Dear subscriber,

Welcome to our latest FSAI Brexit Ezine.

Since 1 January 2021 Irish food businesses buying any food product from the UK (excluding Northern Ireland) and placing it on the Irish market need to adhere to the rules and requirements for importing food from outside the EU Single Market and for placing these products on the EU Single Market. Irish businesses selling any food product into the UK market need to adhere to the rules and requirements for exporting outside the Single Market, as well as to UK food import and other regulatory requirements.

The Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland means that no new procedures apply to goods moving between Northern Ireland and Ireland (or other Member States of the European Union) in either direction.

Recent Brexit Ezines have focused on the controls carried out at import including documentary, identity and physical checks. This Ezine will outline some of the changes to food labelling due to Brexit.

Foods placed on the EU market must comply with EU food law. The rules for labelling are set out in Regulation 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers.

Since 1 January 2021, if you import food from the UK (excluding Northern Ireland) you will need to comply with the requirements for placing imported food on the Irish market.

Here are some clarifications when it comes to Brexit and food labelling.

Name and EU address

EU food labelling legislation requires that the name and EU address of the food business operator responsible for the food information is provided.

This must be the EU food business operator under whose name the food is marketed or if that operator is not established in the EU it must be the importer into the EU.

An address in Great Britain no longer complies with this requirement. For food labelling purposes the address of a food business operator established in Northern Ireland will continue to be treated in the same way as an EU address.

It is important to note that the food business operator whose name and EU address is provided on the label is the operator responsible for the presence and accuracy of the food information.

Can an EU and a non-EU address appear on a food label?

Yes. A non-EU address can be provided on the food label in addition to, but not in place of the EU address. Therefore an address in Great Britain can be included but it must not hide, obscure, or detract from the mandatory EU address.

Is the use of a web address or PO box sufficient?

The address provided on the label must be a physical address within the EU, or Northern Ireland. A web address or email can be included in addition to the physical address, but not in place of it. A PO box set up in Ireland simply as a contact point for a food business based in Great Britain is not sufficient as it will not meet the criteria of a food business in EU law.

Who is responsible for food information?

Regulation 1169/2011 sets out the responsibilities of food business operators.

Article 8 Responsibilities

1. The food business operator responsible for the food information shall be the operator under whose name or business name the food is marketed or, if that operator is not established in the Union, the importer into the Union market.

2. The food business operator responsible for the food information shall ensure the presence and accuracy of the food information in accordance with the applicable food information law and requirements of relevant national provisions.

Therefore, the food business whose name and EU/NI address is on the food label takes responsibility for the presence and accuracy of the food information. For any non-compliances identified requiring enforcement action, the enforcement action would be taken against the food business whose name and EU address is on the label. Also, if any changes are needed to the product label to bring it in line with legislative requirements, this food business will need to be in a position to make these changes.

Does food labelling legislation apply to all food?

EU food labelling legislation applies to all food and all food businesses at all stages of the food chain, where their activities concern the provision of food information to consumers. It sets out the mandatory information for foods intended for the final consumer, including foods delivered by caterers, and foods intended for supply to caterers.

Regulation 1169/2011 sets out the requirements for the following:

Prepacked food for the final consumer
Prepacked food intended for the final consumer but marketed at a stage prior to this e.g. wholesalers
Prepacked food intended for supply to caterers for preparation, processing, splitting or cutting up
Food businesses supplying other food businesses with ingredients for food products

The mandatory requirements for prepacked food are available on the FSAI website and in the Food Information on Prepacked Foods booklet.

For both:

prepacked food intended for the final consumer but marketed at a stage prior to sale to the final consumer
prepacked food intended for supply to caterers

The legislation allows for the mandatory food requirements to be in commercial documents referring to the foods where it can be guaranteed that such documents either accompany the food to which they refer or were sent before or at the same time as delivery. In additon, the following information must be provided on the external packaging in which the prepacked foods are presented for marketing:

name of the food
'best before' or ‘use by’ date
any special storage conditions and/or conditions of use
name or business name and EU address of the food business operator

An EU/NI address is therefore required on the outer packaging.

In the case of food businesses supplying other food businesses with food that is not intended for the final consumer or caterers - they must provide sufficient information to the food businesses to enable them to be able to meet their obligations under food labelling legislation.

Identification mark requirements

The identification mark is applied to a food of animal origin and indicates that it has been produced in an establishment approved in accordance with Regulation 853/2004. The format of the mark is set out in legislation and there are different requirements depending on whether the identification mark relates to an EU or non-EU country.

Both the Great Britain identification mark and the Northern Ireland identification mark have changed since 1 January 2021.

The identification mark for Great Britain can no longer include the 'EU' abbreviation and must use either 'United Kingdom' or the two-letter country code in accordance with the relevant ISO standard which is 'GB'.

The new identification mark for Northern Ireland allows for the option of either ‘United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)’ or ‘UK(NI)’ to be indicated and this is followed by the approval number of the establishment. The identification mark continues to indicate the letters ‘EC’ for Northern Ireland.

Do all foods of animal origin need an identification mark?

Not all foods of animal origin need an identifiction mark. Some foods like honey are not required to have an identification mark. Also, composite products containing both products of plant origin and processed products of animal origin do not need an identification mark. However, the processed products of animal origin used to prepare the composite products must be obtained from, and handled in establishments approved under Regulation 853/2004.

FSAI labelling resources

The FSAI Brexit Q&A document has answers to popular Brexit questions. Section 5 of the document focuses on labelling and Section 4 provides information on identification marks.

The Q&A is a live document and will be edited and updated as and when new information becomes available.

The FSAI eLearning module Brexit - Food Import Requirements outlines the labelling requirements for placing imported food on the Irish market.

Further information on food labelling is available on the FSAI website including the following:

What about labelling food for the UK market?

Labelling information for food products for the UK market is provided on the UK Government website.

Food businesses can continue to use an EU, Great Britain or Northern Irish address for prepacked food sold in Great Britain until 30 September 2022. From 1 October 2022, pre-packed food sold in Great Britain must include a UK address for the food business. If the food business is not established in the UK then the address of the UK importer must be included.

FSAI Brexit Resources

Visit the FSAI's Brexit Resources page to find all our food business resources in one place.

UK import webinars

The UK's Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is hosting a number of webinars outlining the changes coming from 1 April to the requirements for importing food and drink from the EU to Great Britain.

Register at the following link.

These webinars are in advance of the changes coming about from 1 April 2021 for EU exports of foods of animal origin and composite products to Great Britain, as outlined in the Border operating Model.

Irish Exporters: Get ready for new UK import controls from 1 April

The Government updated Gov.ie/Brexit with information on ‘Preparing for UK Import Controls (1 April)’.

The UK is introducing new food import requirements on a phased basis on 1 April and 1 July 2021, as set out in the UK Border Operating Model.

Exporters need to fully understand these new UK import requirements and ensure everyone in the supply chain, including their UK importer(s), is clear on their roles and responsibilities and can meet them.

For up-to-date information on Brexit, visit our website at www.fsai.ie/Brexit or email Brexit@fsai.ie if you have any specific questions.

Look out for future FSAI Brexit Ezines.

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