On August 6, 2019, the Law №2639-VIII “On Information for Food Consumers” was enacted in Ukraine, which established new requirements for informing consumers about food products. The document brought Ukrainian legislation in line with the provisions, regulations and directives of the European Union.

The law applies to food market operators and food products for public catering and directly affects consumers. Information about a food product must be accurate, reliable, and understandable to the consumer and must not be misleading. This is the responsibility of the market operator.

To whom the new law applies:

The law applies to food producers at all stages of production and circulation, as well as to food products intended for the final consumer, including those sold to public catering establishments.

Text size:

The font is clear, legible, and contrasting. The height of lowercase letters should be equal to or greater than 1.2 mm. If the packaging area is less than 80 square meters. cm, the height of lowercase letters should be at least 0.9 mm.

About the product:

Information about a food product must be accurate, reliable and understandable for the consumer and must contain reliable facts about the characteristics, properties, and composition of food products. The requirement applies both to food advertising and to the way food products are placed and presented for sale, including their appearance and packaging.

Market operators must indicate information on the presence of food substances that cause allergic reactions or intolerance, the presence of GMOs, defrosting or exposure of food to ionizing radiation, the presence of added water, etc. Requirements for information on food products sold remotely. Thus, all mandatory information on food products must be available to the consumer for review before the sale of the food product.

Mandatory information about the food product:

The information should be in the state language. Transfer to another language is at the request of the market operator. The inscriptions are accurate, clear, understandable, legible, and placed in a prominent place (on the package, label). They should not be hidden by other textual or graphic information.

Name of the food product:

The name of a food product is the official name (the name established by a regulatory act or national standard). If there is no such name, then the usual name (the one that is understandable to the consumer without additional explanations). If there is no familiar name, the descriptive name of the food product is used.

Physical condition of the food product:

Information about the physical state (freeze-dried, quick-frozen, concentrated, smoked, powdered, liquid, etc.) must accompany the name of the food product.

List/quantity of ingredients:

Includes all ingredients of the food product, which are listed in descending order of their mass fraction. In some cases, as a percentage. Certain ingredients are labeled with the name of the category to which they belong, immediately followed by their name or index according to the European digital system.

The presence of allergens:

They are distinguished by a separate color, font, and style.

The label “with GMOs” if the share of GMOs exceeds 0.9%. “Non-GMO”, for confirmation of the absence of GMOs.

Expiration date:

Enter expiration dates: “Use by…”, “Best before…”, “Best before…”.

The Law introduces the concept of “minimum shelf life of a food product” and the date “to be consumed before…”.

In the article 18 clarify the minimum expiration date (“best before…”; “best before…”) and indicate how it differs from the date “use by…”.

This division in the EU is caused by the problem of an excessive amount of food that is thrown into the garbage, although it can be consumed within a certain period of time after the minimum expiration date without harming the health of consumers. The main idea is that there are perishable and more dangerous products from the point of view of microbiology, for which the date “use by…” should be indicated, which means that the day after this date the product may become dangerous (raw or chilled meat, raw fish, eggs).

At the same time, many products remain safe for a certain period after the minimum expiration date specified in the labeling, such as sugar, coffee, sausage (if the storage conditions are met), and hard cheese (if the storage conditions are met).

However, after the “best before” date, as well as after the “use by” date, food products should not be sold.

Expiration dates on such perishable products as bakery and confectionery products and even alcoholic beverages over 10 degrees (including wine and champagne) will be able to be omitted altogether.

In addition, for certain food products that are not perishable by their microbiological characteristics, the minimum shelf life is specified voluntarily at the discretion of the market operator. Such products include, for example, fresh fruits and vegetables, wines, bakery or confectionery products that are usually consumed within 24 hours of baking, vinegar, table salt, solid sugar, etc.

If the food product is stored for up to 3 months, it is enough to indicate the day and month in the date; 3-18 months – it is enough to indicate the month and year; more than 18 months – the year.

Storage/use conditions:

For food products that require special storage and/or use conditions; after opening the package.

Instructions for use:

Its absence can make it difficult to use the product.

Actual ethyl alcohol content (for beverages with more than 1.2%). Information about the name, quantity of the food product and the presence of alcohol in a dosage of more than 1.2% should be placed in one field of visibility.

Nutritional value: Includes information on energy value, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugars, proteins, and salt.

The information provided by the market operator on the labeling voluntarily should not mislead or confuse consumers. If necessary, it should be based on relevant scientific data.

When ordering a label from us, if necessary, you will receive comprehensive information on the correct label content.

The main points of the law are presented below.