Allergen and additive labeling for bulk goods

Since December 13, 2014, substances or products that can trigger allergies and intolerances must also be labeled on loose goods.

What is meant by "loose goods"?
Loose goods are pre-packaged foodstuffs for immediate distribution or foodstuffs that are offered loose or packaged at the point of sale at the request of the end consumer, e.g. at the counter with service or in restaurants and canteens.

Difference between allergies and intolerances:

• Allergies:
  Overreactions of the immune system, formation of antibodies against allergens (usually proteins, e.g. milk protein) contained in a foodstuff
• Intolerances:
  No immunological reactions, caused, for example, by a lack of or reduced production of the digestive enzyme lactase or by an enzyme defect

The 14 allergens to be labeled
According to the new EU Food Information Regulation (FIR), the following substances and products must be labeled:

1. Cereals containing gluten, namely wheat (such as spelt and khorasan wheat), rye, barley, oats or hybrid strains thereof, and products made from them
2. Crustaceans and products thereof
3. Eggs and products thereof
4. Fish and products thereof
5. Peanuts and products thereof
6. Soybeans and products thereof
7. Milk and products thereof, including lactose
8. Nuts, namely almonds(Amygdalus communis L.), hazelnuts(Corylus avellana), walnuts(Juglans regia), cashew nuts(Anacardium occidentale), pecan nuts(Carya illinoiesis (Wangenh.) K. Koch), Brazil nuts(Bertholletia excelsa), pistachios(Pistacia vera), macadamia or Queensland nuts(Macadamia ternifolia), and products thereof
9. Celery and products thereof
10. Mustard and products thereof
11. Sesame seeds and products thereof
12. Sulphur dioxide and sulphites
    in concentrations greater than 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/l as total SO 2 , to be calculated for products ready for consumption or returned to their original state in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions
13. Lupin and products thereof
14. Molluscs and products thereof

Who must label?
Any food business operator who regularly and in an organized manner sells food in bulk to final consumers or providers of mass catering (restaurants, canteens, schools, hospitals, catering companies, vehicles, installed or mobile stands) must label.

According to recital 15 of the FIR, Union law should only apply to businesses, whereby the concept of a business presupposes a certain continuity of activities and a certain degree of organization. The occasional handling and delivery of food, the serving of meals and the sale of food by private individuals, e.g. at charity events or at local markets and gatherings, should not be covered by the labeling obligation under the FIR. However, in the interests of consumer protection and due to liability claims, allergen labeling is recommended (e.g. by displaying a recipe folder)!

How must it be labeled?
The indication of the allergenic substance or product must be preceded by the word contains... must be placed in front of the allergenic substance or product.
Allergenic ingredients and products must be listed by name, e.g.

• contains rye
• contains hazelnuts

The naming of generic terms (e.g. cereals containing gluten or nuts) is not sufficient (a person allergic to hazelnuts can usually eat pistachios). People who are not allowed to eat gluten must therefore know all the types of cereals containing gluten themselves.

If the allergen is clearly stated in the sales description of a food, there is no additional labeling requirement for the corresponding substance or product (e.g. rice pudding).

Written labeling
The information on the allergens contained must be clearly visible, clear and legible in relation to the respective foodstuff in such a way that the end consumer can take note of it before purchasing and selling the foodstuff. The information and, where applicable, the indication of where the allergen information can be found must not be concealed, obscured or separated and the consumer's attention must not be diverted from it.

• On a label on the food or in the vicinity of the food
• On food and drink menus or in price lists (footnote labeling with numbers, letters or combinations thereof are permitted) when food is served in communal catering.
• Through other written media or electronic media provided by the food business operator that are directly and easily accessible (e.g. card index, terminal, product information folder). In this case, it must be clearly indicated how the information is provided!

Verbal information
The following requirements must be met

• The staff must be very well trained in ingredients and ingredients in order to be able to provide expert information.
• The consumer must be informed in a clearly visible and legible manner that the information is provided verbally and that written documentation is available on request.
• A written record (documentation) of the ingredients used must be available (recipe/ingredient list).
• The written record must be easily accessible to the customer and also to the food control authority on request.

The new Food Additive Implementation Ordinance (LMZDV) came into force on June 9, 2022. At the same time, the Additive Authorization Ordinance and the Additive Marketing Ordinance expired. In future, additives must be labeled in the same way as allergens. If both allergens and additives must be labeled in a foodstuff, they must be labeled in the same way and using the same medium! The additives to be labeled are listed in § 5 of the LMZDV, the most important regulations for labeling additives and allergens are summarized in the leaflet of the Baden-Württemberg Food Inspection and Animal Health Inspection Offices. Examples of correct labeling are also listed here:
 Labeling of allergens and additives in non-prepacked foods (opens in a new tab)

Further examples and a summary of the information can be found in the PDFs.

 Summary of the information PDF-File 254,73 kB

 Examples of allergen and additive labeling PDF-File 111,05 kB

 Template for allergen and additive labeling that can be used PDF-File 1,28 MB