Labelling food for the consumer
Consumers rely on clear and accurate food labelling to make informed and safe choices.
Information appears on packaging or, for loose food, on nearby labels. Additional details may be provided through sales materials, brochures, websites or invoices.
Labelling requirements for prepacked food
Under the FIC, all prepacked food intended for the consumer must be labelled with:
- The name of the food: For seafood, fish labelling rules dictate which commercial names must be used for each species. Link to fish labelling page
- ‘Best before’ or ‘use by’ date. Find out guidance on choosing the correct date type.
- Any necessary warnings: e.g., ‘may contain small bones’ or allergens warnings.
- Net quantity information: This is the weight of the product that is intended to be consumed. For example, ice glaze or vinegar should not be included in the net weight. However, edible ingredients like olive oil should be included. In this case a QUID declaration stating amounts of fish and oil would be needed. We have produced guidance on how ice glazing should be declared.
- List of ingredients (if more than one): Allergens must be highlighted in bold. For example, cod (fish), wheat flour (gluten).
- QUID declaration: A declaration of the quantity of characterising ingredients (QUID) may be necessary if one or more characterising ingredients are present. These are ingredients that could affect a consumer's purchase decision. For example, the quantity of fish in a fish pie, or an ingredient emphasised in the name or packaging images.
- Country or place of origin: Unprocessed seafood will use the country of farming or catch area as its origin. Once processed the origin will become the place of the last processing. However, care must be taken not to mislead consumers. For example, do not call Norwegian salmon, smoked in Scotland, 'Scottish smoked salmon' without stating it came from Norway.
- Lot number: Helps trace the product in case of a food safety issue. A production date or use-by date can be used if it identifies all products in a batch.
- Special storage conditions: For example, the temperature required for the product to remain safe until the use-by date stated.
- Instructions for use or cooking, if necessary
- Name and UK address of the responsible business: This must be a UK address, which could be be the producer, the brand owner, or the importer.
Labelling requirements for loose (non-prepacked) food
For food sold loose, the FIC requires:
- The name of the food: Rules on fish labelling set the commercial names that can be used for each species
- A ‘best before’ or ‘use by’ date. You can find advice on whether to use 'best before' or 'use by' on the WRAP website.
- Any necessary warnings, such as allergens
- Fish Labelling Regulations also apply to food sold loose
Labelling for online food sales
Food sold online must comply with the same labelling laws as food sold in physical stores.
If sellers don’t have the full information at the time of sale, they must provide it after the sale but before delivery, including the durability date.
Additional labelling regulations
For more details on specific labelling regulations click the links below:
Further resources
- The Food Information to Consumer Regulation 2013: A guide to compliance
- Seafish guide to Food Information to Consumers Regulation
- Seafish guide to Consumer information under the EU Common Organisation of the Markets Regulation
- There is also guidance on how to describe fishery products without misleading the consumer in the Code of Practice on the Declaration of Fish Content (prepared by BFFF, BRC, Seafish and others, March 1998).
- Food Standards Agency Fair labelling guidance