GB 7718-2011 National Food Safety Standard General Standard for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods and GB 28050-2011 National Food Safety Standard General Rules for the Nutrition Labeling of Prepackaged Foods stipulate a lot of exemptions from labeling. Antion summarized the relevant provisions of relevant regulations and standards for enterprises’ reference in the production and operation.

01 Exemptions from nutrition labeling

GB 28050 stipulates exemptions from mandatory nutrition labelling for the following categories of prepackaged general foods, including:

1. Foods with high fluctuations in nutrient content, such as raw food (raw meat, raw fish, raw vegetables and fruits, poultry eggs, etc.), ready-made food for sale;

2. Foods with small packages that cannot meet the content of nutrition labels, such as prepackaged foods with a total surface area of ≤100 square centimeters or the maximum surface area of ≤20 square centimeters;

3. Food with small consumption amount and small contribution to the body's nutrient intake, such as beverages and alcohol with ethanol content ≥0.5%; packaged drinking water; prepackaged foods with daily consumption amount ≤10g or 10mL . Among them, the prepackaged foods with a small daily consumption amount include condiments, sweet ingredients (sugar, starch sugar, pollen, table sweeteners, flavored syrups, etc.), spices, teas and other foods with a small edible proportion, and other categories of foods such as yeast and edible starch.

The above exemptions require a nutrition label when:

1. When nutritional information appears on the package, such as the label contains nutrition claims, functional claims of nutrients or the use of nutritional fortification substances, it is necessary to mark a nutrition label;

2. Prepackaged food with daily consumption amount ≤10g or 10mL should be marked with nutrition label if the content of a single nutrient is high and has a greater impact on the daily intake of the nutrient, such as fermented bean curd, pickles (salted vegetables), soya sauce, sauces (yellow sauce, meat sauce, hot sauce, bean sauce, etc.) and composite seasonings.

02 Exemptions from the labeling of shelf life

GB 7718 stipulates that the following prepackaged foods can be exempted from the labeling of shelf life, including: alcoholic beverages with alcohol content of 10% or more, vinegar, edible salt, solid sugar and monosodium glutamate (MSG). Solid sugar includes white granulated sugar, soft sugar, brown sugar and rock sugar, excluding candies.

Exemption from labeling shelf life does not mean that there is no shelf life, but it is not mandatory to mark. These categories of food are stable under storage conditions, and it is difficult for microorganisms to multiply in them. These characteristics determine that their own shelf life is very long, and under normal circumstances, the whole process from the production of the product to the end of consumer consumption is far less than the shelf life of the product. Therefore, it is not mandatory to mark the shelf life. However, it does not mean that the above foods can be stored and consumed indefinitely, and if the storage conditions do not meet the requirements of labeling and indication, the product still has food safety risks.

03 Other exemptions from labeling

GB 7718 stipulates that for a package or container of the prepackaged food whose largest surface area is less than 10 square centimeters, the name of the product, net content and the name and address of the manufacturer or distributor, production date and shelf life may only be declared. Exempt from labeling list of ingredients, storage conditions, production license number, product standard code.

Imported prepackaged food may not be marked with the name, address, contact information and standard product code of the manufacturer. However, the name of the country or region of origin and the name, address and contact information of the agent should be marked (the information of the agent is required by the Food Safety Law).

For the exemptions of labeling, when the manufacturer and operator choose to mark them, the labeling should be lawful and in compliance with the requirements of the corresponding regulations, to ensure that it is true and accurate and does not mislead the consumers.

Source: Antion

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