If you're looking to start selling your own food products, whether that's to local stores for resale or at places like fundraising events, you need to be familiar with food labelling laws. Even items you sell from home need to be labelled properly, with certain items of information clearly marked, so that consumers know what they're getting and can ensure they protect themselves from allergic reactions, diabetic responses, and the like. Note a few guidelines to consider that can help you get started on the labels you need for your food items.
What's always included
Foods always need a certain amount of information included on the labelling, even when sold at fundraisers or for charitable causes. This information includes directions for use and especially for storage. It also needs to include the country of origin. You also need to note if the foods have been genetically modified, contain irradiated foods, and if they contain kava, a natural ingredient that can cause drowsiness in many people. There are also certain requirements for listing fish and meat, so it can be good to include those ingredients in any foodstuffs you're preparing.
Allergen alerts
While you cannot possibly know every allergen that may be bothersome to a consumer, it's important to note that most allergic reactions occur when exposed to nuts, seafood, milk, eggs, sesame seeds, soy, and wheat. These ingredients should all be properly listed on your packaging, along with a potential allergen alert. This would be a separate notice that the food item contains one or more of these items. This makes it easy for those with such allergies to see that their allergen is included in the ingredients and to avoid any sampling of the item.
Claims
One thing to be very cautious of is putting health or other such claims on your foods; these claims must be verifiable and there are government standards to consider when it comes to the basis of these claims. If you cannot prove these claims according to government standards, this could make you liable for the cost of the goods as well as the cost of a lawsuit filed by an unhappy consumer! Be very cautious about saying that a food cures even small conditions like headaches or nausea, that it can help a person to lose weight, that it clears you skin, etc. There is usually nothing wrong with harmless marketing phrases such as "amazing fruit flavour," but avoid actual claims in order to avoid liability.
Share10 March 2017
If you're a small farmer, you may have started doing homestead activities as a hobby __ i know that I did. However, my hobby farm eventually became so successful, and I was having such great crop yields that I decided to go into business. Now, I sell pullets (baby chicks), have a veg stand at the local farmer's market and am even doing hands-on farming classes for preschoolers in the area. If you want to make a similar leap, I invite you to explore my blog. I'm going to write all about farming from multiple angles with a special emphasis on turning your hobby into a business. My name is Jane, and thanks for reading.