Article 7 Fair information practices
United Kingdom
Food information shall not be misleading, particularly:
as to the characteristics of the food and, in particular, as to its nature, identity, properties, composition, quantity, durability, country of origin or place of provenance, method of manufacture or production;
by attributing to the food effects or properties which it does not possess;
by suggesting that the food possesses special characteristics when in fact all similar foods possess such characteristics, in particular by specifically emphasising the presence or absence of certain ingredients and/or nutrients;
by suggesting, by means of the appearance, the description or pictorial representations, the presence of a particular food or an ingredient, while in reality a component naturally present or an ingredient normally used in that food has been substituted with a different component or a different ingredient.
Food information shall be accurate, clear and easy to understand for the consumer.
Subject to derogations provided for by F1EU-derived domestic law or F2assimilated direct legislation applicable to natural mineral waters and foods for particular nutritional uses, food information shall not attribute to any food the property of preventing, treating or curing a human disease, nor refer to such properties.
Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall also apply to:
advertising;
the presentation of foods, in particular their shape, appearance or packaging, the packaging materials used, the way in which they are arranged and the setting in which they are displayed.
Annotations
Textual amendments
- F1
Words in Art. 7(3) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Food (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/529), regs. 1, 5(6); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
- F2
Words in Art. 7(3) substituted (27.2.2025) by The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/82), reg. 1(2), Sch. 15 para. 96(2)(c)