On December 13, 2016, a regulation came into force in the European Union, i.e. also in Slovenia, requiring food producers to label the nutritional value of foods. This means that from now on all prepackaged foods will have nutritional information. On the packaging, manufacturers will have to provide information on the energy value, amount of carbohydrates, total and saturated fats, salt, sugars and proteins. Only information on the amount of dietary fiber, which is not (yet) mandatory, has been omitted.
Mandatory labeling of the nutritional value of prepackaged foods is the last of the amendments to the European Regulation on the provision of food information to European consumers adopted in 2011. And what additional information on the packaging bring to the consumer? Information on the energy value of foods, amount of sugars, fats, carbohydrates and other nutrients, represent an additional safeguard against selection unhealthy foods. So now it will be even easier to choose foods with a more favorable nutritional composition.
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We will provide additional information on the composition of food made it easier to identify foods that are on the health side. Many manufacturers have already equipped their packaging with this information in the past, and the indication of the nutritional value of foods will be mandatory also in online stores. Since 2014, they have only been legally prescribed obligatory highlighted labeling of allergens, minimum font size and how data is presented. Listing the nutritional value of food on packaging was voluntary until this week.
What about exceptions? It is not mandatory to state the nutritional value artisanally produced foods, which the manufacturer delivers directly to the final consumer or to local companies (intermediation is not allowed). The regulation applies to at least foodstuffs produced from December 13, 2016 further. Of course, food produced before this date and labeled in the old way may remain on the market until the expiration date.
