News article
13 June 2014
Scotland's food and drink businesses get label ready
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The Scottish Food and Drink Federation (SFDF) hosted a briefing event for
food
and drink companies based in Scotland to help them to better understand and
prepare for forthcoming mandatory changes to food and drink labels.
A range of industry delegates attended including manufacturers, retailers,
butchers and bakers who took away essential knowledge on the changes to
labelling
brought in under the European Food Information to Consumers Regulation which
will
take effect from 13 December.
The day kicked off with representatives from the Food Standards Agency in
Scotland (FSAS), the Food Standards Agency, the Food and Drink Federation and
leading
law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn speaking about the conditions and implications
of the new regulation, and how it will impact on businesses.
This was followed by a hands-on workshop where attendees used what they had
learnt to correctly re-label a variety of products.
Later, FSAS offered delegates one-on-one advice, and a takeaway checklist on
what companies need to consider when drawing up new labels for their products.
SFDF
staff were also there during and after the workshops to offer advice and
support.
Mary Lawton, Policy and Industry Liaison Manager at SFDF, said:
“This is a period of significant change in the provision of food labelling
information for consumers, with nearly all food and drink affected by this
regulation. The event helped guide and inform companies of all sizes on what is
coming
up and the need for action now. These events which bring together the
regulators
and industry experts help inform companies about what they need to do to comply
and by when.”
All European food and drink manufacturers are required to adapt their labelling
in line with the European Food Information to Consumers Regulation. The key new
requirements are: a minimum font size for mandatory information; emphasising
allergens in the ingredients list; providing allergen information for foods
sold
loose, including catering; an extension to the rules for country of origin
labelling for meat and from December 2016, mandatory nutrition labelling for
most
pre-packed foods.
Stephen Hendry, Senior Policy Advisor at FSAS, said:
“I am very grateful to the Scottish Food and Drink Federation for making the
event possible and helping to highlight that most of the new food information
rules will apply in six months' time. It also gave a valuable opportunity for
the
FSA to meet individually with a wide range of food businesses and discuss
specific points of interest.”
More information
For more information, please contact Kirsty Ritchie on +44 (0) 131 222 8040.
For media enquires contact Fleur Williamson on 0207 420 7120 / [email protected]
Note to Editors
- The Scottish Food and Drink Federation is the voice of the Scottish food and
drink manufacturing industry – Scotland's largest manufacturing sector
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