The Fish Labelling Regulations
These regulations cover fishery and aquaculture products including raw fish, fish fillets and shellfish.
The main requirements are:
- Traceability information (commercial designation, catch area and production method) is to follow these products as they are traded, either as a label or as accompanying paperwork.
- Specific information is to be placed on the label when the product is to be sold to the final consumer.
The Fish Labelling Regulations 2010 replace the original 2003 regulations and add several new names to the permitted list of fish names. For the full list of fish names, see the 2010 regulations on the FSA website: New Fish Labelling Rules
Seafish has produced Seafood Labelling Guidance (January 2011) to help answer frequently asked questions and provide an introduction to the different types of labelling requirements for seafood products. The FSA page on fish labelling, which includes look-up tables for commercial designations, is available here.
Ongoing legislative changes
Several regulatory changes are being introduced or are
under consideration that will impact on labelling at the
foodservice/retail stage and along the supply chain. Seafish have
produced a document, entitled
Impacts of ongoing legislative changes on seafood
labelling, that explains the current and upcoming seafood
labelling requirements.