Skip to main content
Food Safety

Questions and Answers on general and nutrition labelling

On 31 May 2018, the Commission adopted a COMMISSION NOTICE on Questions and Answers on the application of the Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011.

This document updates a previous Q&As document adopted in January 2013 and provides answers to a series of additional questions concerning the application of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 which were raised after the entry into application of the abovementioned Regulation. This Notice was drafted in collaboration with EU countries.

Guidance on allergens

On 13 July 2017, the Commission adopted a Commission Notice on the provision of information on substances or products causing allergies or intolerances. This document updates the previous guidance document on allergen labelling issued under Directive 2000/13/EC. Its purpose is to assist consumers, businesses and national authorities in understanding the new requirements of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 related to the indication of the presence of certain substances or products causing allergies or intolerances.

This Notice was drafted in collaboration with EU countries and was subject to Public Consultation.

Guidance on QUID

On 20 November 2017, the Commission adopted a Commission Notice on the application of the principle of quantitative ingredients declaration (QUID). This document aligns the 1998 guidelines[1] to Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, updating the relevant legal references.

The purpose of the Commission Notice is to provide guidelines for businesses and national authorities on the application of the principle of quantitative ingredients declaration (QUID) in the context of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011.

This Notice was drafted in collaboration with EU countries.

[1] General guidelines for implementing the principle of Quantitative Ingredients Declaration (QUID) – Article 7 of Directive 79/112/EEC as amended by Directive 97/4/EC

Guidance on the origin indication of the primary ingredient

On 30 January 2020, the Commission adopted a NOTICE on the application of the provisions of Article 26(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 with regard to the origin indication of the primary ingredient of a food. It aims at assisting all players in the food chain as well as the competent national authorities to better understand and correctly apply the provisions of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 related to the origin indication of the primary ingredient.

Guidance on Nutrition Labelling

  • Guidance document for competent authorities, tolerances for the control of compliance of nutrient values declared on a label with EU legislation.
  • A simplified summary table gives an overview of the different tolerance values included in the guidance document. In case of doubt the guidance document text should be consulted as the official reference.
  • Guidance document for competent authorities, methods of analysis for the determination of the fibre content declared on a label for the control of compliance with EU legislation.