What a pack has to say, and what it is merely allowed to say
The mandatory particulars on a UK food pack, in the order worth reading them. Ingredients, percentages, dates, allergens and the nutrition table, and what each can and cannot answer.
How to read a UK food label, and the order to read it in
A food pack is not one document but several, written under different rules. The order to read them in, and which parts are required by law.
The label · 10 min readWhat the order of an ingredients list does and does not tell you
Ingredients are listed in descending order of weight at the time of manufacture. That single qualifier changes what the ranking can be used for.
The label · 9 min readUse by and best before: one is a safety instruction, the other is not
The two date marks on UK food packs answer different questions. One is about safety and is legally binding on sellers. The other is about quality.
The label · 9 min readQUID: why some ingredients carry a percentage and others do not
The quantitative ingredient declaration is the rule that puts a number next to an ingredient. Knowing when it is triggered tells you what to look for.
The label · 9 min readThe back-of-pack nutrition table: what each row is and how it is measured
The mandatory nutrition declaration has a fixed content, a fixed order and a fixed basis. Knowing the structure makes it a comparison tool rather than a wall of numbers.
The label · 9 min readAllergen information on UK packaging: what the law requires
Fourteen allergens must be declared and emphasised. What the rules cover, what changed for food packed on site, and what precautionary wording is.
The label · 10 min readThe Feedworthy briefing
One email a fortnight. What changed in food labelling, claims and pricing rules, and one pack phrase taken apart. A sponsor line is carried at the foot of each issue and is labelled as such. It cannot influence a legal status verdict, and the rate card says so in writing.
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