General Rules for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods" Takes Effect, with Refined Provisions

[ppzhan abstract]

The new national mandatory standard, the General Rules for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods, officially took effect today. In recent years, food safety problems caused by unclear food labeling have emerged one after another, and the new General Rules for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods refines the specific requirements on food labeling laid down in the Food Safety Law and other regulations. The new standard requires that ingredients be listed in descending order according to the amount added when the food is manufactured or processed. Compared with the old standard, the new standard also specially adds the contact information of the producer and the distributor.

Under the new standard, the information that must be mandatorily indicated on a food label includes: the name of the food, the ingredient list, the net content and specifications, as well as the name, address and contact information of the producer and the operator, the production date and shelf life, the storage conditions, the food production license number, the product standard code, and other information that should be indicated. The new standard revises the way food additives are labeled. In the past, food additives were often indicated by only one generic item, such as food coloring; now they must be labeled in full — for example, a food that uses the yellow colorant tartrazine must be labeled "tartrazine." The labeling must be specific and must be understandable to ordinary consumers.

The new standard requires that ingredients be listed in descending order according to the amount added when the food is manufactured or processed. Such labeling gives consumers a relatively intuitive understanding of the content of the ingredients in a food. In addition, the new standard lists eight categories of allergenic substances and encourages companies to label them voluntarily so as to alert consumers and fulfill their social responsibility. Producers may also label other allergenic substances beyond these eight categories.

The uproar over health foods such as Red Bull drinks and spirulina has sharply eroded consumers' trust in health foods. The new standard this time also adds requirements for health foods, such as the provision that "no content stating or implying a role in preventing or treating disease may be labeled, and non-health foods must not be labeled as having health benefits." To a certain extent, this provision can prevent some companies from misleading consumers in order to increase sales.

Compared with the old standard, the new standard also specially adds the contact information of the producer and the distributor; it further requires the name and address of the producer that is registered in accordance with the law and able to bear responsibility for product safety and quality. This also gives consumers greater traceability for food complaints and makes the quality of prepackaged foods more assured.

— This article is reposted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-362087.html