Although it may seem like errors in labelling food products is no big deal, there can be serious consequences from such mistakes. With a greater focus on food labelling by consumers and regulatory authorities, it will just be a matter of time when these errors will start costing your business.
The three main consequences for incorrect labelling include regulatory action, product recall and consumer action. All actions can be easily prevented by avoiding the following:
Raw material/ingredient substitution
Substituting original ingredients with other ingredients due to unavailability can significantly impact on your labelling. Your label would have been developed based on a certain brand or type of ingredient and changes can affect both the ingredients listing and the nutritional data.
Changes to the original recipe
Making changes to your recipe or formulation will render both your ingredients listing and nutritional data incorrect. Any reformulation may also effect finished serving sizes and finished product weights, both which are required for your label in the nutrition panel and product weight.
Incorrect Cleaning
Improper cleaning of equipment could leave residues of allergens behind. If these allergens have not been declared on your label or in the ingredients list, you may find your business facing a product recall or even worse killing a customer who may be allergic to certain food ingredients.
Change of Supplier
Changing suppliers may give your business significant raw ingredient savings however different brands may be made up of different compound ingredients (sub ingredients). This commonly occurs with “pre-mixes” which may have different additives and allergens. A new ingredient supplier premises may also have different allergen exposure than your current supplier.
Lack of Knowledge
Finally, a lack of knowledge is not a defense for not complying with the law. Regularly keeping up-to-date with labelling laws and reviewing your current labels against recipes and raw ingredient information can help your label compliance. It is imperative that you completely review all packaging proofs prior to printing and using. A simple label review process can save your business a lot of headaches and reduce your compliance risk.
Raw material/ingredient substitution
Substituting original ingredients with other ingredients due to unavailability can significantly impact on your labelling. Your label would have been developed based on a certain brand or type of ingredient and changes can affect both the ingredients listing and the nutritional data.
Changes to the original recipe
Making changes to your recipe or formulation will render both your ingredients listing and nutritional data incorrect. Any reformulation may also effect finished serving sizes and finished product weights, both which are required for your label in the nutrition panel and product weight.
Incorrect Cleaning
Improper cleaning of equipment could leave residues of allergens behind. If these allergens have not been declared on your label or in the ingredients list, you may find your business facing a product recall or even worse killing a customer who may be allergic to certain food ingredients.
Change of Supplier
Changing suppliers may give your business significant raw ingredient savings however different brands may be made up of different compound ingredients (sub ingredients). This commonly occurs with “pre-mixes” which may have different additives and allergens. A new ingredient supplier premises may also have different allergen exposure than your current supplier.
Lack of Knowledge
Finally, a lack of knowledge is not a defense for not complying with the law. Regularly keeping up-to-date with labelling laws and reviewing your current labels against recipes and raw ingredient information can help your label compliance. It is imperative that you completely review all packaging proofs prior to printing and using. A simple label review process can save your business a lot of headaches and reduce your compliance risk.
Great blog, Amanda. As a small business owner, I think it is great to have you breaking down the key principles so I can see how it affects my own food safety practices. Its not just for big business! Thank you for your informative and well-written blog. Please keep it up!
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