The new Food Information for Consumers Regulation (EU FIC), now requires retailers to clearly label food products at the shelf edge and display any ingredients that might trigger consumers’ allergies.
For example nutritional information on packaging must be clearly displayed in the ingredients list. Manufacturers also need to bold or highlight the 14 main allergen ingredients and simply stating ‘may contain milk’, will no longer be acceptable. Many retailers/brands have already adapted product labelling to meet this requirement.
Not just on the product
The regulations also state that there will be a transition period where old and new style labelling may run side by side, most likely for products with a long shelf life such as tinned or dried food. In this case, retailers must do all they can to make the new changes known to their customers. This means shelf edge labels and signage need to spell out the additional information required. Can your ticketing and signage system cope?
For some retailers this has been an extra reason to check exactly what their existing ticketing and signage system can deliver. If your software has not been updated for 5 years or more it almost definitely will not have the latest features required to easily adjust to new legal requirements and the need to provide value added marketing information at the shelf edge.
Perhaps we should talk?