Legal requirements that you must follow as a food business

There are requirements that food businesses must follow when it comes to labelling and composition of food products such as bottled water, milk, fish and meat. The Food Information to Consumers (FIC) Regulation 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers brings together EU rules on general food labelling and nutrition labelling into one piece of legislation. Additional requirements came into force on 1 January 2024.

All prepacked food requires a food label that displays certain mandatory information. All food is subject to general food labelling requirements and any labelling provided must be accurate and not misleading.

Certain foods are controlled by product specific regulations (Opens in a new window) and they include:

• bread and flour

• cocoa and chocolate products

• soluble coffee

• milk products

• honey

• fruit juices and nectars

• infant formula

• jams and marmalade

• meat products - sausages, burgers and pies

• fish

• natural mineral waters

• spreadable fats

• sugars

• irradiated food

• foods containing genetic modification (GM)

From 1 January 2024 (extended from 1 October 2022), food products sold in GB must include a UK, Channel Islands or the Isle of Man address for the food business. If the food business is not in GB, they must include the address of the importer, based in the UK, Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.

The address provided needs to be a physical address where your business can be contacted by mail. You can’t use an e-mail address or phone number. Providing an address gives consumers the opportunity to contact the manufacturer if they have a complaint about the product or if they want to know more about it.

You can read more about labelling requirements here.