Food Labeling Advice

1gnatius

Hello Everyone,

I am launching a food product startup. Mostly vegan food and etc. Currently, I have no food nutrition labels on the food packages. The food that we will sell is made in another EU country that has the papers of the nutrition analysis. When I did my first order from the supplier, we did not agree on the nutrition labelling on the back of the packages ( my mistake ). I now have 20x products of around 8 different food products. On the next order, I would have the food products with the nutrition labels.

I called the FSAI and they sound kind of strict with the FIC labelling laws and rules.

Would it be ok to test out the waters selling online the products without the nutrition labels? Just for the first couple of months. Until I place my second order from the supplier.

Or if I at least post the nutrition analysis online just beside the products description? Would that help?

Or can someone point me to someone who can give this kind of business advice?


Thank You!

Rows Grower

1gnatius wrote: »

Hello Everyone,

I am launching a food product startup. Mostly vegan food and etc. Currently, I have no food nutrition labels on the food packages. The food that we will sell is made in another EU country that has the papers of the nutrition analysis. When I did my first order from the supplier, we did not agree on the nutrition labelling on the back of the packages ( my mistake ). I now have 20x products of around 8 different food products. On the next order, I would have the food products with the nutrition labels.

I called the FSAI and they sound kind of strict with the FIC labelling laws and rules.

Would it be ok to test out the waters selling online the products without the nutrition labels? Just for the first couple of months. Until I place my second order from the supplier.

Or if I at least post the nutrition analysis online just beside the products description? Would that help?

Or can someone point me to someone who can give this kind of business advice?


Thank You!

They're not kind of strict they are very strict and with good reason.

Your best option is to eat it all yourself and enjoy!

OldMrBrennan83

1gnatius wrote: »

Hello Everyone,

I am launching a food product startup. Mostly vegan food and etc. Currently, I have no food nutrition labels on the food packages. The food that we will sell is made in another EU country that has the papers of the nutrition analysis. When I did my first order from the supplier, we did not agree on the nutrition labelling on the back of the packages ( my mistake ). I now have 20x products of around 8 different food products. On the next order, I would have the food products with the nutrition labels.

I called the FSAI and they sound kind of strict with the FIC labelling laws and rules.

Would it be ok to test out the waters selling online the products without the nutrition labels? Just for the first couple of months. Until I place my second order from the supplier.

Or if I at least post the nutrition analysis online just beside the products description? Would that help?

Or can someone point me to someone who can give this kind of business advice?


Thank You!

Print the nutrition information on a label and stick them onto the packs until you get the new packaging. Is there a free space?

1gnatius

OldMrBrennan83 wrote: »

Print the nutrition information on a label and stick them onto the packs until you get the new packaging. Is there a free space?

There is plenty of free space on the packaging. I will probably go this path for the products I have at the moment. I am still not 100% sure that it will go with the rules of FIC. But I think it is the best I can do at this moment.

OldMrBrennan83

1gnatius wrote: »

There is plenty of free space on the packaging. I will probably go this path for the products I have at the moment. I am still not 100% sure that it will go with the rules of FIC. But I think it is the best I can do at this moment.

Probably going to be for now. Or alternatively, what sort of packaging is it? Something like a removable sleeve may be able to be printed on directly if it can be flattened. A sticker (even one the color of the packaging) would probably be the most painless though.

1gnatius

OldMrBrennan83 wrote: »

Probably going to be for now. Or alternatively, what sort of packaging is it? Something like a removable sleeve may be able to be printed on directly if it can be flattened. A sticker (even one the color of the packaging) would probably be the most painless though.

Most of them are paper pouches. I will try stickers. .Thank You for the advice!

Anteayer

The labelling rules are EU wide and are extremely strict. You can end up in big trouble if you get this stuff wrong, including having your products withdrawn with full public alerts if there isn't proper declaration of allergens.

You have to include this information attached to the product and you also have to declare it online if you're selling that way.

Also be extremely aware that your need to declare all ingredients, in the correct order and declare allergens as per Irish and EU law.

They're are also legal restrictions about claims you can make. For example low fat or high in protein etc need to be proven and various health claims have to stand up scientifically.

I would suggest that you go talk to your Local Enterprise Office (LEO) as they're usually have programmes for people starting their own food businesses.

Food production and labeling and even aspects of marketing is very heavily regulated (for good reason).

It's not that complicated but it's important to get it right.

1gnatius

FSAI has "Nutrition Labelling Exemption for Manufacturers of Small Quantities". I can not post the link here, it is on their website.

It says:

"
The legislation on the provision of food information to consumers allows for an exemption from the mandatory requirement for nutrition labelling for food, including handcrafted food, directly supplied by the manufacturer of small quantities of products to the final consumer or local retail establishments directly supplying the final consumer.
"
"
A small quantity is defined as:
(a) 250 kilograms or litres of products per week, or 13,000 kilograms or litres of products per year,
OR
(b) 500 units per week, or 26,000 units per year
"

That would have helped for starters. But I think it will not work on my case since I am more than 100km away from the manufacturer. And I am not an "establishment" I am a separate business from the manufacturer.

I called FSAI, asked advice from quite a few people and checked the online sources. I think the best time saving and long-term path to take is just to print the labels correctly. And put them on by myself for the products I have at the moment.

Thanks everyone for the advice!

Anteayer

That rule is more for artistan producers and people selling food from stalls and delis and so on.

But the allergen labeling / notification rules are still there even for delis. You have to display the allergen info and have it available somewhere etc etc

The LEOs are usually very good on practical support for small food and drink companies, especially in areas with a lot of foodie stuff going on.

I’d definitely give them a ring and go in for a chat. There are often courses, programmes and even just seminars and networking events that can be very useful.

A lot of the LEOs have very solid marketing supports and so on for small food companies etc

A lot of people seem to go in looking for grants but they can be really good on practical support and help with networking.

The labeling doesn’t have to be a complex graphic design. They can just be done with sticky labels.

If you’ve got paper packaging maybe just get them printed on nice paper and stick them on?

A local printer would probably be able to do those up very cheaply as they’re just a short run.

Even print them yourself on address labels. You can buy cheap paper or even clear labels that will go into your laser or inkjet printer.

If you already have the information that’s 99% of the battle! The bigger challenge is for people who are manufacturing their own food products as you have to get them analyised for labeling.

1gnatius

Anteayer wrote: »

That rule is more for artistan producers and people selling food from stalls and delis and so on.

But the allergen labeling / notification rules are still there even for delis. You have to display the allergen info and have it available somewhere etc etc

The LEOs are usually very good on practical support for small food and drink companies, especially in areas with a lot of foodie stuff going on.

I’d definitely give them a ring and go in for a chat. There are often courses, programmes and even just seminars and networking events that can be very useful.

A lot of the LEOs have very solid marketing supports and so on for small food companies etc

A lot of people seem to go in looking for grants but they can be really good on practical support and help with networking.

The labeling doesn’t have to be a complex graphic design. They can just be done with sticky labels.

If you’ve got paper packaging maybe just get them printed on nice paper and stick them on?

A local printer would probably be able to do those up very cheaply as they’re just a short run.

Even print them yourself on address labels. You can buy cheap paper or even clear labels that will go into your laser or inkjet printer.

If you already have the information that’s 99% of the battle! The bigger challenge is for people who are manufacturing their own food products as you have to get them analyised for labeling.

Thank you for the advice! I will check out LEO.

Yeah, it helps to have the nutrition analysis. I would not have got into this if I had planned everything a bit more before ordering. The supplier even asked me do I need the nutrition label printed, but I refused ( it took a long time to get the order going, so I just did not want it to take any longer, I just did not use my logic then... ). Also at that moment I did not know that the requirements were that strict.

Pintman Paddy Losty

Mod Snip

The packaging and labeling of food is subject to regulation in most regions/jurisdictions, both to prevent false advertising and to promote food safety.

duploelabs

Holy Moly,

The amount of 'sure be grand' attitude to labelling and food safety here is shocking.

Lets put this to bed once and for all, any food business, even in Op's case of fulfilment logistics, must be registered with your appropriate Environmental Health Officer. They will govern and advise on all aspects of food safety, including your labelling, and if you want to trade you have to get approval from them on all aspects before you even start to think about importation of your produce.

If you follow suggested posts above, you'll end up with a recall, which not only will damage your brand but also your relationship with Vendors. As well as being very very expensive. Educate yourself with a Food Academy type program, or engage a food business consultant with experience on bringing a consumer product to market before you do any more on your idea, for your own sanity and financial security

Anteayer

I’d agree with that and there is a shed load supports out there for startups and micro businesses in the food and drink sector.

It’s a highly regulated sector and for good reason but if you get all these things right from the start they will ensure you’ve a solid foundation for your business.

With food in particular *everything* is about confidence and trust in the brand and the product. You can’t afford to muck about with regulatory requirements or shortcut anything as it will eventually come back to haunt you and it can do irreparable damage.

Go seek out a start your own food business course. They’re a great foundation and usually good for networking too!