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Selling food in the EU

In the EU, labelling is set by Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, ingredients and additives by their own Regulations, and contaminant limits by Regulation (EU) 2023/915. The business the food is sold under answers for the label, and food business operators carry the primary responsibility for safety. Member states enforce.

Updated · Each section links to the official source it comes from

Labelling
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011
Who assesses safety
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
Label language
One easily understood; a member state can require its own
Allergens
Emphasised in the ingredients list
Who answers for the label
The business the food is sold under, or the EU importer

Before a product goes on sale

The questions to answer, in the order they usually come up.

  1. 1Is any ingredient new to the EU, or an additive that needs to be on the list? Read more
  2. 2What has to be on the label, in which language, and how large? Read more
  3. 3Can the claims you want to make be made at all? Read more
  4. 4Which contaminant limits apply to what is in it? Read more
  5. 5Is the packaging made for contact with food? Read more
  6. 6Where is it made, and how does it come into the EU? Read more

The rules, by area

What each area covers, the texts that set it, and what the official pages say.

Labelling and claims

What a label has to show, how it is shown, and which nutrition and health claims a label or advert may carry.

  • Article 9 lists the mandatory particulars: the name of the food, the ingredients, allergens, the quantity of certain ingredients, net quantity, the date of minimum durability or use by, storage conditions, the business name and address, country of origin where required, instructions where needed, alcohol strength above 1.2%, and a nutrition declaration.
  • Allergens in the ingredients list are emphasised "by font, style or background colour".
  • Mandatory text has an x-height of at least 1.2 mm, or 0.9 mm where the largest surface is under 80 cm² (Article 13).
  • The name of the food and the net quantity appear in the same field of vision.
  • Nutrition and health claims are allowed only where authorised and listed in the EU Register of claims.

How we help: Compliant Always sets the particulars beside what your label shows, with the article for each, so the gaps are visible before a retailer or an inspector finds them. Ask about this

Novel foods and additives

What may go into the product at all.

  • A food not consumed to a significant degree in the EU before 15 May 1997 is a novel food, and needs authorisation before it goes on sale.
  • Additives must be authorised and listed, with their conditions of use, on the EU positive list.

How we help: Compliant Always reads your recipe and specifications against the lists that apply, and keeps the evidence for each ingredient with the product. Ask about this

Contaminants

Maximum levels for substances that should not be in food above a set amount.

  • Maximum levels are set for metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic and inorganic tin, for mycotoxins, and for other contaminants.
  • The basic principles are in Council Regulation (EEC) No 315/93.

How we help: Upload a lab report and Compliant Always reads it line by line against the limits that apply, with the source beside each one. Ask about this

Packaging and food contact materials

Materials that touch the food must not pass their constituents into it in unsafe amounts.

  • Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 sets the general requirements for food contact materials.
  • Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006 sets good manufacturing practice for them.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the declarations of compliance from your packaging suppliers with the product, dated, so you can see which ones are out of date. Ask about this

General food law and hygiene

Who is responsible, how food is traced, and the hygiene rules for the businesses that handle it.

  • Primary responsibility for meeting food law, and in particular the safety of the food, rests with the food business operator.
  • Businesses must be able to name their immediate supplier and immediate customer: "one step back, one step forward".
  • When food is unsafe, the business must withdraw or recall it, and notify the competent national authorities.
  • The hygiene Regulation has applied since 1 January 2006.

How we help: Compliant Always ties each document to the lot and the supplier it came from, so the step back and the step forward are on record. Ask about this

Import and official controls

How goods from outside the EU are checked, and how authorities share what they find.

  • Member states enforce, through official controls on goods produced in the EU and goods imported into it.
  • TRACES is the Commission's system for certificates and border checks.
  • RASFF is the system authorities use to share alerts about food and feed.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the certificates a shipment needs with the product, and shows what expires before the next one leaves. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
BrandThe label and the food information, where the food is sold under its name (Article 8).The label checked against the particulars, and the paperwork behind it in one place.
ManufacturerHygiene, traceability and what goes into the product at its stage.Specifications, test reports and certificates kept with each product, ready for a customer's form.
Importer into the EUThe food information where the brand is not established in the EU (Article 8).The supplier's documents read and dated before the goods arrive.
Packaging supplierMaterials that meet the food contact rules, with a declaration to show it.Declarations collected once and shown to each customer that asks.

Member states

Regulations apply directly in each member state, but enforcement is national. A member state may require labels in its own official languages.

Selling in more than one member state means meeting the EU text and the national additions of each.

Shipping out of the EU?

Exporting food from the EU

Questions businesses ask

Who is responsible for the food information on an EU label?
"The operator under whose name or business name the food is marketed or, if that operator is not established in the Union, the importer into the Union market" (Article 8(1), Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011).
What does a prepacked food label have to show in the EU?
Article 9 lists them: name, ingredients, allergens, quantity of certain ingredients, net quantity, durability or use-by date, storage conditions, the business name and address, origin where required, instructions where needed, alcohol strength above 1.2%, and a nutrition declaration.
Which language does an EU label have to be in?
A language easily understood by consumers where the food is sold. A member state may require the information in one or more of its official languages (Article 15).
How must allergens appear on an EU label?
In the ingredients list, emphasised so they stand out from the rest of the list, for example by font, style or background colour.
Is there a minimum text size?
Yes. Mandatory information has an x-height of at least 1.2 mm, or 0.9 mm where the largest surface of the pack is under 80 cm² (Article 13).
Does a new ingredient need approval before it is sold in the EU?
If it was not consumed to a significant degree in the EU before 15 May 1997, it is a novel food and needs authorisation under Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 before it goes on sale.
Can a food label make a health claim in the EU?
Only a claim authorised under Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 and listed in the EU Register of nutrition and health claims, under the conditions set for it.
Who checks that food on sale in the EU meets the rules?
Competent authorities in each member state, through official controls under Regulation (EU) 2017/625. They check goods made in the EU and goods imported into it.
What must a business do if a food it sold is unsafe?
Withdraw or recall it, and notify the competent national authorities, under the general food law, Regulation (EC) No 178/2002.
How does Compliant Always help with selling in the EU?
Our team reads the rules for the markets you sell in. Compliant Always shows which apply to your product, keeps the documents behind each one ready, and watches the sources for changes. It shows what the requirements say and what your documents show; you decide.

Sources

Compliant Always is a product of Lettuce Labs LLC. It shows what requirements say and what your documents show. It is not legal advice, and you decide.

Tell us what you make, and we will show you the rules for it.

Name the product and the markets you sell in. We will come back to you with what applies in the EU and what your paperwork needs to show.

Get in touch

No card, no account, and no call to book. Tell us what you make and where you sell it, and we will come back to you.

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