Comprehensive labelling requirements have been introduced in Part 1 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code to ensure that consumers have adequate information to enable them to make informed choices when purchasing food.
In most circumstances packaged foods for retail sale or for catering purposes are required to bear a label setting out all the information prescribed in the new Code. Foods for catering purposes means those foods for use in restaurants, canteens, schools, caterers or self catering institutions, where food is offered for immediate consumption.
The following information provides a brief summary of the general labelling requirements in the new Code. You should also read FSANZ' s user guide on an overview of food labelling, available on the FSANZ website (see Further information below) for more detailed information on general labelling requirements. Other user guides and fact sheets are available on specific labelling requirements including nutrition information, percentage labelling, and warning and advisory declarations.
Food labelling requirements What general labelling requirements apply to food?
Prescribed name or a name or a description of the food sufficient to indicate the true nature of the food
Lot identification
Name and business address in Australia or New Zealand of the supplier
Mandatory warning and advisory statements and declarations
Ingredient listing
Date marking
Directions for use or storage
Nutrition information panel
Percentage labelling (characterising ingredient/s and component/s)
Country of origin
Legibility requirements
Other specific labelling requirements
Exemptions from labelling requirements
Foods or ingredients that are known to cause allergic reactions
Further information
Food labelling requirements
What general labelling requirements apply to food?
Unless specifically exempted, (please refer to Exemption from Labelling Requirements below), the label on a package of food for retail sale or for catering purposes must include the following information:
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Prescribed name or a name or a description of the food sufficient to indicate the true nature of the food
The label on a package of food must include a name or a description of the food. If there is a prescribed name for the food in the Code this must be included on the label. If there is no prescribed name for a food, the label must include a name or description of the food sufficient to indicate the true nature of the food. The name or description chosen should be specific enough to differentiate it from other foods.
In accordance with food law and fair trading law, manufacturers must not represent foods in a false, misleading or deceptive manner.
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Lot identification
Lot identification is required on packaged food to assist in the rare event of a food recall. A lot mark should identify the batch from which the food was manufactured. It should be able to identify the premises where the food was packed and/or prepared.
A date mark and the supplier’s address details can help satisfy the requirements of a lot mark.
There are some specific exemptions from lot identification. These exemptions cover individual portions of ice cream/ice confection and food in small packages when the bulk packages and bulk container in which the food is stored or displayed for sale includes lot identification.
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Name and business address in Australia or New Zealand of the supplier
A supplier’s name and their business address in Australia or New Zealand are required on the label on a package of food. The term ' supplier ' includes the packer, manufacturer, vendor or importer of the food.
A business address means the location of the premises from which a business is being operated, and includes the street number, the street name, the town or suburb and, in Australia, the state or territory. A post office box address is not sufficient.
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Mandatory warning and advisory statements and declarations
Prescribed warning and advisory statements are specified in Standard 1.2.3 - Mandatory Warning and Advisory Statements and Declarations and elsewhere in the new Code. See separate FSANZ fact sheet and also FSANZ’s user guide on warning and advisory declarations.
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Ingredient listing
Unless specifically exempted, the label of a package of food must list all the ingredients and compound ingredients used in the manufacture of the food.
An ingredient means any substance, including a food additive, used in the preparation, manufacture or handling of a food.
A compound ingredient means an ingredient of a food that is itself made up of two or more ingredients, e.g. spaghetti, which is made up of flour, egg and water.
Ingredients and compound ingredients must be declared in a statement of ingredients in descending order of ingoing weight subject to limited exceptions. The names of ingredients should be sufficiently detailed to describe the ingredient, and accurate to ensure they are not false, misleading or deceptive, or likely to mislead or deceive.
For guidance on the labelling of ingredients see FSANZ’s user guide on ingredient labelling. Additional guidance on the use and labelling of food additives is included in FSANZ’s user guide on food additives.
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Date marking
Packaged food is generally required to be date-marked.
A date mark will usually be in the form of a ' best-before' date. Food with a ' best-before' date of two or more years is exempt from date marking. Additional exemptions, including those for small packages, are set out in clause 2 of Standard 1.2.5.
When for health and safety reasons a food should not be consumed after a certain date, a ' use-by' date is required. There are few foods that will be required to be labelled with a ' use-by' date.
There are also prescribed forms for date marks and dates, and requirements to include statements of specific storage conditions on labels of packaged food.
For specific guidance on the use and application of ' best-before' and ' use-by' dates see FSANZ’s user guide on date marking.
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Directions for use or storage
Directions for use and storage are mandatory where, because of the nature of the food and reasons of public health and safety, consumers need directions about the use or storage of the food. For example, the directions for use for infant formula to reduce the chance of microbial contamination and ensure the nutritional adequacy of the formula for an infant. Without directions for use the potential threat to public health and safety would be higher.
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Nutrition information panel
A separate fact sheet summarises labelling requirements for nutrition information required by Standard 1.2.8 - Nutrition Information Requirements. See also FSANZ’s user guide on nutrition information requirements.
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Percentage labelling (characterising ingredient/s and component/s)
A separate fact sheet summarises percentage labelling information required by Standard 1.2.10 - Characterising Ingredients and Components of Food. See also FSANZ’s user guide on percentage labelling.
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Country of origin
During the phase-in period, country of origin labelling requirements from the old Code have been included in the new Code. This means that generally, a label on a package of food must include a statement that identifies the country in which the food was made or produced or that the product is made from local and/or imported ingredients. This provision does not apply to food produced in or imported into New Zealand.
Note that including the country in the business address of the supplier often fulfils country of origin labelling requirements.
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Legibility requirements
Manufacturers and retailers can choose any type style or type size provided that the information displayed is in English and is legible and prominent so as to be in distinct contrast to the background. The one exception to this is where warning statements are required. Warning statements must be in a type size no less than 3 mm unless the food is in a small package, where the type size for any warning statement must be at least 1.5 mm.
FSANZ' s user guide on legibility requirements for food labels contains information to assist with compliance.
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Other specific labelling requirements
In addition to those core information requirements, there are the following labelling requirements.
- Health claims. See clause 1 of Standard 1.1.3
- Labelling of certain milk products and royal jelly (Standard 1.1.3; clauses 3 and 4)
- Infant formula labelling (Standard R7 of old Code)
- Nutrition claims. See division 3 of Standard 1.2.8
- Labelling in relation to the vitamin and mineral content. See Standard 1.3.2
- Labelling of genetically modified food. See Standard 1.5.2 and user guide
- Irradiated food or food containing ingredients that have been irradiated. See Standard 1.5.3
- Novel foods. See Standard 1.5.1.
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Exemptions from labelling requirements
Clause 2 of Standard 1.2.1 - Application of Labelling and Other Information Requirements describes the circumstances where food for retail sale or for catering purposes may be exempt from bearing a label.
The following foods for retail sale or for catering purposes are generally exempt from bearing a label setting out the information prescribed by the new Code:
- food not in a package;
- food in an inner package not designed for sale without an outer package, other than individual portion packs which contain certain substances which must be declared (either verbally or in writing) under clause 4 of Standard 1.2.3,
- food made and packaged from the premises from which it is sold;
- food packaged in the presence of the purchaser;
- whole or cut fresh fruit and vegetables (except sprouting seeds or similar products) in packages that do not obscure the nature or quality of the fruit or vegetables;
- food delivered packaged, and ready for consumption, at the express order of the purchaser; and
- food sold at a fundraising event.
Please note: Even when exempt from bearing a label, the new Code requires that certain information about a food be available to the consumer, either verbally or in writing, at the point of sale.
For more detailed information on the specific information requirements for foods exempt from bearing a label see FSANZ's user guide on the information requirements for foods exempt from bearing a label.
A simple handwritten label is fine.
If you prepare the product yourself you will know what is in it. If you have used a packet mix write the ingredients from the packet on your label. Remember to include any other ingredients you may have added, such as eggs.
If the event organiser wishes to identify each maker of food without including their specific details, he or she can use a single address for all products and a separate code for each maker, such as Layton Tennis Club, 3 Brick Road, Layton, Qld 4117, Code 23. This means that maker number 23 made the food for the Layton Tennis Club. The organiser keeps a list of these codes and the makers' details.
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Foods or ingredients that are known to cause allergic reactions
If food for sale contains any ingredient on the following list, the information must be given to a buyer on request, or displayed next to the food or on the packaging:
- gluten (a substance found in wheat, rye, barley, oats and spelt and therefore present in foods made from these grains, such as flour)
- fish and fish products
- crustacea (shellfish) and products
- egg and egg products
- milk and milk products
- soya beans and products
- peanuts and products
- sesame seeds and products
- other nuts and products
- sulphites (a preservative)
- royal jelly (a secretion from the salivary glands of honey bees)
- bee pollen (pollen collected from the legs of bees)
- propolis (a substance collected by bees).
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Further information
Electronic versions of Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code), user guides and fact sheets can be obtained from the FSANZ website
This is intended as a guide only: legal requirements are contained in the Food Standards Code, other relevant food legislation and other applicable laws. The information in this document should not be relied upon as legal advice or used as a substitute for legal advice. You should exercise your own skill, care and judgment before relying on this information in any important matter.
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