Food: Labelling
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure food allergy labels are visible and legible; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a minimum type size.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The UK maintains high standards on the information that is provided on food labels, whether that be mandatory or voluntary, so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy.
The availability and accessibility of essential food information to all consumers is vitally important. It is already a requirement that food information must be easily visible, clearly legible, and where appropriate indelible, in addition to there being a required minimum font size for mandatory information.
Additionally, if a prepacked or prepacked for direct sale food contains one of the 14 major allergens as an ingredient then this must be emphasised in the ingredients list so that it clearly stands out from the other ingredients.
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