As before if the product is naturally low in fat this can be states. With sugar you may often see the term no added sugars, and this would relate to the fact that no sugars have been added to the food. By this it means that the food does not contain any added mono or disaccharides (sugars) or any other food used for its sweetening properties.

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For a claim to be made about a vitamin or mineral the product must contain at least 15% of the RDA recommended daily allowance (which is the Population Reference Intake value, from the last lecture) in either 100ml or 100g. As such the product will give a significant amount of the vitamin or mineral it is claiming to be rich in. The can be done either as a natural source of the vitamin/mineral or fortified. If a product is enriched or fortified it means that the nutrients (vitamins/minerals) have been added to the product. E.g. folic acid in bread or milk.

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Finally, some claims will state that they are low in something e.g low in salt where if a product wants to make this claim it must contain less than 0.12mg sodium per 100g. Again if it naturally low this can be stated. With respect to fibre, the product can be considered a source of fibre it it contains 3g per 100g or 1.5g per 100kcal. Again the term naturally can be used.

As we have just talked through. A nutritional claim refers to a food which has beneficial nutritional property high in fibre etc. A health claim, links a health benefit to the consumption of that food e.g Helps keep your heart healthy. EFSA is the body which governs what products can make a health claim and what they can say. To make a health claim on a product the company must provide scientific evidence to state that they can prove the claim. So for example of a company wants to make a claim about their product and heart health they have to do some studies to show that if people eat their product, that it reduces say their cholesterol or some other marker of heart health. This scientific evidence is then examined by experts in EFSA who independently judge if the company has proved the claim or not. If they havent, then they are not allowed to put it on their product.

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A health claim can exist in two forms it can have a function - eg calcium is good for your bones. Or it may have a risk reduction claim e.g calcium reduces the risk of osteoporosis (which is a disease of the bones).

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When making a health claim it must include a number of caveats including that the product must be consumed as part of a balance diet. It must tell you how much and how often the food must be consumed to reap the benefits of the claim. It must state who should avoid the food for example if its linked to heart health, should those on medication or have a particular disorder avoid it?

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Here are some example of some nutritional information panels. As you can see they include information on energy, protein carobhydrate etc. And sometimes include information on additional nutrients, relevant to their product. Basically if they want to let you know they have the specific nutrients in their food they must state it in the nutritional information panel. As you can see the examples here give per 100g and then per serving. They also have to state what a serving is ( how many g per serving).

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The examples given here are nutrition claims reduced fat, a good source of calcium, reduced sodium, fat free, natural etc. These are we have discussed relate only to the nutrients in the food you will notice here they dont mention anything about linking the food to a disease or risk of a disease. Nutritional claims relate only to the nutrients in the foods

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When we move onto health claims, you can see that they specifically state how the product can actually help a disease. Oatmeal helps reduce cholesterol, Weetabix releases energy slowly etc. These relate to functions and or risk of disease, and as such go beyond the nutrients in the food, linking them to health. Such claims as are the nutrition claims are closely regulated and must follow the rules of EFSA and the member states governing bodies. Some of the examples here eg the oatmeal squares are examples from the US where they have different rules in terms of health claims. Take some time yourself next time you are in the supermarket to see what product have claims on and what those claims are. You will see that there are relatively allowed in the European Union compared to the US and other regulatory regions.

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In terms of how the nutritional information is displayed it can be done in a number of ways, in addition to the nutritional information table we have seen before. For example here the information is given for the amount of the calories, sugar fat etc in the product and how this relates to the daily recommended intake of the nutrients. This is known as guideline daily amounts, and it aims to help you see the produict or a portion of the product in the context of your daily requirements.

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Another way this can be presented is in terms of Traffic Light labelling, which attempt to colour code the nutritional composition of the foods with respect to particular nutrients stating if they are low (green), a little high (amber) or quite high (red). This way of displaying the information is meant to help consumers to make a quick judgment on the food. Whilst this is good, it can also be misleading as it doesnt place the food in the context of the overall daily diet, as the GDA in the previous slide does.

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So who looks at labels and why? Data rrom the FSAI shows that 25% of consumers state they always look at labels, with 27% never or rarely using this information in choosing foods.

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Why do people look at labels mostly for nutritional information, where they are looking at a specific nutrient in the food fat, or salt or whatever. Some look for calorie content, and others specific ingredients (or nutrients in the food). 13% look for a listed allergen, 11% for best before or use by dates.

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For those that didnt look at labels the following were some of the main reasons quite simply they weren't bothered as they always bought a particular brand of food and didnt mind what was in it or didnt feel the need to check. Some didnt understand the labels, so didnt think that looking at them would help. They were often overwhelmed/confused by too much information on labels Some didnt think labels for for them they didnt have an allergy, or weren't avoiding a particular nutrient. Some just went on what they thought was a healthy or unhealthy food and didnt think they needed a label to tell them so.

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So thats labelling. I hope that you now know what should be on a label and how the information should be displayed. You will understand the difference between a nutrition claim referring to the nutrient content, listed in the nutrition panel and a health claim linking the consumption of the food to a specific disease or function. You will know the specifics of the nutrition claim examples given.

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