Trading standards leaflets

Food labelling for bakers

Bread, cakes, savoury products, meat pies, and sausage rolls sold loose and unwrapped from bakers must be marked with any indication of irradiation or genetically modified ingredients. Bread must be labelled with its name (indicating the type of bread), and any additives present. Cakes must also indicate any additives present. The savoury products, meat pies and/or sausage rolls must be labelled with the name, any additives, and a percentage indication of any meat ingredients (known as QUID - quantitative ingredient declaration).

In the guide
Labelling for irradiated/GM foods
Bread labelling
Cake and confectionery labelling
Labelling of savoury products, meat pies, and sausage rolls
EU protected food names
Colours subject to voluntary withdrawal request
Gluten free claims
Other requirements

Labelling for irradiated/GM foods
IRRADIATION
Food or ingredients that have been irradiated must be declared and labelled 'irradiated' or 'treated with ionising radiation'.

GENETIC MODIFICATION
If any of the food contains genetically modified ingredients, it must either be labelled 'produced from genetically modified ingredients', or this statement must appear on a notice, label, or ticket near the food.

Bread labelling
NAME OF BREAD
Bread, made from wheat flour and other than white bread, must have a notice on it that clearly and conspicuously tells customers which type it is - for example:

• brown bread
• wheatgerm bread (must contain 10% added wheatgerm)
• wholemeal bread (all the flour used must be wholemeal)
• soda bread, etc

It is now illegal to use the name 'wheatmeal bread'.

Brand names such as 'Hovis' and 'Granary' are insufficient on their own.

Other types of bread where the flour is not wholly wheat flour must be appropriately described - for example, rye bread.

ADDITIVES IN BREAD
Bread, including white bread, which contains any of the following types of additive:

• antioxidants
• sweeteners
• colours
• flavour enhancers
• flavourings
• preservatives
• flour treatment agents

...must have a notice that clearly and conspicuously tells customers which of those types of additives are present. It is sufficient to state the type of additive - you need not specify its full name or 'E' number, except in the case of specific 'E' numbers listed below in this leaflet.

The responsibility for additive labelling rests with the retailer, who must get this information from the supplier. It is no excuse to say 'I didn't know'. Most kinds of bread will contain some of these types of additives.

Cake and confectionery labelling
NAMES OF CAKES
Generally, cakes are not required to be labelled with their name. However, if you choose to do so you must ensure that the description is true and accurate. For example:

• it is important to realise that the words 'flavoured' and 'flavour' have very different meanings - for example, vanilla flavoured icing derives its flavour only from real vanilla, but vanilla flavour icing is synthetically flavoured. If neither word is used (vanilla slice for example) the flavour must be only from natural vanilla
• the cream in cream cakes must be wholly dairy cream. If any artificial or imitation cream is used, the name of the cake must be qualified accordingly
• imitation cream and imitation chocolate must not be described as cream or creme, chocolate or choc

ADDITIVES IN CAKES
If cakes contain any additive of the types listed above for bread, then either:

• there must be a specific notice on them clearly and conspicuously telling the customers which of those types of additives are present in those particular cakes - or
• the shop must display a general notice (see example below) in a prominent position near the food, telling customers that cakes sold there may contain such additives

Labelling of savoury products, meat pies, and sausage rolls
If you sell savoury products, meat pies, and/or sausage rolls, they must be labelled with the name of the food and a declaration of the categories of any additives that they contain. Meat products require a declaration of the percentage of meat that has been used as an ingredient, also known as QUID ('quantitative ingredient declaration'). This should be declared for each type of meat - for example: 'chicken and vegetable pie - contains 7% chicken'. Please see our leaflet 'Meat products compositional standards' for more detail on this, and for a list of products that don't require such a declaration.

EU protected food names
Cornish Pasties and Traditional Cumberland Sausages have been accredited with protected status. Any products using this name must comply with the compositional and/ or origin requirements. More information on protected food names is available on the Defra website.

Colours subject to voluntary withdrawal request
The following six food colours have been subject to a request for voluntary withdrawal in the UK by the Food Standards Agency. Under EU law, from 20 July 2010 products containing these colours must be labelled with the following information: '(E number/name of colour) may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children'.

• E102 Tartrazine
• E104 Quinoline Yellow
• E110 Sunset Yellow
• E122 Carmoisine
• E124 Ponceau 4R Blue
• E129 Allura Red

Gluten free and low gluten claims
Following the introduction of EU Regulation (EC) No 41/2009 concerning the composition and labelling of foodstuffs suitable for people intolerant to gluten, in January 2012, foods advertised as 'gluten free' or 'very low gluten' have to comply with specific labelling and compositional requirements. This applies to all foods, sold loose or pre-packed. Detailed information on labelling of 'gluten free' foods is available on the Food Standards Agency website.

Other requirements
Other legal requirements may affect your labelling (for example, weight marking, price indications, unit price, etc). These are covered in other leaflets - see particularly 'Price marking of goods for retail sale', 'Guidance notes on average quantity', and 'Small bakers and average weight'.

Please note
This leaflet is not an authoritative interpretation of the law and is intended only for guidance. Any legislation referred to, while still current, may have been amended from the form in which it was originally enacted. Please contact us for further information.

Relevant legislation
Food Labelling Regulations 1996
EU Regulation (EC) No 41/2009 concerning the composition and labelling of foodstuffs suitable for people intolerant to gluten

Last reviewed/updated: November 2012

© 2013 itsa Ltd on behalf of the Trading Standards Institute.