Prepackaged Food Labeling Rules Take Effect April 20: Stricter Labeling for Flexible Packaging, Applies to Domestic and Foreign Foods

A tighter compliance era for prepackaged food labels is about to begin.

The national food safety standard, General Rules for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods, is scheduled to take effect on April 20. The revised edition raises the bar for basic requirements and labeling content, applies to domestic and foreign foods, and introduces a new set of general labeling requirements for prepackaged foods offered directly to consumers.

A seemingly simple food label carries key supply-chain details—where a product comes from, who made it, and how it should be stored. On March 27, 2012, Ningbo inspection and quarantine authorities told reporters that the standard would be implemented on April 20; the new version is stricter on basic requirements and labeling content and applies equally to domestic and foreign foods.

On the same day, reporters visited several shopping malls and supermarkets in the city. They found that some imported and domestic foods still had label gaps, such as missing information, overstated ingredient claims, and confusion between place of origin and place of filling.

The new rules are considerably tighter than current practice. Under the revised national food safety standard, newly added general requirements cover labels for prepackaged foods supplied directly to consumers. Labeling must include the food name, ingredient list, net content and specifications, producer and/or distributor name, address and contact details, production date and shelf life, storage conditions, food production license number, product standard code, and other required information. During the market visit, reporters also examined net-content labeling; the new rules are set to shut out products that are “flashy but insubstantial.”

The new standard clarifies how ingredient names should be labeled and adds a requirement that food additives be declared by their common names.

To stop unscrupulous sellers from taking advantage of shelf-life ambiguity, the standard adds rules for production dates and shelf life on large packages. When one prepackaged unit contains multiple individually prepackaged foods that each carry a production date and shelf life, the shelf life shown on the outer package must follow the item that expires first.

Requirements are also tightened for foods for special dietary uses and for staple and complementary foods for infants and young children: they must indicate main nutritional components and their contents. The new standard additionally allows monosodium glutamate (MSG) to be exempt from shelf-life labeling and encourages allergen labeling.

On March 27, reporters learned that some food manufacturers in Ningbo had already responded by redesigning packaged food labels; pastry products made after April 20 will use labels fully aligned with the new requirements.

Source: China Packaging Network (pack.cn); original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-362081.html.