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Labeling and Allergens

The importance of the label

Our choices in terms of food and beverages determine the balance of our diet. Therefore, it's important to carefully read and understand the labels as this will lead to more informed and healthy choices. Labels display all the relevant nutritional values and information to understand how the products will contribute to a balanced healthy diet.
 

Guarantee of Origin

The designation of the origin of a product is the official legal or descriptive designation. Within the EU it is permissible to use the same designation for a product as is used in the product's country of origin.
Cibox will add additional information, where required, in order to fully understand the nature of the product and to distinguish it from similar products.
 

List of Ingredients

The list of ingredients shows all the ingredients which make up the product, and are sorted in order of weight (from heaviest to the lightest).
Allergens have to be shown with a different font, in terms of dimension, style or colour, in order to be clearly visible.
If the product contains any vegetable fats or oils, we will provide a list to indicate the origin (e.g. extra virgin olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil, hydrogenated fats, etc.).
 

What are the allergens?

  • Cereals containing gluten: wheat, rye, barley, oats, farro
  • Crustaceans and other products containing crustaceans
  • Eggs and egg-based products
  • Fish and fish-based products
  • Peanuts and peanut-based products
  • Soya and soya-based products
  • Milk and milk-based products
  • Nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashew nuts, pecan nuts, brazil nuts, pistachio nuts, macadamia nuts and all the products containing nuts
  • Celery and celery-based products
  • Mustard and mustard-based products
  • Sesame seeds and sesame seed-based products
  • Sulphur dioxide and sulphides
  • Lupin and lupin-based products
  • Molluscs and mollusc-based products
 

Product Shelf Life

Always pay attention to the expiry date of products, but this should not be confused with the best before date, as the two have different meanings.
  • The expiry date: will be present on all perishable products and is identifiable by the preceding “use by” statement. This date represents the point up until which the product can be safely consumed.
  • The best before date: is present on all products that have a longer shelf life and can be stored for longer periods of time. The statement “best before” means that beyond the specified date the product could be subject to certain alterations (such as taste, colour or nutritional value), but can still be safely consumed.
Knowing the difference between "use by" and "best before" can avoid the needless disposal of edible products, ultimately reducing waste.
 

Storage Information

Storage information is always indicated in order to inform the customer of the correct method of storage both before and after the product is opened.
 

Country of Origin

It is very important to know the origin of what you eat.
This piece of information is only mandatory for certain products (fresh and frozen meat, fish, fruit and vegetable, honey, extra virgin olive oil), therefore, you won't find the origin in many packed products. Cibox will endeavour to inform you of the origin of its products as long as this information can be verified.
 

Nutritional Information

In the nutritional information table you will find all the information related to nutritional values and calories. It is mandatory to indicate:
  • Energy
  • Fats, of which saturated
  • Carbohydrates, of which sugar
  • proteins
  • salt
The nutritional information can also contain the levels of monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, sweeteners, starch and fibre.
The energy value refers to per 100g/100ml of the product, as well as per single portion. This level can also be expressed as a percentage of the recommended daily intake for an average male, which is 2000Kcal per day.
 

What are the nutrition and health claims?

Food labels are used by suppliers to enhance the value of their products, and by the consumers to take informed decisions.
The Regulation (CE) 1924/2006 regulates the so-called "claims". This Regulation harmonises the provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States, which relate to nutrition and health claims in order to ensure the effective functioning of the internal market whilst providing a high level of consumer protection.

Here some of the nutrition claims and conditions applying to them:
  • Low Energy: A claim that a food is low in energy may only be made where the product does not contain more than 40kcal (170kJ)/100g for solids or more than 20kcal (80kJ)/100ml for liquids.
  • Energy-Reduced: A claim that a food is energy-reduced may only be made where the energy value is reduced by at least 30%.
  • Energy-Free: A claim that a food is energy-free may only be made where the product does not contain more than 4 kcal(17kJ)/100ml.
  • Low Fat: A claim that a food is low in fat may only be made where the product contains no more than 3g of fat per 100g for solids or 1,5g of fat per 100ml for liquids.
  • Fat-Free: A claim that a food is fat-free may only be made where the product contains no more than 0,5g of fat per 100g or 100ml. However, claims expressed as ‘X% fat-free’ shall be prohibited.
  • Low Saturated Fat: A claim that a food is low in saturated fat may only be made if the sum of saturated fatty acids and trans-fatty acids in the product does not exceed 1,5g per 100g for solids or 0,75g/100ml for liquids and in either case the sum of saturated fatty acids and trans-fatty acids must not provide more than 10% of energy.
  • Saturated Fat-Free: A claim that a food does not contain saturated fat may only be made where the sum of saturated fat and trans-fatty acids does not exceed 0,1g of saturated fat per 100g or 100ml.
  • Low Sugar: A claim that a food is low in sugars may only be made where the product contains no more than 5g of sugars per 100g for solids or 2,5g of sugars per 100ml for liquids.
  • Sugars-Free: A claim that a food is sugars-free may only be made where the product contains no more than 0,5g of sugars per 100g or 100ml.
  • With no added sugars: A claim stating that sugars have not been added to a food may only be made where the product does not contain any added mono- or disaccharides or any other food used for its sweetening properties. If sugars are naturally present in the food, the following indication should also appear on the label: ‘Contains Naturally Occurring Sugars’.
  • Light/Lite: A claim stating that a product is ‘light’ or ‘lite’ shall follow the same conditions as those set for the term ‘reduced’; the claim may only be made where the energy value is reduced by at least 30%.
  • Source of omega-3 fatty acids: A claim that a food is a source of omega-3 fatty acids may only be made where the product contains at least 0,3g alpha-linolenic acid per 100g and per 100 kcal.
  • High in omega-3 fatty acids: A claim that a food is high in omega-3 fatty acids may only be made where the product contains at least 0,6g alpha-linolenic acid per 100g and per 100kcal.
  • High in monounsaturated fat: A claim that a food is high in monounsaturated fat may only be made where at least 45% of the fatty acids present in the product derive from monounsaturated fat under the condition that monounsaturated fat provides more than 20% of energy of the product.
  • High in polyunsaturated fat: A claim that a food is high in polyunsaturated fat may only be made where at least 45% of the fatty acids present in the product derive from polyunsaturated fat under the condition that polyunsaturated fat provides more than 20% of energy of the product.
  • High in unsaturated fat: A claim that a food is high in unsaturated fat may only be made where at least 70% of the fatty acids present in the product derive from unsaturated fat under the condition that unsaturated fat provides more than 20% of energy of the product.
  • Source of fibre: A claim that a food is a source of fibre may only be made where the product contains at least 3g of fibre per 100g or at least 1,5g of fibre per 100kcal.
  • High in fibre: A claim that a food is high in fibre may only be made where the product contains at least 6g of fibre per 100g or at least 3g of fibre per 100kcal.
  • Source in protein: A claim that a food is a source of protein may only be made where at least 12% of the energy value of the food is provided by protein.
  • High in protein: A claim that a food is high in protein may only be made where at least 20% of the energy value of the food is provided by protein.
  • Source of [NAME OF VITAMIN/S] and/or [NAME OF MINERAL/S]: A claim that a food is a source of vitamins and/or minerals may only be made where the product contains at least 15/30% of the recommended daily intake.
  • Reduced [NAME OF THE NUTRIENT]: A claim stating that the content in one or more nutrients has been reduced may only be made where the reduction in content is at least 30% compared to a similar product.
 

Summary of nutritional information

“Without” the product contains close to zero of a specific nutrient (e.g. fat-free cream cheese)
“Low” the product contains low levels of a specific nutrient, though of a quantity higher than products labelled "Without" (e.g. reduced-fat cream cheese)
“Reduced” the product contains levels of a nutrient that are less than 30% of the level found in the classic version of the product (e.g. reduced-fat cream cheese)


Further information on the legislation related to the labelling can be found on the European Commission's website under food safety.
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