Which ingredients don’t you need to label?

A discussion starts with the statement ‘But it’s a processing aid, and therefore does not need to be labelled’. The question arises: what exactly is a processing aid, and when does it need to be labelled? As this is not clearly defined in the current Regulations Relating to the Labelling and Advertising of Foodstuffs (R. 146/2010, as amended), it is important to understand when an ingredient meets the terms for being called a ‘processing aid’ and no longer needs to be labelled. 

As the answer is not obvious in the regulations, one must dig a little deeper and look at the exemptions, as stated in regulation 54 of R. 146; here we find the following, which may help us:

“The following ingredients of a foodstuff need not be named in the list of ingredients:

(a) …constituents of an ingredient, which have become temporarily separated during the manufacturing process and are later reintroduced in their original proportions; (and)

(b) any substance other than water which is used as a solvent or carrier for a food additive or nutrient…”

Also, regulation 41 makes reference to Codex; indicating that a food additive carried over into foods at a level less than that required to achieve a technological function, and processing aids, are exempted from declaration in the list of ingredients. The exemption, however, does not apply to food additives and processing aids derived from allergens.

In the absence of a definition in R. 146, according to Codex, ‘processing aid’ is defined as “a substance or material, not including apparatus or utensils, and not consumed as a food ingredient by itself, intentionally used in the processing of raw materials, foods or its ingredients, to fulfil a certain technological purpose during treatment or processing and which may result in the non-intentional but unavoidable presence of residues or derivatives in the final product”.

This means that something such as silicone-based anti-foaming agent would be considered an acceptable “processing aid”; and gelatine, when used as a clarifying agent in fruit juice, would not need to appear in the list of ingredients.

The regulations can be complex to piece together in order to find the answers you need. To help you understand how to apply the regulations and how to navigate the regulatory system, FACTS conducts workshops and in-house training.