3. 14
As a chef or manager, the comfort and wellbeing of your guests
is always the first priority.
Your guests are better informed about their food choices than
ever before. They want to know what’s in the meal they’re
ordering, so they can make the best selection according to their
needs. As legislation advances, you’ll want to be in compliance.
Understanding
food labels
That’s why if any of them ask you questions about the exact
ingredients in your food, it’s crucial that you, as a food expert,
know how to read the label accurately, and that you’re able
to answer any dietary queries with confidence.
This chapter summarises the information you can find on
a food label and provides a practical step plan that will help
you to analyse which ingredients and allergens are present
in your own dishes.
What information does a food label provide?
• Product name and description.
• Which nutrients, and in what quantities, are present.
• Warnings if a food contains food allergens.
• Whether the food is fresh or out of date.
• Storage, preparation or cooking advice.
• A list of product ingredients.
• Information on where the food was
produced and by which company.
4. 1515
Ingredients
list & food
additives
Food recall
information
Allergen
information
Storage
requirements
Country of origin
Date mark
A food label contains information that is required by law.
Essentially, they are there to provide us with basic information
about what is in the food we eat and how best to handle it.
Chapter 2 Understanding food labels
Name and
description of food
Nutrition labelling
5. 16
Food names and descriptions
Without exception, food labels must give a name for the food
or describe the true nature of the food. For instance it is not
acceptable just to brand a product as ‘beef stock’. Correctly,
it should be: ‘Beef flavoured stock granules’. The intention
is that product names be completely accurate, so that they
can’t misinform or deceive the consumer.
The list of ingredients
Ingredients are always listed from greatest
to smallest by how much they weigh
(including any added water) at the time
they are added to the product.
In the ingredient list you will also find
additives (E-numbers) and allergens listed.
Exceptions:
On the following products you often do not
find any ingredients:
• Fresh vegetables, fruit and potatoes.
• Water with carbon dioxide.
• Fermentation vinegar.
• Sour milk and cream.
• Alcoholic drinks.
• Food that consists of 1 ingredient,
e.g. coffee.
Characterising ingredients
If you see a percentage in brackets next to a particular ingredient,
e.g. apples (26%), this is known as the characterising ingredient. It lists
the proportion of the ingredient/component included in the product –
in this example, what percentage of your apple pie is actually apple.
Ingredients: Maltodextrin,
flavouring, corn flour,
sugar, starch, hydrolysed
vegetable protein, salt,
flavour enhancers (E631,
E627, E920), onion powder,
vegetable oil (palm fruit)
(contains antioxidant
TBHQ), colourant (E150d),
thickener (E412), garlic
powder, yeast extract.
6. 17
For further information on food ingredients & additives go to Chapter 3
Allergens
A further mandatory requirement is that
the common food allergens: crustaceans,
eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, soybeans, tree nuts,
molluscs, cereals containing gluten and
their products, are always included in the
ingredient list.
For further information on food allergens go to Chapter 4.
Food additives
Food additives are listed in the ingredient list by their
functional name and by a number* or chemical name,
e.g. flavour enhancer (E621 or monosodium glutamate).
*Please note labelling of E-numbers is not mandatory in South Africa.
Chapter 2 Understanding food labels
Good to know
Some food labels say ‘may contain
e.g. nuts’. This means that even
though nuts haven’t been included
in the food deliberately, the
manufacturer can’t be sure that
the product doesn’t accidentally
contain small amounts of them.
Allergens: contains wheat
gluten and cow’s milk.
This product is made in a
factory that also processes
soya and egg.
17
For further information on food ingredients and additives go to Chapter 3.
7. 18
Nutrition information table
The nutrition information table
provides information on the
amounts of key nutrients in
the product using quantity per
100g/ml and per serving.
To learn more about the
nutrition table go to Chapter 5.
Claims
Claims on pack can be used to promote the main benefits of a product and/
or brand. Claims can either be simple, direct statements but can also be
presented in the form of logos and symbols.
For chefs, claims on the product application such as ‘bain-marie stable’,
‘freeze thaw stable’ and ‘instant application’ can be as appealing as claims
on the product quality such as ‘organic’, ‘made with natural ingredients’,
‘made with cage free eggs’.
Also the suitability for various dietary requirements such as ‘lactose-free’,
‘gluten-free’, ‘vegetarian’, ‘without allergens’ or nutrition claims
such as ‘high in fibre’, ‘low in fat’, ‘low calorie’ and ‘low in sodium’
can be relevant information for chefs.
Chapter 6 will show you some of the most common
symbols and logos you’re likely to come into contact with.
8. 19
Storage, preparation and preservability instructions
‘Keep refrigerated’ and ‘Store in a cool, dark place’ are important
storage instructions that help you make sure food stays safe.
To ensure food is safe for consumption always follow any storage,
preparation or cooking instructions shown on the label, including
heating and defrosting times.
To learn more about different storage
instructions and date marks go to Chapter 7.
Date marks
Food labels have date marks to tell us about
the safe shelf life of foods. These date marks
help us tell how long food can be kept before
it begins to deteriorate and lose key quality
characteristics, like taste and colour.
Chapter 2 Understanding food labels
Preparation instructions
Preparation and/or dosing instructions tell you how to prepare/
dose the product. They are developed to ensure the best flavour
and quality, and the optimal use in your kitchen.
Based on the dosing instruction the nutrition data of the prepared
product is shown in the nutrition table. When you follow this
preparation instruction you know the nutrition data of your
prepared food. The yield of the prepared product is also calculated
based on the on-pack preparation instruction. This information
helps you to ensure that you use the amount of product which is
most cost efficient and delivers great taste.
9. 20
Net quantity indication
The net quantity indication of
the product is provided in ml, litre,
g or kg. This is the weight of the
product excluding the weight of
the packaging material.
Traceability information
To enable full traceability, it is a
legal requirement that food labels
show the name and business
address of the manufacturer
or supplier (packer, vendor or
importer), together with the lot
and batch number of the food
(or date coding).
20
Country of origin
If you want to understand more
about where the food you buy
comes from, you can look for the
‘Country of Origin’ information
on pack. This information describes
the country or countries where
your food was manufactured
or packaged.
10. 21
Step plan – How to write your own
ingredient and allergy declaration
Ingredient statement
1. List the ingredients you use in your
dish in their raw state in the order
of their quantity – from highest
quantity to the lowest.
2. Copy the ingredient list of every
processed ingredient.
3. Write the ingredient statement
for your dish in the order of the
ingredients listed in step 1
(highest quantity to the lowest).
This step plan helps you to write an ingredient and allergy
declaration for your dishes. This will help you to answer questions
from guests with dietary requirements (e.g. food allergies).
Chapter 2 Understanding food labels
Good to know
• Your menu may contain both processed and non-
processed ingredients. Non-processed ingredients
often don’t have an ingredient list. In this case just
include the name of the ingredient.
• Each ingredient should be separated by a comma.
• Ingredients should be listed with the product and
brand name to ensure that the statement is accurate
and the ingredient can be clearly identified.
11. 22
Allergen statement
1. Check for the ‘Common Food Allergens’ in the
ingredient statement of the dish (Chapter 4).
2. Write the allergen statement for your dish by listing
the allergens in alphabetical order.
The ingredient and allergen statement is only accurate
if the exact ingredients in exact quantities are utilized
when cooking the dish. Update your statement as needed
(e.g. change in ingredients, change in quantities used etc).
Good to know
• Most processed ingredients list allergens on
the packaging, helping you to identify which are
the allergens in your dish. If not please contact
your supplier’s helpdesk.
• Most naturally grown ingredients do not
have allergen information on pack. For these
ingredients please check if they are classified
as common food allergens.
• For detailed information on common
allergens please refer to the Dietary
requirements chapter.
• Remember that allergens can enter
a dish through cross contamination
during preparation and serving.
13. 242
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14. 243
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15. 244
Storage continued...
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