EU Food Labelling Regulations: The Complete Guide (Regulation 1169/2011)

EU food labelling is governed principally by Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, the Food Information to Consumers Regulation. For most prepacked foods, it requires the food name, ingredients, allergens, certain quantities, net quantity, date marking, storage/use conditions, operator details, origin where required, instructions where needed, alcohol strength where relevant, and nutrition information.

EU food labelling regulations are designed to give consumers information that is accurate, understandable and sufficiently complete to make informed purchasing and consumption decisions. Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 — commonly called the Food Information to Consumers or FIC Regulation — is the central framework, supported by additional EU legislation governing areas such as additives, nutrition and health claims, origin information and product-specific requirements.

For food businesses, compliance is not simply a graphic-design exercise. Product specifications, recipes, supplier information, allergen data, nutritional calculations, packaging artwork and marketing claims all have to align before the label is approved.

Important: This guide provides general compliance information, not legal advice. Product-specific EU legislation and national rules may impose additional requirements.

TL;DR

• Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 provides the main EU framework for food information and labelling.

• Article 9 establishes the core mandatory particulars for prepacked foods.

• Ingredients, allergens, QUID, dates, nutrition information and origin may each trigger detailed additional rules.

• Mandatory information must be visible, legible and presented in an appropriate language for the market.

• Claims, images and voluntary information must not mislead consumers.

• A controlled pre-print review is essential because one change to a recipe, supplier, claim or artwork element can affect several label declarations.

What is Regulation 1169/2011?

Key takeaway: Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 is the principal EU law governing the information provided to consumers about food.

The Regulation harmonises major food-information requirements across the European Union. It has applied generally since 13 December 2014, while the mandatory nutrition declaration requirements have applied since 13 December 2016. It covers areas including mandatory particulars, presentation and legibility, allergens, distance selling and responsibilities for food information.

Its rules are built around a broader principle: food information must not mislead consumers. Information must be accurate, clear and easy to understand, and misleading presentation, descriptions and imagery can create compliance problems even where individual mandatory particulars are technically present.

Who is responsible for food information?

Responsibility depends on where an operator sits within the supply chain and under whose name the food is marketed. Businesses therefore need effective information transfer between ingredient suppliers, manufacturers, brand owners, importers, packaging teams and retailers.

A technically accurate recipe specification is not enough if an outdated version reaches the artwork team. Equally, correct artwork can become non-compliant when a supplier, ingredient, allergen status or product formulation changes without triggering a label review.

What about food sold online?

For prepacked food sold through distance communication, almost all mandatory food information must be available before the purchase is completed. The date of minimum durability or use-by date is the main exception at the pre-purchase stage; all mandatory particulars must be available on delivery.

Country variations: Regulation 1169/2011 is an EU-wide framework, but national differences remain. Member States can regulate matters such as how allergen information for non-prepacked food is provided and may require additional particulars where EU law permits. Language requirements, inspection arrangements, enforcement processes and penalties can also vary.

What must be on a food label in the EU?

Key takeaway: Article 9 of Regulation 1169/2011 establishes the core checklist of mandatory particulars for prepacked foods.

Subject to exemptions and product-specific rules, the mandatory food label information is:

Article 10 and Annex III can require additional particulars for particular foods or categories. There are also exemptions and modified requirements for certain products and very small packages.

For a deeper operational checklist, see Mandatory Food Label Information: The Full Checklist.

How should the product name appear?

Key takeaway: A marketing name cannot simply replace the legally required name of the food.

Article 17 establishes a hierarchy. The name should first be the food's legal name. Where no legal name exists, its customary name should be used. Where neither provides the answer, an appropriate descriptive name must make the true nature of the food clear. A brand, trade mark or fancy name does not substitute for the required food name.

This distinction matters when packaging relies heavily on branding. A prominent brand or range name may be commercially valuable, but consumers must still be able to identify what the product actually is.

The overall presentation must also avoid misleading consumers. For example, imagery suggesting the presence of an ingredient can create problems if the formulation does not match the impression created by the packaging.

Practical label-review question

Before approving artwork, ask:

Would a consumer understand the true nature of this product without relying on the brand name or front-of-pack imagery?

If the answer is uncertain, the food name and associated descriptive information need closer review.

How must an ingredients list be written?

Key takeaway: Ingredients are generally declared in descending order of weight as recorded when they are used in manufacture.

Article 18 requires the list to be headed or preceded by wording containing “ingredients”. Ingredients are then listed in descending order by weight at the time they are used to manufacture the food, subject to the detailed rules and exceptions in Annex VII.

This apparently simple rule becomes more technical when products contain:

• Compound ingredients

• Added water

• Reconstituted ingredients

• Additives

• Flavourings

• Ingredients requiring QUID

• Allergens

• Ingredients subject to specific designation rules

For the detailed mechanics, see How to Write a Food Ingredients List: Order, QUID and Additives.

What is QUID?

QUID means quantitative indication of ingredients.

Article 22 generally requires the quantity of an ingredient or category of ingredients where it:

1. Appears in the name of the food or is normally associated with that name.

2. Is emphasised through words, pictures or graphics.

3. Is essential to characterise the food and distinguish it from products with which it might otherwise be confused.

Annex VIII contains detailed exceptions and application rules.

A strawberry yoghurt, for example, may require the percentage of strawberry to be declared because strawberry characterises the product and is likely to be highlighted in its name or presentation.

How are additives declared?

Where an additive must be listed as an ingredient, Annex VII generally requires its functional category followed by its specific name or appropriate E number — for example, a “preservative” followed by the relevant substance or E number. Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 governs the authorisation and permitted use of food additives.

For a dedicated explanation, see E Numbers and Additives on Labels: A Plain-English Guide.

How must allergens be labelled on prepacked food?

Key takeaway: Relevant Annex II allergens must be clearly identified and emphasised within the ingredients list.

Article 21 requires the name of the relevant allergenic substance or product to be clearly referenced and distinguished typographically from the rest of the ingredients list — for example through font, style or background colour. Where a food is not required to carry an ingredients list, the allergen declaration generally uses “contains” followed by the relevant allergen.

The EU list in Annex II contains 14 categories of substances or products causing allergies or intolerances.

A crucial distinction is that on-pack allergen declaration and operational allergen management are related but different compliance activities.

This food-labelling cluster owns the label mechanics. For the detailed declaration rules, see Allergen Labelling on Prepacked Food: The EU Rules

What about loose and non-prepacked foods?

Article 44 makes allergen information mandatory for non-prepacked foods, while Member States can determine how that information is made available and can impose additional national information requirements.

See Labelling Non-Prepacked and Loose Foods for the dedicated rules affecting bakeries, delis, markets and similar settings.

What is the difference between use-by and best-before dates?

Key takeaway: A use-by date concerns food safety, while a best-before date primarily concerns quality.

For highly perishable foods that are likely, after a short period, to constitute an immediate danger to human health, Article 24 requires a use-by date instead of the date of minimum durability. After that use-by date, the food is deemed unsafe for the purposes of EU general food law.

A best-before date is the date of minimum durability: the point until which the food retains its specific properties when stored appropriately. It should not automatically be treated as a safety deadline.

For the complete explanation, see Use-By vs Best-Before Dates: What They Mean and the Law.

Storage conditions also need to align with the product's validated shelf life and date declaration.

What must an EU nutrition declaration contain?

Key takeaway: For most prepacked foods requiring nutrition information, the declaration must include energy plus fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt.

Article 30 establishes the mandatory nutrient set. The European Commission confirms that the vast majority of prepacked foods must declare:

• Energy in kJ and kcal

• Fat

• Saturates

• Carbohydrate

• Sugars

• Protein

• Salt

Nutrition values must generally be expressed per 100 g or 100 ml. They may additionally be presented per portion or consumption unit where the applicable conditions are met. Where space permits, the declaration is presented in a table with aligned numbers; a linear presentation may be used where space does not permit a table.

There are exemptions. Annex V, Article 16 and other provisions mean that nutrition labelling is not mandatory in every possible case. For example, certain unprocessed single-ingredient products and other specified categories can qualify for exemptions.

See The EU Nutrition Declaration: What to Include and How to Format It for the technical format, per-100 g/per-100 ml rules and voluntary additions.

When is country-of-origin labelling required?

Key takeaway: Origin information becomes mandatory in defined circumstances, including where omitting it could mislead consumers.

Under Article 26, country of origin or place of provenance must be indicated where failure to provide it could mislead consumers about the food's true origin, particularly where the overall presentation implies another origin.

Additional EU rules apply to certain products. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1337/2013 establishes origin requirements for fresh, chilled and frozen meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry.

Another important rule concerns the primary ingredient. Where the origin of the food is given but differs from that of its primary ingredient, Article 26(3) can require the primary ingredient's origin to be declared or indicated as different. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/775 provides the detailed rules for this requirement.

This issue frequently affects packaging that uses flags, maps, regional names or other geographical imagery.

What are the EU food label font-size and legibility rules?

Key takeaway: Mandatory information must not merely be present — consumers must be able to see and read it.

Article 13 requires mandatory food information to be conspicuous, clearly legible and, where appropriate, indelible. It must not be hidden, obscured, detracted from or interrupted by other material.

The standard minimum x-height for mandatory particulars is 1.2 mm. Where the package or container's largest surface is less than 80 cm², the minimum x-height is 0.9 mm.

That is an x-height measurement, not simply a point-size requirement.

Legibility therefore involves more than font size. Artwork review should also consider:

• Contrast

• Background complexity

• Printing quality

• Position

• Available space

• Whether folds or seams obscure information

• Whether another graphic competes with mandatory text

• Language requirements for the destination market

See Food Label Font Size and Legibility Rules for a dedicated design-compliance guide.

What rules apply to nutrition and health claims?

Key takeaway: Nutrition and health claims require their own legal review and cannot be treated as ordinary marketing copy.

Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 governs nutrition and health claims made in food labelling, presentation and advertising. The framework is intended to ensure claims are clear, accurate and scientifically substantiated rather than misleading.

A nutrition claim describes or implies particular beneficial nutritional properties, such as “low fat” or “high fibre”. Permitted nutrition claims and their conditions of use are specified within the regulatory framework; businesses cannot simply invent their own equivalent claims without checking whether they are permitted.

A health claim describes or implies a relationship between a food or constituent and health. Health claims generally need to be authorised and used under the applicable conditions. The European Commission maintains the EU Register showing permitted nutrition claims and authorised and non-authorised health claims.

Regulation 1169/2011 also prohibits food information from attributing to food properties of preventing, treating or curing human disease, subject to specific EU-law derogations.

Before printing a claim, teams should therefore check:

1. What type of claim it is.

2. Whether the wording is legally permitted.

3. Whether the product meets the conditions of use.

4. Whether supporting evidence and calculations are current.

5. Whether surrounding imagery or marketing changes the consumer impression.

See Nutrition and Health Claims on Food: What You Can and Can't Say.

Is Nutri-Score mandatory under EU food labelling law?

Key takeaway: Nutri-Score is a voluntary front-of-pack scheme, not an EU-wide mandatory food-labelling requirement.

Current EU rules allow front-of-pack nutrition information on a voluntary basis where the relevant regulatory criteria are satisfied. The European Commission confirms that front-of-pack nutrition labelling is not mandatory under the existing EU framework.

Nutri-Score is one of the schemes used or supported in several European countries. It summarises nutritional quality on an A-to-E scale, but businesses need to distinguish a national or voluntary scheme from mandatory EU food information.

The algorithm has also evolved. In France, for example, the revised Nutri-Score algorithm was implemented in March 2025, with participating businesses given a two-year period to update packaging.

This reinforces an important compliance point: using a voluntary front-of-pack scheme can create an additional change-control obligation. Teams must monitor the rules of the scheme they have chosen rather than assuming the artwork remains valid indefinitely.

See Nutri-Score Explained: How the Front-of-Pack Label Works.

What other EU food labelling topics should businesses check?

Key takeaway: A compliant Article 9 checklist is the starting point, not the end of a complete product-information review.

Several specialist topics sit alongside the core requirements in this guide.

Vegan, vegetarian and free-from statements

Voluntary food information must not mislead consumers, be ambiguous or confusing, and must be supported where appropriate by relevant scientific data. Specific EU rules also govern some “free-from” statements, including gluten-related claims.

See Vegan, Vegetarian and 'Free-From' Label Claims: The Rules.

Digital and QR-code information

For ordinary prepacked food, mandatory food information generally remains required on the package or attached label. Digital tools can supplement the physical label, but teams should not assume a QR code can automatically replace information required on-pack under Regulation 1169/2011.

See Digital and QR-Code Food Labels: What's Allowed in the EU.

Common labelling errors

Typical compliance failures include mismatches between specifications and artwork, omitted or incorrectly emphasised allergens, outdated ingredient lists, missing QUID declarations, unsuitable date marking, unsupported claims and poor legibility.

See Common Food Labelling Mistakes and How to Avoid Them.

Food labelling competence

People involved in product development, technical review, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, packaging and marketing should understand how their decisions affect label compliance.

See Who Needs Food Labelling Training? A Guide for Food Businesses.

How should a food business approve a label before printing?

Key takeaway: Effective label compliance depends on controlled data, defined responsibility and documented sign-off.

A practical pre-print process can be organised into seven stages.

1. Freeze the approved product specification

Confirm the current recipe, supplier specifications, ingredient composition, allergens, processing information and intended markets.

2. Identify the legal product name

Check whether specific legislation prescribes a name. If not, establish the appropriate customary or descriptive name.

3. Build the mandatory-particulars checklist

Review every Article 9 requirement and identify product-specific additional particulars, exemptions or special legislation.

4. Validate ingredients, allergens and QUID

Confirm ingredient order, compound ingredients, additives, allergen emphasis and all quantitative declarations against the final recipe.

5. Validate dates, storage, origin and nutrition

Ensure each declaration is supported by current technical information rather than copied automatically from a previous product.

6. Review all claims and front-of-pack communication

Check words, pictures, flags, ingredient illustrations, nutrition claims, health claims, sustainability statements and voluntary labelling schemes.

7. Conduct final artwork verification

Verify spelling, numbers, units, translations, legibility, x-height, contrast, barcode/artwork interference and version control.

Record:

• Reviewer

• Artwork version

• Specification version

• Date reviewed

• Issues identified

• Corrections made

• Final approval status

Practical observation: many serious label problems originate upstream. A perfectly typeset label can still be wrong when the underlying product data are incomplete or obsolete. Label approval should therefore be treated as a controlled compliance process rather than the final task of the design department.

Master compliant labels with a structured review process

Key takeaway: Food labelling competence helps teams identify issues before artwork is printed, products are distributed or corrective action becomes significantly more expensive.

Spanish Compliance Institute's Food Labelling Regulations Training is designed to help professionals understand Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 and apply its requirements across label review, product information and approval workflows.

Use the training alongside a controlled label checklist covering mandatory particulars, ingredients, allergens, QUID, dates, nutrition, origin, claims and legibility.

CTA: Master compliant labels with Food Labelling Regulations Training and use a structured pre-print label checklist before approval.

Sources and Methodology

Key takeaway: This guide is based primarily on current EU legislation and official European Commission guidance.

The article was prepared by comparing the supplied search intent and content structure against current authoritative sources and the consolidated legislation available at the time of review.

Principal sources consulted:

• Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, including Articles 9, 13, 17–24, 26 and 29–35 and the relevant Annexes.

• European Commission — Food information to consumers legislation and mandatory food information.

• European Commission guidance on language, presentation, nutrition labelling, allergens and QUID.

• Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 and European Commission food-additives guidance.

• Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 and the European Commission EU Register of Nutrition and Health Claims.

• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1337/2013 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/775 on origin information.

• European Commission information on front-of-pack nutrition labelling and Santé publique France information on the updated Nutri-Score.

National authorities and product-specific legislation should also be checked before a label is placed on an individual Member State market.