Summary and analysis of labeling issues on food packaging bags

In recent years, food packaging bags Complaints and reports about labels and advertisements on food packaging bags have been increasing. Problems range from insufficient information on food identity (such as food name, production date, and shelf life) to inaccuracies and false advertising in labels and advertisements, including missing or incorrect nutritional information. For manufacturers, label compliance on food packaging bags has become a major focus of quality control. Even minor oversights can lead to administrative penalties and legal disputes.

Based on these complaints, reports, cases, and the results of crackdowns on false advertising in food labeling, Shunxingyuan Packaging has compiled relevant laws and regulations on food and health food packaging labels and markings. This document discusses key areas where mistakes are commonly made in food and health food packaging labels and advertisements, hoping to benefit manufacturers and food operators.

1, How to distinguish between labels and advertisements on food packaging bags on food packaging

When purchasing food, consumers are naturally drawn to the text and graphics on the packaging. Sometimes, this text and imagery seems like advertising, but also appears to be part of the food label, leaving consumers confused. Is it a label or an advertisement?

The "General Requirements" in the "General Rules for Prepackaged Food Labels" (GB 7718-2011) stipulate that prepackaged food labels provided directly to consumers should include the food name, ingredient list, net content and specifications, name, address, and contact information of the producer and/or distributor. This information constitutes the unique "food identity card" elements of the label and is not considered advertising. Anything beyond these general requirements, including text, graphics, symbols, and any explanatory materials that meet the characteristics of commercial promotion in the "Advertising Law," can be considered advertising. Of course, some permitted non-mandatory labeling content within the general requirements, such as the provision in food names that allows for the addition of appropriate words or phrases (e.g., "dried," "concentrated," "reconstituted," "smoked," "fried," "powdered") or the illegal addition of descriptive adjectives in the ingredient list, if violated, may be deemed illegal advertising.

2, Food packaging bag label

Both manufacturers and food operators, in both production and sales, may face administrative penalties and lawsuits due to problems with labels and advertisements on food packaging bags. Focusing solely on product quality control and food safety while neglecting the "external needs" of food packaging can lead to various losses for businesses, including fines, reputational damage, and operational disruptions. Therefore, staying informed about legal and regulatory requirements for food packaging labels, following regulations, and conducting thorough pre-production and production reviews is crucial.

Shunxingyuan Packaging has selected content from food packaging labels and advertisements that are prone to complaints and reports, listing the most easily overlooked label requirements for reference.

1. Food packaging bags Labeling Requirements

When using names such as "newly created names," "unique names," "phonetic names," "brand names," "regional dialect names," or "trademark names" that may mislead consumers about the food's attributes, a nationally recognized or industry standard name or classification name should be indicated nearby using the same font size. For foods made by physically mixing two or more foods, resulting in a uniform appearance that makes separation difficult, the name should reflect the mixed attributes and classification name of the food. For foods made from animal or plant foods using specific processing techniques to mimic the characteristics of other organisms, organs, or tissues, the name should be preceded by words such as "artificial," "simulated," or "vegetarian," and the classification name of the food's true attributes should be indicated.

Food labels should indicate the place of origin (this is mandatory regardless of whether it matches the producer's address). The place of origin should be specified down to the prefecture-level administrative division (municipalities directly under the Central Government, cities with separate planning status, and prefecture-level cities).

Food labels should clearly state the producer's name, address, and contact information. The producer's name and address should be those legally registered and capable of assuming responsibility for product quality.

Food labels should clearly indicate the production date and shelf life, and indicate storage conditions as required by relevant regulations. Beverage alcohol with an ethanol content of 10% or more, vinegar, edible salt, and solid sugars are exempt from shelf life labeling. Date labeling methods should comply with national standards or use "year, month, day" format.

Labels for quantitatively packaged foods should indicate the net content and specifications as required by relevant regulations. For foods containing both solid and liquid phases, in addition to the net content, the content of drained solids should also be indicated. The net content should be displayed on the same side of the packaging as the food name. Net content labeling should comply with the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of the Measurement of Quantitatively Packaged Commodities."

Food labels should indicate the ingredients or ingredient list. Ingredients in the ingredient list should be listed in descending order of weight, except that ingredients comprising less than 2% of the total weight may be listed out of order. Specific labeling methods should follow national standards. For compound ingredients, labeling requirements should follow relevant national standards and be listed in descending order of weight along with other ingredients. For so-called "compound additives," each component should be listed along with other directly used food additives in descending order of weight under the food additive item. For sweeteners, preservatives, and colorants used directly in food, the specific names should be indicated under the food additive item in the ingredient list; for other food additives, the specific name, type, or code may be indicated. The use range and quantity of food additives should comply with national standards. Food additives used directly in food do not include food additives contained in other ingredients added during food processing. Nutritional fortifiers, food flavorings, and base materials in gum candies may be listed in the ingredient list instead of under the food additive item. Processing aids do not need to be listed in the ingredient list. Main and supplementary foods specifically for infants and other specific groups should also indicate the main nutritional components and their content.

Food labels should indicate the national, industry, or local standards, or the filed enterprise standards, that the company follows.

If the standard followed by the food clearly requires the labeling of food quality grades or processing methods, these should be indicated accordingly.

For foods under production license management, newly licensed and re-licensed food producers should indicate the new food production license number on the food packaging or label and no longer indicate the "QS" mark. From October 1, 2018, food producers may no longer use the original packaging, labels, and "QS" marks for their products. For foods under production license management that are commissioned for processing, if the commissioning enterprise has a production license for the commissioned processed food, it may indicate the production license number of the commissioning enterprise or the commissioned enterprise.

Mixed non-edible products that are easily mistaken for food, or whose improper use may cause personal injury, should be marked with warning signs or Chinese warnings on their labels.

Foods with any of the following situations should be marked with Chinese descriptions on their labels:

Medically proven to be easily harmful to special groups;

Processed by ionizing radiation or ionizing energy;

Genetically modified foods or containing legally defined genetically modified ingredients;

According to laws, regulations, and national standards, other Chinese descriptions should be indicated.

Imported pre-packaged foods and food additives should have Chinese labels; if legally required to have instructions, they should also have Chinese instructions. Labels and instructions should comply with the "Food Safety Law" and other laws, administrative regulations, and national food safety standards, and should state the place of origin of the food and the name, address, and contact information of the domestic agent. Imported pre-packaged foods without Chinese labels or instructions, or whose labels or instructions do not comply with the regulations, are prohibited from import.

The labels of pre-packaged special dietary foods should meet the basic requirements of GB7718-2011, and should also meet the following requirements:

Should not involve disease prevention or treatment functions;

Should comply with the relevant regulations on labels and instructions in the corresponding product standards for pre-packaged special dietary foods;

Should not make content claims or function claims about essential ingredients in infant formula for 0-6 month-old infants.

2. Food packaging bags Labeling requirements

Food labels must not be separated from the food or its packaging.

Food labels should be directly marked on the food or its packaging of the smallest sales unit.

If a sales unit's packaging contains different varieties or multiple independently packaged foods, the label of each independently packaged food should be marked according to these regulations. If the contents of all or part of the mandatory labeling on each independently packaged food cannot be clearly identified through the outer packaging of the sales unit, they should be marked separately on the outer packaging of the sales unit, except for outer packaging that is easy to open and identify; if the contents of all or part of the mandatory labeling on each independently packaged food can be clearly identified, the corresponding content does not need to be repeated on the outer packaging.

Food labels should be clear and conspicuous, and the background and base color of the labels should use contrasting colors to make it easy for consumers to identify and read.

The text used in food labels should be standard Chinese characters, except for registered trademarks. Food labels may use Pinyin or minority language characters simultaneously, or foreign languages simultaneously, but they should correspond to Chinese characters, and the foreign language used should not be larger than the corresponding Chinese characters, except for registered trademarks.

When the maximum surface area of the food or its packaging is greater than 20 square centimeters (35 square centimeters for pre-packaged food), the height of the text, symbols, and numbers of the mandatory labeling content in the food label should not be less than 1.8 millimeters. When the maximum surface area of the food or its packaging is less than 10 square centimeters, the label may only indicate the food name, producer's name and address, net content, production date, and shelf life. However, if it is legally or administratively required to be indicated, it should be indicated according to the regulations.

The energy and nutritional components of pre-packaged special dietary foods should be indicated in a "box table" format, including energy, protein, fat, carbohydrates, and sodium, as well as other nutritional components and their content as required by the corresponding product standards. The box can be of any size and is perpendicular to the baseline of the packaging, with the title "Nutrition Facts". If the product has added optional ingredients or fortified certain substances according to relevant regulations or standards, these ingredients and their content should also be indicated.

Regarding the method of consumption, the method of consumption, daily or per-meal consumption amount of pre-packaged special dietary foods should be indicated, and if necessary, the preparation method or rehydration method should be indicated. Regarding the suitable population, the suitable population of pre-packaged special dietary foods should be indicated. For special medical purpose infant formula and special medical purpose formula, the suitable population should be indicated according to product standards.

When the maximum surface area of the packaging or container of pre-packaged special dietary foods is less than 10 square centimeters, only the product name, net content, name and address of the producer (or distributor), production date, and shelf life may be indicated.

Note: The "General Rules for Pre-packaged Food Labels" (GB7718-2011) stipulates the basic labeling requirements for pre-packaged foods (including special dietary foods). The "Labels for Pre-packaged Special Dietary Foods" (GB13432-2013) stipulates special labeling requirements for special dietary foods. Labels for pre-packaged special dietary foods should be implemented according to GB7718-2011 and GB13432-2013. For pre-packaged special dietary foods that meet the content claim requirements of GB13432-2013, if function claims are made for energy and/or nutritional components, the function claim terms should choose the function claim standard terms stipulated in the "General Rules for Nutrition Labeling of Pre-packaged Foods" (GB28050-2011).

3. Prohibited areas for labeling on food packaging

Foods that indicate "nutrition" or "fortified" in their name or description should indicate the nutrients and calories of the food according to relevant national standards, and comply with the quantitative labeling regulations of national standards.

Food labels must not indicate the following content:

Explicitly or implicitly indicating the prevention or treatment of diseases;

Health foods explicitly or implicitly indicating health benefits;

Describing or introducing food in a deceptive or misleading manner;

Product descriptions whose basis cannot be verified;

Text or patterns that disrespect ethnic customs or contain discriminatory descriptions;

Using national flags, national emblems, or RMB for labeling;

Other content prohibited by laws, regulations, and standards

The following illegal acts of food labeling are prohibited:

Forging or falsely indicating production dates and shelf life;

Forging the place of origin of food, forging or misusing the name and address of other producers;

Forging, misusing, or altering production license marks and numbers;

Other acts prohibited by laws and regulations.

The following terms shall not be used on food packaging: (1) immune regulation; (2) blood lipid regulation; (3) blood sugar regulation; (4) delaying aging; (5) improving memory; (6) improving eyesight; (7) promoting lead excretion; (8) clearing throat and moisturizing throat; (9) regulating blood pressure; (10) improving sleep; (11) promoting lactation; (12) anti-mutation; (13) anti-fatigue; (14) hypoxia resistance; (15) anti-radiation; (16) weight loss; (17) promoting growth and development; (18) improving osteoporosis; (19) improving nutritional anemia; (20) auxiliary protective effect on chemical liver damage; (21) beauty (acne removal/chloasma removal/improving skin moisture and oil); (22) improving gastrointestinal function (regulating intestinal flora/promoting digestion/laxative/auxiliary protection of gastric mucosa); (23) inhibiting tumors. No claims of prevention, relief, treatment, or cure for any disease shall be made. Terms such as "rejuvenation," "longevity," "regrowth of teeth," or similar terms shall not be used.

Absolute terms and content shall not be used.

Article 7 of the Advertising Law stipulates: "The content of advertisements shall be beneficial to the physical and mental health of the people, promote the improvement of the quality of goods and services, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. Terms such as "national level," "highest level," and "best" shall not be used." Article 18 of the Advertising Law stipulates that advertisements for health food shall not contain the following content:

Assertions or guarantees of efficacy and safety;

Involving disease prevention and treatment functions;

Claiming or implying that the advertised product is necessary for health;

Comparing with medicines or other health foods;

Using advertising spokespersons for recommendations and testimonials;

Other content prohibited by laws and administrative regulations.

Note: Advertisements for health food shall clearly indicate "This product cannot replace medicine".

4. Food packaging bag Ingredient list labeling

Requirement 4.1.4 of the General Rules for Prepackaged Food Labels (GB 7718-2011) on quantitative labeling of ingredients: "If the addition or inclusion of one or more valuable or characteristic ingredients or components is specially emphasized on the food label or instructions, the added amount or content in the finished product of the emphasized ingredients or components shall be indicated." The specific understanding of "emphasis" and "valuable and characteristic ingredients" here, the author suggests referring to the key points of the judgment in Guiding Case No. 60 of the Supreme People's Court in 2016: "Emphasis" refers to prominent identification through name, color difference, font, font size, graphics, arrangement order, text description, repeated appearance of the same content, or multiple contents all pointing to the same thing. "Valuable and characteristic ingredients" refer to special ingredients different from general ingredients, which have high nutritional value for the human body, and the ingredients themselves are special ingredients different from general ingredients, and their market price and nutritional components are often higher than other ingredients.

In order to achieve sales purposes, similar to advertising, food production enterprises may specially emphasize the addition or inclusion of one or more valuable or characteristic ingredients or components on food labels or instructions, but the corresponding content shall be truthfully indicated, and no false advertising content shall be included to protect consumers' right to know. If the food label is specially emphasized but the content of the emphasized ingredient is not indicated, or the ingredient does not exist at all, the producers and operators of the food are easily subject to complaints and reports that the ingredient content on the label is not indicated, involving false advertising, increasing the risk of administrative penalties and compensation for the production enterprises.

For the emphasis on the addition or inclusion of one or more valuable or characteristic ingredients or components on food packaging, it is not only necessary to comply with the provisions of requirement 4.1.4 on quantitative labeling of ingredients in the General Rules for Prepackaged Food Labels (GB 7718-2011), but also to comply with the requirements of nutrition claims in the General Rules for Prepackaged Food Nutrition Labels (GB 28050—2011). The mandatory labeling requirements of this regulation are: "The mandatory labeling content of all prepackaged food nutrition labels includes the energy and core nutrient content values and their percentage of the nutrient reference value (NRV). When other ingredients are labeled, appropriate forms shall be adopted to make the labeling of energy and core nutrients more prominent. When making nutrition claims or nutrition component function claims for other nutrients besides energy and core nutrients, the content of the nutrient and its percentage of the nutrient reference value (NRV) shall also be indicated in the nutrition component table. For prepackaged foods that use nutrient fortifiers, the content value and percentage of the nutrient reference value (NRV) of the nutrient in the fortified food shall also be indicated in the nutrition component table. When the food ingredients contain or use hydrogenated and (or) partially hydrogenated oils and fats during production, the content of trans fat (acid) shall also be indicated in the nutrition component table. The content of the above-mentioned nutrients for which the nutrient reference value (NRV) is not specified only needs to be indicated." However, the following prepackaged foods are exempt from mandatory nutrition labeling:

Fresh foods, such as packaged raw meat, raw fish, raw vegetables and fruits, poultry eggs, etc.;

Beverage alcohol with an ethanol content ≥0.5%;

Foods with a total packaging surface area ≤100 cm² or a maximum surface area ≤20 cm²;

Ready-to-eat foods;

Packaged drinking water;

Prepackaged foods with a daily consumption of ≤10 g or 10 mL;

Other prepackaged foods that are not required to label nutrition labels according to other laws, regulations and standards.

Note: Prepackaged foods exempt from mandatory nutrition labeling shall comply with the standards if any nutrition information appears on their packaging.

The above legal, administrative regulations, and rules requirements are elaborated from two aspects: food label content and labeling form, focusing on the requirements for labeling ingredient lists, and detailed listing of the labeling "prohibited areas", aiming to provide some help to those who are confused about the food packaging label regulations, and hoping to use this as a starting point to conduct a comprehensive study of the food packaging label regulations.

For manufacturers, simply focusing on food quality and safety can easily lead to "carelessness leading to disaster" in food packaging labels and advertising, facing administrative penalties and legal disputes. Understanding relevant basic knowledge of food safety and learning relevant laws and regulations can at least greatly reduce the risk of being penalized.

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