When it comes to selling food in the UK, getting your food labelling right is key for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of your customers. It also strengthens trust, keeps you compliant with regulations, and helps your food and business stand out. Whether you run a contract catering business, a care home, a group of pubs and restaurants, or a school, having clear and accurate food labels is a must!
But how do you make sure your food labels are reliable while keeping things simple for your staff? What options are out there? What should food labels in the UK include? And how can food service software simplify the process? Let’s dive into choosing the perfect UK food labelling solution to make your life easier and keep your business running smoothly.
Why does food labelling matter?
Food labelling provides your customers with essential information to help them make informed choices and keep themselves and their loved ones safe. In the UK, food labels must include details like ingredients, allergens, and nutritional information – all especially important for those with specific dietary needs or allergies.
UK food labelling is governed by strict regulations to ensure consumers can trust the products they buy. From Natasha’s Law, which mandates clear allergen labelling, to nutritional labelling standards requiring calorie information on menus, staying on top of these rules can feel overwhelming. That’s where a reliable food labelling solution comes in, making it easy to create labels that not only look professional but also fully comply with legal requirements, ensuring your customers stay safe and confident whilst eating out.
What does a food label need to include in the UK?
If you’re new to the world of food labeling or just need a refresher, here’s a quick rundown of what your food label needs to have in the UK:
- Product name: Simple but essential – the name of your food product.
- Ingredients list: Listed in descending order by weight, with allergens clearly highlighted (bold or underlined works well).
- Nutritional information: Most pre-packaged foods need this, including calories, fat, sugars, and energy (in both kJ and kcal) along with six key nutrients per 100g/ml, all in a standard format and meeting minimum font size requirements.
- Best-before or use-by date: Crucial for food safety, letting customers know how long the product is good for.
- Quantitative declaration of ingredients (QUID): Shows the percentage of key ingredients, especially when they’re highlighted or central to the product. This info appears near the product name or in the ingredient list.
- Net quantity: For packaged foods over 5g or 5ml, the net quantity must be listed, with foods in liquid displaying the drained weight. Some small items (like herbs, spices, or foods under 5g/5ml) are exempt.
- Allergen information: If your product contains any of the 14 major allergens, they must be clearly listed and highlighted, especially for pre-packed foods under Natasha’s Law (think sandwiches, cakes, or deli counter meals).
- Name and address of manufacturer: You need to provide a physical address for your business or importer. In Northern Ireland, an NI or EU address is required. From 1 January 2024, products sold in Great Britain must show a UK, Channel Islands, or Isle of Man address.
- Country of origin or place of provenance: Under FIC Regulations, you must clearly state the country of origin or place of provenance if not doing so could mislead consumers.
- Storage instructions: If your product requires refrigeration or freezing, make sure this is clearly stated.
- Additional labelling requirements: Some products need extra details, like if they contain sweeteners, sugars, aspartame, colourings, liquorice, caffeine, or polyols.
All of these labelling requirements are vital for keeping your customers safe and informed. Managing them manually can be overwhelming, but the right food labelling software can take the stress out of the process. It allows you to create compliant labels quickly and easily, so you can focus on running your business and making great products, confident that no detail is overlooked.
How can UK food labelling software and solutions make your life easier?
Keeping up with UK food labelling requirements might feel daunting, but with modern food labelling software, it’s easier and quicker than you think! UK food labeling solutions automate much of the process, so you won’t need to worry about missing key details or tracking allergens in messy, slow-loading spreadsheets. Plus, you can create food labels that not only comply with regulations but also reflect your brand’s unique identity – combining compliance with creativity!
Here are a few ways food labelling software can make your life easier:
Nutritional analysis software: Automatically generate reliable, accurate data for your labels by integrating with your suppliers or UK databases, ensuring your labels meet UK nutritional labelling standards.
Custom label design: Design professional, branded food labels that not only meet legal requirements but also help your products stand out, leaving a lasting impression on your customers.
QR code generation: Improve traceability by adding QR codes to your products, menus, or event materials, making it easier to track items from your kitchen to your customer’s plate.
Cloud-based food service software: Enjoy flexibility by creating, editing, and printing labels from anywhere – whether you’re in the office, the kitchen, or working from home. With cloud-based labelling solutions, you can stay compliant with UK food regulations, no matter where you are.
With food labelling software, compliance becomes simple, freeing up your time to focus on what really matters – running your business, serving great food, and creating experiences your customers never stop talking about.
Strengthen your food safety with advanced food labelling solutions
We’ve always prided ourselves on offering reliable foodservice management software with a robust labelling solution. But we wanted to take it a step further. That’s why we’ve partnered with the labelling experts at RL Solutions to bring you even more advanced, customisable options. By combining our powerful data with RL Solutions’ expertise, we deliver efficient, compliant labels that not only meet UK standards but also help bring your brand and products to life!
For quick, hassle-free compliance, our built-in labelling solution is perfect. It’s user-friendly and handles most everyday labelling needs, making it an easy way to stay compliant without the stress.
However, we know some businesses need a little extra customisation to match their specific branding, packaging, or operational needs. That’s where LabelLink by RL Solutions joins us, seamlessly connecting our data with RL Solutions’ next-level labelling capabilities.
Here’s how IndiCater and LabelLink can level-up your food labelling:
- Seamless integration with IndiCater’s data LabelLink pulls all essential information – such as allergens, ingredients, and nutritional data – directly from our system using powerful APIs. This ensures your food labels are always accurate, compliant with UK regulations, and ready for printing, keeping you up to date without any extra effort.
- Expanded printing options: thermal and thermal transfer
LabelLink supports both thermal and thermal transfer printers, giving you faster, clearer, and more durable labels. Whether your labels need to survive freezing or high temperatures, these options ensure they stay legible and look professional, whatever the conditions - Print from rolls, not sheets
A significant advantage of LabelLink is being able to print from rolls instead of sheets – ideal for businesses with high production volumes. Printing from rolls is quicker, reduces waste (every label is printed to size without excess), and offers flexibility in label sizes and shapes, perfect for different packaging types. - Custom label design for unique branding
Our templates work great for compliance, and may have your needs covered, RL Solutions can take your labelling to the next level. Whether it’s unique sizes or distinctive designs, your labels will reflect your brand identity while remaining fully compliant. - Efficient print runs for streamlined production
LabelLink’s intuitive interface makes setting up print runs easy. You can pre-configure batches, such as a “Lunch” production run, and print all required labels with a single click. This is a huge time-saver for businesses with high labelling demands. - Full compliance with Natasha’s Law
Complying with Natasha’s Law has never been easier. LabelLink automatically highlights allergens on your labels, ensuring you meet legal requirements. The system automatically highlights allergens on your labels, ensuring you meet all legal requirements while making it simple for your customers to make informed choices.
By combining our data with RL Solutions’ advanced labelling, you get a seamless, efficient, and fully customisable solution that’s designed to improve operations and ensure better food safety for your customers. Whether you’re looking for quick compliance or unique, bespoke designs that showcase your brand, we’re here to make it happen!
Reach out to our team to discuss your labelling needs and we’ll show you what you can achieve with IndiCater and LabelLink.
