The updated ‘Food information guide’ of the Finnish Food Authority is an information package on labelling for food business operators and inspectors. The renewed guide offers plenty of practical examples on the labelling of food products. The guide also provides a summary of the most recent legislative changes on labelling.
The ‘Food information guide’ deals with the general food labelling information to be provided on foodstuffs. These include, for example, the naming and the country of origin markings of food products. The guide especially highlights theme areas on which food business operators and inspectors often make enquiries.
The consumer often selects food products on the basis of names of the food
The ‘Food information guide’ includes a lot of examples for clarifying the interpretation of legislation on labelling. For example, there is now more detailed instructions on the correct naming of food products, because the consumer often makes choices on the basis of the name of the food product.
The Finnish Food Authority has received enquiries on the naming of bread products. For example, the guide provides a view on the issue of oat bread. The name ‘oat bread’ (kauraleipä) can be used for a bread product containing at minimum 50 % oat, when calculated from the amount of cereal raw material. In other cases, the bread must be named using a more detailed description, such as wheat-oat bread or mixed-cereal bread.
The Finnish Food Authority’s ‘Food information guide’ aims to promote uniform control and equal treatment of food business operators throughout Finland.
For more information, read the Food information guide (pdf, in Finnish)
Further information:
Tuulikki Lehto, Senior Inspector, tel. +358 50 558 2696, tuulikki.lehto@ruokavirasto.fi