Trading standards leaflets

Food labelling for greengrocers

Fruit and vegetables on sale at greengrocers should be marked with the true name of the food. Melons and potatoes also need the variety marked, and any foods that have been irradiated should be marked as such. Most fruit and vegetables are required by EU grading legislation to be labelled with their class and may also need labelling with country of origin and variety. Care should be taken with any other descriptions to ensure they are correct, 'organic' for example. There are other requirements in relation to pricing and weight marking of the products.

Required labelling should be on a notice, on the food, which is clear and conspicuous to customers.

In the guide
The true name of the food
Irradiation
EU marketing rules and grading requirements
Place of origin
Waxed fruit
Additives
Organic
Beetroot
Other requirements

The true name of the food
Potatoes and melons must be marked with their variety (for example, Maris Piper potatoes, Ogen melons).

Irradiation
Food or ingredients that have been irradiated must be declared and labelled 'irradiated' or 'treated with ionising radiation'.

EU marketing rules and grading requirements
Most fruit and vegetables are required by EU grading legislation to be labelled with their class and may also need labelling with country of origin and variety. Defra horticulture inspectors are responsible for the enforcement of these requirements. More information on traders' legal obligation can be found at the Defra website .

Place of origin
The place of origin should be marked if failure to do so would be misleading. (This may be a more local description than country of origin - for example, English strawberries or Tasmanian apples.)

Waxed fruit
Fruit which has been waxed must be labelled as such.

Additives
Some prepared salads, dried fruit and peeled potatoes are treated with preservative solution to keep them fresh. These must be labelled 'contains preservative'. If sulphur dioxide or sulphites have been used as a preservative, they must be named on the packaging in order to comply with allergen labelling requirements.

Additional requirements are in place for the following colourings:

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

These six colours have been subject to a request for voluntary withdrawal in the UK by the Food Standards Agency. Under EU law 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'.

Organic
Organic fruit and vegetables can only come from producers, importers or processors that have been inspected and approved by a body authorised by the Government. Food from any other sources is not 'organic' and to describe it as such is an offence. See our leaflet 'A guide for producers, processors and packers of organic products' for further information.

Beetroot
Beetroot that has been dipped in vinegar should be labelled as such.

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: 'Information for greengrocers', 'Price marking of goods for retail sale' and 'Guidance notes on average quantity'.

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
Marketing of Fresh Horticultural Produce Regulations 2009

Last reviewed/updated: November 2012

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