Labels to expand food’s content
The regulations, which give effect to EU directives, set out compositional standards and labelling requirements for the marketing of the products.
Mr Walsh said a product may, for example, only be called jam if it complies with the rules on ingredients and manufacture.
Chocolate manufactured after August 12, 2003 must show the complete list of ingredients and, if non-cocoa butter vegetable fat is used in the product, this must be declared separately on the label.
For fruit juices, jams, sugar and honey, the new labelling rules will be compulsory from July, 2004.
Mr Walsh said the regulations require fruit juice which has been derived from concentrate to be sold as fruit juice from concentrate. The term fruit juice will be reserved for the freshly-squeezed product.
In keeping with the recommendation of the Food Labelling Group, which he established, Mr Walsh said he had made specific provision in the regulations for enforcement by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
He said the department’s service contract with the FSAI will be extended to include these products. T he minister said the department plans to draw up leaflets on the regulations for consumers and industry.
