How to Read a Food Label: A Guide for Australian Businesses

Reading an Australian food label means checking each mandatory element against the Food Standards Code: the name of the food, ingredient list, allergen declarations, date marking, nutrition information panel, country of origin, storage and use directions, lot identification and supplier details. Every part carries a legal purpose. This guide walks through each element so you can verify the products you buy and build compliant labels for the food you sell. Key takeaways: A compliant Australian label carries a defined set of elements under the Food Standards Code: name, ingredients, allergens, date marking, nutrition panel, country of origin, directions, lot code and supplier details.. The ingredient list runs in descending order by weight, and characterising ingredients often need a percentage declaration so you can see how much of the key component is actually present.. Plain English Allergen Labelling (PEAL) under Standard 1.2.3 requires declared allergens to be named in bold in the ingredient list and in a separate summary statement.. The lot number and supplier name and address exist so a product can be traced and recalled quickly if something goes wrong.. Not every food needs a full label; foods sold unpackaged or made and packaged on the premises where they are sold have reduced requirements, but allergen information must still be available.. Which foods need a label, and why it matters Most packaged food sold in Australia must carry a label bearing specific information set out in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. For a food business, the label is both a compliance document and a food-safety tool. It tells your customers what is in the product, warns them about allergens, and gives you the traceability you need if a batch has to be recalled. Not every food carries the full set of labelling. Food that is not in a package, or that is made and packaged on the same premises where it is sold, has reduced requirements. Even then, allergen information must be provided to the customer on request or by another means. When you buy ingredients and packaged goods from suppliers, reading their labels carefully is part of your own due diligence. Use the label as a checklist. If a supplier product is missing a mandatory element, that is a signal to query it before you build it into your menu or resell it. Packaged food generally needs the full label. Unpackaged or made-and-packaged-on-site food has reduced requirements. Allergen information must always be available, even for unpackaged food. The name and description of the food Every label must carry a name or description of the food that is not false, misleading or deceptive. The name should tell the customer what the product actually is, so a shopper is not led to believe a product is something it is not. Where a prescribed name exists in the Code, it must be used. Read the name alongside the rest of the pack. A large front-of-pack claim or image cannot contradict the true nature of the food. If the front says one thing and the ingredient list tells a different story, the ingredient list is where the substance sits. For your own products, choose a name that is accurate and specific. Vague or aspirational names create risk if they overstate what is inside. The ingredient list and percentage labelling Ingredients are listed in descending order by ingredient weight at the time of manufacture, so the first ingredient is present in the greatest amount. This ordering is one of the fastest ways to understand a product. If sugar or salt sits near the top of the list, that tells you something the front of pack may not. Many products must also carry a percentage declaration for characterising ingredients or components, so you can see how much of the named or pictured ingredient is present. If a pie is called a beef pie, the label generally has to tell you the proportion of beef. Compound ingredients, meaning an ingredient that is itself made of several ingredients, must have their own components declared once they make up enough of the final food. Read these carefully, because allergens are often hidden inside compound ingredients. Ingredients run from most to least by weight. Characterising ingredients usually need a percentage declaration. Compound ingredients must break down into their own components. Allergen declarations and PEAL Allergen labelling is the single most safety-critical part of any label. Under the Plain English Allergen Labelling requirements in Standard 1.2.3, declared allergens must be stated using specific, plain-English terms, shown in bold within the ingredient list, and repeated in a separate summary statement introduced by the word Contains. The declared allergen list covers the priority allergens that must be identified whenever they are present, including cereals containing gluten, crustacea, egg, fish, milk, peanut, soy, tree nuts, sesame, lupin, molluscs and added sulphites above the specified level. When you read a label, check both the bold entries in the ingredient list and the summary statement, and treat any voluntary precautionary statement about traces as additional information rather than a substitute for the mandatory declaration. For your own labels and for verifying suppliers, never rely on memory or product names alone. Confirm allergens against the ingredient list every time a supplier reformulates, because a quiet recipe change can introduce a new allergen without any change to the product name. Date marking, storage and directions for use Date marking tells you how long a food can be expected to keep. A use-by date is a safety limit: food must not be sold after its use-by date and should not be eaten after it. A best-before date is a quality marker; food may still be safe after it has passed, provided it has been stored correctly and is not damaged or deteriorated. Labels also carry storage directions where they are needed to keep the food safe for its stated life, for example instructions to keep refrigerated. These directions link directly to your own temperature control. Cold food should be held at or below 5C and hot food at or above 60C, and the storage direction on the label is the manufacturer's assumption about how you will handle the product. Directions for use, such as cook-thoroughly or reheat instructions, matter for safety too. If a label says to cook a product to a specified state, treat that as part of your food-safety process, not an optional suggestion. Use-by is a safety limit; do not sell or use after it. Best-before is about quality, not safety. Follow storage and cooking directions as part of your controls. The Nutrition Information Panel Most packaged foods must carry a Nutrition Information Panel (NIP) setting out the average quantity of energy, protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugars and sodium, shown both per serving and per 100g or per 100mL. The per-100 column is the one to use when you want to compare two products fairly, because serving sizes differ between brands. Read the panel together with the ingredient list. A short ingredient list and a moderate NIP usually point to a simpler product, while a long list of additives with a high sodium or sugar figure tells its own story. Where a business makes a nutrition content claim, such as low fat or high fibre, the claim has to be supported by the figures in the panel and meet the conditions in the Code. Treat the panel as the evidence behind any claim on the front of the pack. Country of origin and other required statements Country of origin labelling tells customers where a food was grown, produced, made or packed. For many foods sold in Australia this is a mandatory element, and standardised labels often combine a statement of origin with a bar chart showing the proportion of Australian ingredients. Reading it helps you verify supplier claims and answer customer questions accurately. Some foods carry additional mandatory statements or warnings triggered by particular ingredients or processes, for example advisory statements for certain additives, or warnings for specific foods. These appear because the Code requires them for that food, so do not remove or obscure them when you repackage or re-present a product. When you resell or relabel a supplier's food, you become responsible for the accuracy of what appears on the pack. Carry the required statements through faithfully rather than simplifying them away. Lot identification and supplier details Every label should let a food be traced. Lot identification, usually a batch or lot code, identifies the specific production run, while the name and Australian business address of the supplier tell you and the regulator who is responsible for the food. Together these underpin the recall system. When you read a label, note where the lot code sits so you can record it in your incoming-goods checks. If a supplier issues a recall, you will need that code to identify exactly which stock is affected and remove it quickly. For your own products, a reliable lot-coding system is not just a compliance box. It is what allows a targeted recall of one bad batch instead of pulling every product you have ever made, and it is central to the traceability regulators expect. Lot codes identify a specific production run. Supplier name and Australian address show who is responsible. Record incoming lot codes so you can act fast on a recall. Checklist: Name of the food is accurate and not misleading. Ingredient list is present and in descending order by weight. Percentage declaration for characterising ingredients where required. Allergens shown in bold in the ingredient list and in a Contains summary statement. Date marking (use-by or best-before) is present and legible. Storage directions and any cooking or use directions are stated. Nutrition Information Panel is present with per-serving and per-100 columns. Country of origin statement is present where required. Lot or batch code is visible for traceability. Supplier name and Australian business address are shown. Common mistakes: Trusting the front-of-pack name or image instead of checking the ingredient list and allergen statement. Assuming a product's allergens are unchanged after a supplier reformulates, rather than re-reading the label. Treating a use-by date like a best-before date and selling food past its safety limit. Comparing products on the per-serving column when serving sizes differ, instead of using per 100g or 100mL. Removing or obscuring mandatory warning or advisory statements when repackaging a supplier's food. Failing to record incoming lot codes, which slows any recall to a halt.