Labelling food for retail sale

What is a food label?

Food labels tell consumers important information about the food or drink they are consuming. They help consumers know which food and drink is right for them, and if it is safe to eat or drink. There are rules for what information must go on labels.

You must label your food so it meets the rules of the Australia and New Zealand Food Standards Code. Your product could be recalled or you could be fined if you get this wrong. If your food doesn't need a label, there are other ways to share product information to consumers.

Use the checklists in our guide to help you.

A guide to retail food labelling [PDF, 1 MB]

Retail food that doesn't need a label

A retail food product doesn't need a label if it:

has no package
is made and packaged at the same place it is sold
is packaged in front of the customer, like at a supermarket deli
is displayed in a cabinet that the seller serves to customers, like at a café
is whole or cut fresh fruit or vegetable in clear packaging (excluding sprouts)
is food delivered ready for consumption, like pizza
is food sold at a fundraising event, like a school gala.

Where food that has more than one layer of packaging, only the outer package requires a label.

What you must tell consumers if your food has no label

If your food or drink doesn't need a label, you must:

display any health and safety information nearby the food
make your product information available to consumers on request.

Requirements for retail food labels

Your food label must:

be part of or attached to the food
be easy to read
be written in English
have the right information to meet the rules of the food standards code, the Fair Trading Act 1986, and the Weights and Measures Act.

Identifying your food

Your food label must clearly have:

a lot/batch identification: this enables you to trace your product if it needs to be recalled
an accurate name or description of the food: and some foods (for example, processed meat, honey, and infant formula) must use the exact names from the code
the name and physical address of your New Zealand or Australian business: A PO box, website, or email address by itself is not enough.

Ensuring the safety of your product

Your food label must clearly have a date mark for foods with a shelf life of less than 2 years. You need to write this as one of the following:

Use by: if the food could make people sick if consumed after a certain date.
Best before: if the food declines in quality but is still safe to be consumed.
Bkd on/Bkd for: if your product is bread with a shelf life of less than 7 days.

You must also include any specific food storage instructions needed to keep the food safe to eat for the duration of the shelf life.

Food warning and advisory statements

Some ingredients or foods need to be avoided by some people. This could be because they have an allergy or because they are pregnant. Products that contain these ingredients need to include a statement on their label.

There are 3 types of statements:

Allergy declaration: ingredients that can cause allergic reactions for some people.
Warning statement: only applies to some types of food (such as royal jelly and kava).
Advisory statement: applies to certain foods or ingredients which may cause health risks for some consumers.

More about food allergies and intolerances

What your food label must show

Most food labels must clearly have the following. There are some exceptions.

Nutrition information panel (NIP).
Ingredients list.
Irradiated and genetically modified food information.
Percentage labelling.
Amount of food.

These are optional but have rules that must be followed:

Nutrition content claims and health claims.
Health Star Rating.

Nutrition information panel (NIP)

A nutrition information panel (NIP) shows the amount of energy, protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugars, and sodium in a food. It has an amount per serving and per 100g or 100ml for each nutrient.

Your NIP must meet the rules about layout and content as stated in the code.

Some products don't need a NIP, including:

most alcoholic beverages
herbs and spices, tea, and coffee
fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry, and fish
pre-packed filled rolls and sandwiches
food in a package with less than 100 square cm of total surface area.

Nutrition Panel Calculator – FSANZ

Ingredients list

List your ingredients in descending order.

Also list any food additives you've used. There are rules about how you list these.

Some products don't need an ingredients list. These include:

packaged water
standardised alcoholic beverages
food in a package with less than 100 square cm of total surface area.

Nutrition content claims and health claims

If you choose to make nutrition content or health claims about your product, you must:

be able to prove the claim you have made
add the nutrition information for your claim to your Nutrition Information Panel (NIP). This rule overrides any exception to having a NIP.

Health and nutrition content claims for food and drink

Irradiated and genetically modified food

You must state if any part of your food has been irradiated or genetically modified.

Labelling requirements for irradiated food

Labelling requirements for genetically modified food

Percentage labelling for characterising ingredients or components

If some or all of your food product's ingredients are printed on your label (in words, pictures, or graphics), you must show what percentage of the food is made up by each of these ingredients.

Amount of food

Your packaging must state how much food it contains in appropriate unit of measure (for example kg, g, ml, l) in text 2mm or bigger.

Alcoholic drinks need the number of standard drinks and alcohol by volume (%Alc/Vol). Any other food requires a %Alc/Vol statement when more than 1.15% Alc/Vol.

Health Star Rating

You can choose to put a Health Star Rating on the front of your pack to help consumers make informed decisions. If you choose to, you must correctly calculate the number of stars for your food and use the Health Star Rating symbol correctly.

Health Star Ratings and food labelling