The last part of Regulation 1169/2011/EU on the provision of food information to consumers, the part on nutrition labelling, which has not yet entered into force, will enter into force on 13 December 2016.
- Nutrition labelling – EU regulation
Article 9(1)(l) of Regulation 1169/2011/EU (hereinafter referred to as the “Regulation”) states that nutrition labelling is also one of the mandatory particulars, which, in the case of pre-packed foods, must be provided directly on the packaging or on a label attached thereto as mandatory food information pursuant to Article 12(2) of the Regulation.
The rules on nutrition labelling are set out in Articles 29-35 of the Regulation. According to Article 30(1), the mandatory nutrition declaration must include:
a) energy content; and
b) fat and saturates content, carbohydrate content, sugar content, protein content and salt content.
These 7 main nutritional values are referred to in the English-language food law literature as the “Big 7”, while under the legislation in force before December 2016, we could speak of 4 main nutritional values, which are referred to as the “Big 4”. The 4 main nutritional values could be supplemented by 4 additional nutritional values – under certain circumstances. Accordingly, there were two options for nutrition declaration so far, i.e. either 4 or 8 nutritional values could be indicated, but from now on, the indication of 7 nutritional values will be mandatory.
- Previous Hungarian regulations on nutrition labelling
Since food law is a highly harmonised area of law within the EU, the provisions of the Hungarian Food Code on the nutrition labelling of foods (regulation no. 1-1-90/496) also followed the same system. According to these, nutrition labelling was not yet generally mandatory, only in cases where a nutritional claim was included on the labelling, presentation or advertising of the food – with the exception of general advertisements. Furthermore, separate legislation could make nutrition labelling mandatory in other cases as well.
The Hungarian Food Code prescribed two templates for this. Template 1 can be considered a general label, while information according to template 2 must be included in cases where the nutritional claim concerns sugars, saturated fatty acids, dietary fibre or sodium.
Template 1:
a) energy content,
b) the amount of protein, carbohydrate and fat.
Sample 2:
a) energy content,
b) the amount of protein, carbohydrates, sugars, fat, saturated fatty acids, dietary fiber and sodium.
Please note that between 13 December 2014 and 12 December 2016, the new nutrition labelling rules could already be applied voluntarily, but only in compliance with the new requirements. However, from 13 December 2016, this has been mandatory.
- Sanctions
If proper labelling is not carried out, pursuant to Sections 56-59 of Act XLVI of 2008 on the Food Chain and its Official Supervision, the Food Chain Supervision Authority (Nébih) may take legal action, impose a fine or issue a warning to the undertaking subject to the procedure.
Measures may include, among others, the suspension of the business’s activities, the seizure, withdrawal from circulation or destruction of the given product. The amount of the fine may range from 15 thousand forints to 5 billion forints, depending on the severity of the violation and the annual net sales of the business.
A warning is the first level of sanctions, as the aim is not for the authorities to punish, but to think together to interpret the regulation and develop good practices in its spirit, i.e. everyone should label food products appropriately and consumers can shop safely.
If you have any questions on the subject, we are happy to help.