Compliance
Labelling workshop
The label is the part of your product the inspector, the retailer and the allergic customer all read. This workshop builds a compliant dried-food label piece by piece, with the arithmetic behind the nutrition panel and the claims that survive scrutiny.
Label anatomy — the seven mandatory parts
| Element | What it is | Common failure |
|---|---|---|
| Statement of identity | The honest name of the product ("Dried apple rings") | Invented fantasy names with no descriptive name anywhere |
| Net quantity | Weight of the food, not the pack, in metric (and avoirdupois in the US) | Declaring the drained weight, or "approx." before a figure |
| Ingredient list | All ingredients, descending by weight at time of use | Hiding compound ingredients ("spices", "flavouring") beyond permitted generic terms |
| Allergen declaration | The regulated allergens, emphasised in the ingredient list | Not emphasising, or using a "contains" statement instead of in-list emphasis (EU/UK style) |
| Nutrition declaration | Energy + fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein, salt (EU/UK format) | Rounding rules misapplied; missing per-100g column |
| Durability marking | "Best before" for dried food (not "use by" — see below) | Using "use by" on a shelf-stable product; no lot code |
| Business identity | Name and address of the responsible food business | Website-only address; missing country of origin where required |
A worked example
Here is a complete EU/UK-style label for a small-batch dried apple product, annotated. The US version swaps the nutrition panel format and moves allergens to a "Contains" line.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SUNNY ORCHARD │
│ Dried Apple Rings with Cinnamon │ ← identity (QUID: 98 % apple)
│ │
│ Ingredients: Apple (98%), cinnamon, │ ← descending weight;
│ ascorbic acid (antioxidant, E300). │ additive with function + E-number
│ │
│ Allergens in BOLD. Contains no top-14 │ ← emphasis; no allergens present
│ allergens. Prepared in a kitchen │ ← precautionary ("may contain") only
│ that also handles nuts. │ if there is a real risk
│ │
│ Nutrition typical per 100 g: │
│ Energy ............ 1430 kJ / 337 kcal │ ← both units
│ Fat .................. 0.3 g │
│ of which saturates. 0.1 g │
│ Carbohydrate ........ 81 g │
│ of which sugars .... 72 g │
│ Fibre .................. 8.9 g │
│ Protein ................ 1.3 g │
│ Salt .................. 0.03 g │ ← = sodium × 2.5
│ │
│ Best before: see base. Lot: L2026-09-27-A │ ← durability + lot traceability
│ Store cool, dry and dark. Reseal after opening. │ ← storage conditions (mandatory)
│ Net weight: 150 g e │ ← 'e' mark = EU average-fill system
│ │
│ Sunny Orchard Ltd, Unit 4, Orchard Way, │ ← responsible business
│ Worcester WR1 1AA, UK │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Allergens: the regulated lists
| Region | Regulated allergens | Declaration style |
|---|---|---|
| EU / UK | 14: cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, egg, fish, peanuts, soy, milk, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame, sulfites ≥ 10 ppm, lupin, molluscs | Emphasised in the ingredient list (bold/colour); no separate "contains" line |
| US | Nine major allergens: milk, egg, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, sesame | Emphasised in list, or a "Contains …" statement immediately after |
| Canada / Australia / others | Broadly similar lists with local additions (mustard, sulphites, celery...) | Follow local format; Canada additionally requires bilingual text |
- Sulfites are the dried-food allergen. If you dipped fruit in metabisulfite and the residual exceeds 10 ppm, it must be declared — and treated as an allergen in EU/UK emphasis. Estimate residuals with the dip scaler notes and confirm by lab test.
- "May contain" (precautionary) statements are voluntary but must reflect a genuine assessed risk; blanket use of "may contain everything" undermines you legally and commercially. If your dryer never sees nuts, say nothing.
- Allergen cleaning between products is a control, not a label — see cleaning & allergens and log it in the cleaning log.
Nutrition panel arithmetic
You do not need a lab for a single-ingredient dried fruit. You need the fresh-food values (from any credible composition database) and the yield ratio.
Step 1 — fresh apple, per 100 g (typical composition database):
energy 52 kcal · fat 0.2 g · carbohydrate 13.8 g
sugars 10.4 g · fibre 2.4 g · protein 0.3 g · sodium 1 mg
Step 2 — concentration factor:
fresh 85 % moisture → dried 18 % moisture
solids factor = (100 − 18) / (100 − 85) = 5.47
Step 3 — multiply every per-100 g nutrient by 5.47:
energy 52 × 5.47 = 284 kcal (× 4.184 = 1189 kJ)
fat 0.2 × 5.47 = 1.1 g
carbohydrate 13.8 × 5.47 = 75 g
sugars 10.4 × 5.47 = 57 g
fibre 2.4 × 5.47 = 13 g
protein 0.3 × 5.47 = 1.6 g
salt = sodium 1 mg × 5.47 × 2.5 / 1000 = 0.014 g
Step 4 — round to the legal rounding increment and declare.
Values converge on the label above (different apple variety).
- Declared values are averages over production, not individual bags; keep the recipe stable or re-derive.
- Small-business exemptions exist in the US (and limited ones in the EU) but retailers and online marketplaces often demand a panel anyway. Deriving it costs nothing — the table above is the whole method.
- Salt vs sodium: declare salt (sodium × 2.5) in EU/UK format; the US panel uses sodium in mg.
- Added vs intrinsic sugars differ by market — EU declares total sugars only; the US panel splits added sugars.
Date marking and lot codes
- "Best before" for dried food — a quality date, because correctly dried product is microbiologically stable. "Use by" is reserved for microbiologically perishable food and carries legal force; using it on dried fruit is wrong (and using "best before" on fresh jerky you sell refrigerated is also wrong — that one needs "use by").
- Assign dates from evidence, not optimism: run the shelf-life testing approach and back up the claim.
- Lot codes ("L2026-09-27-A": date + run) link every pack to a batch record — the backbone of traceability and of any recall.
- Storage conditions on-pack are mandatory where the food could deteriorate without them ("store cool, dry and dark; reseal after opening") — for dried food this line is your quality insurance.
Claims that survive scrutiny
| Claim type | Safe example | What makes it legal |
|---|---|---|
| Composition (factual) | "No added sugar", "Single ingredient", "Air-dried, no sulfites" | Verifiably true from the recipe; "no added sugar" only if no sugar or sugar-rich ingredient added |
| Process (factual) | "Sun-dried in Greece", "Small batch" | True and not misleading about place or scale |
| Nutrition (authorised list, EU) | "High in fibre" — if fibre ≥ 6 g/100 g | Meets the authorised claim conditions in the register |
| Health claims | "Calcium is needed for normal bones" — for a calcium-containing food meeting conditions | Must be on the authorised list, worded as listed, and the product must meet the nutrient profile |
| Always illegal | "Cures colds", "Detoxifies", "Boosts immunity" | Non-authorised health claims; medical claims on food |
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The three label lies that get caught
(1) Implicit health claims through imagery — a stethoscope on the pack is a health claim. (2) "Natural" used on products with additives or processing that consumers would not expect. (3) Origin implications — a flag or landscape implying origin the product does not have. All three are enforcement favourites.
Pre-print label checklist
- Identity & QUID Name accurate; highlighted ingredient percentages declared where emphasised ("with Cinnamon" → cinnamon % declared).
- Ingredients Descending order verified against the recipe by weight; additives carry function + E-number; compound ingredients broken down.
- Allergens Every regulated allergen emphasised; sulfite residual checked; precautionary statement justified in writing.
- Nutrition Derived from fresh values × solids factor, or lab-tested; rounding applied; both energy units present (EU/UK).
- Durability & lot "Best before" backed by evidence; lot code printed and linked to the batch record.
- Net quantity Average-fill system understood (e/mark); weigh several packs to confirm compliance.
- Business details Responsible business named with a real postal address; origin statement where required.
- Storage line On-pack conditions match your shelf-life evidence.
- Claims audit Every claim — words, imagery, names — checked against the authorised lists.