On this page we aim to provide helpful food legislation advice and links to relevant documents. Contact us with any questions you may have about current or impending European or UK legislation.

Traceability

There is a clearly defined responsibility for traceability in European Regulation 178/2002. The regulation was published on 28 January 2002 and most articles are already enacted. The Articles on traceability and food business responsibilities for product withdrawals became European law on 1 January 2005.

European Regulation 1830/2003 was published on 18 September 2003 and defines requirement for the traceability of genetically modified organisms in foodstuffs. The regulation became effective on 18 April 2004.

Allergen Labelling

Directive 2003/89 amending Directive 2000/13 on the labelling of foods was published on 10 November 2003. This details those substances that are legally defined as allergens, and their presence in foods must be clearly labelled to advise consumers. Labelling requirements became fully effective on 25 November 2005.

Directive 2005/26, published on 22 March 2005, contains an annex listing the derivatives of allergenic substances that can be considered as non-allergenic. These derivatives are therefore excluded from the labelling requirements. This exclusion status is provisionally valid until 25 November 2007, by which time further scientific studies will have been undertaken.