According to Article 9 (1) (l) in connection with Article 55 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 (FIC), a nutrition declaration has been mandatory on pre-packaged foods since 13.12.2016. Exempt from the mandatory nutrition declaration are foods listed in Annex V (e.g. tea, spices) of the FIC as well as beverages with an alcohol content >1.2 % vol. 
If a nutrition declaration is voluntarily provided, it must comply with the requirements of the FIC. Consideration must also be given to requirements for specific foods such as mineral water, food supplements, or dietary foods.

Yes, the obligation to indicate allergens as per Annex II of Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 (FIC) also applies to non-prepacked foods. The German legislator has regulated additional national provisions for allergen labeling of non-prepacked foods with the Preliminary Food Information Supplementary Ordinance (VorlLMIEV).

The EU Commission has published 36 questions and answers regarding the aforementioned regulation. These provide a good overview of interesting issues.

Further information can be found at: ec.europa.eu

These tests provide a statement about whether Listeria monocytogenes can multiply in the food. This statement is very important for manufacturers of ready-to-eat, perishable foods for two reasons:

1. As part of their duty of care, every food business operator must ensure that their products do not pose a health risk until the end of shelf life. Because Listeria monocytogenes is widely distributed in the environment, contamination with these bacteria cannot be completely ruled out in the production of many foods. It is therefore important to know whether Listeria monocytogenes can multiply in these foods during their shelf life. If the growth of Listeria monocytogenes is favored, the hygiene and safety levels during production must be even higher.
2. The Regulation (EC) 2073/2005 on microbiological criteria requires in Annex I, Chapter 1 that certain food safety criteria for Listeria monocytogenes are met. Ready-to-eat foods that favor the multiplication of Listeria monocytogenes must not show Listeria monocytogenes presence in 5 samples of a batch, each 25g, at the production level (Criterion 1.2 in Chapter 1 of Annex I). If this is not complied with or this food safety criterion is exceeded, and the ready-to-eat food is already on the market, a public recall is threatened.

However, if ready-to-eat food does NOT favor the multiplication of Listeria monocytogenes, it is sufficient according to this regulation that the food safety criterion of 100 CFU/g is not exceeded in 5 sub-samples of the batch at the production level.

For ready-to-eat foods with a pH value of ≤ 4.4 or an aw value of ≤ 0.92, the food safety criterion of 100 CFU/g applies directly at the production level. The same applies if the ready-to-eat products have a pH of ≤ 5.0 and an aw of ≤ 0.94 or have a shelf life of less than 5 days. This is noted in the footnotes of Chapter 1 of Annex I of Regulation (EC) 2073/2005, as it is assumed in these cases that Listeria monocytogenes does not grow under these conditions, or the food safety criterion of 100 CFU/g for Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods at the trading level is not exceeded.

The food business operator must provide this proof of the growth potential of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods to the authority. Otherwise, in case of doubt, the authority must assume that the stricter criteria for Listeria monocytogenes ("not detectable in 25g in each of 5 sub-samples of the batch") must be complied with for the products.

To provide this proof to the authority, contamination or challenge tests are required for many perishable foods unless the ready-to-eat food meets the above-mentioned chemical-physical properties or has a shelf life of less than 5 days.

The best-before date of a food product is defined in Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 (Food Information Regulation, FIR) as the date until which the food retains its specific properties under proper storage conditions. The manufacturer thus guarantees that the food will have the same quality as when it leaves the company up to this point.

According to FIR, this is a mandatory indication on the labeling of prepackaged food. Annex X of the FIR specifies how the best-before date is to be stated:

1. The date consists of the day, month, and, where applicable, the year in this order. If the shelf life is less than three months, indicating the day and month suffices. For foods with a shelf life of three to eighteen months, indicating the month and year is sufficient. Foods with a shelf life of more than eighteen months only need to be marked with the year.
2. The date must be preceded by "best before..." if the day is stated, and "best before end..." in all other cases.
3. A note indicating where to find the date on the label is possible (e.g., "best before: see lid").
4. The best-before date must be supplemented by the storage conditions if these are necessary to guarantee the stated shelf life.

Exemptions from the requirement to provide a best-before date are granted for the following foods:

• untreated fresh fruits and vegetables, including potatoes but not sprouts of seeds and similar products
• wine, liqueur wines, sparkling wines, aromatized wines, and similar products from fruits other than grapes, as well as beverages obtained from wine grapes or grape must
• beverages with an alcohol content of 10 or more percent by volume
• bakery products that are consumed within 24 hours of manufacture
• vinegar
• table salt
• sugar and sugar confectionery
• chewing gum

If you have any questions, our customer advisors are happy to assist you.

A technical guideline (EURL Lm TECHNICAL GUIDANCE DOCUMENT for conducting shelf-life studies on Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods) was published by the EU Commission, which describes the procedure for conducting challenge tests with Listeria monocytogenes.

Some important aspects of it:

• The conditions during the shelf life must be considered (including foreseeable changes compared to the information on the packaging, such as refrigerator temperatures in households).
• A mixture of at least 2 strains of Listeria monocytogenes should be used for contamination. Not only laboratory strains should be used, but also strains isolated from similar foods or even from the respective food company.
• The food should be contaminated at the beginning of the challenge test with a germ concentration of about 100 CFU/g.
• DIN EN ISO 20976-1:2019-09 (https://www.beuth.de/de/norm/din-en-iso-20976-1/297296778)

The abbreviation stands for "Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed".

It is an EU-wide rapid alert system for food, feed, and consumer goods of the European Commission. The RASFF was launched in 1979 and enables the efficient exchange of information and notifications between its members (including 28 EU member states and Switzerland).

Various forms of notifications are distinguished.

• Alert notifications contain information that requires immediate action, as this product poses a serious risk to human health and is already on the market.
• Information notifications include information where no immediate action is required, but their dissemination is of interest to the member states.
• Notifications on border rejections and news of general interest

The abbreviation stands for "Arbeitskreis Lebensmittelchemischer Sachverständiger der Länder und des Bundesamtes für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit," which translates to "Working Group of Food Chemistry Experts of the States and the Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety."

The working group consists of representatives from state testing facilities as well as the Bundeswehr (German Federal Armed Forces).

Representatives from the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) or the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) are consulted as guests.

Furthermore, the ALS works closely with the ALTS to achieve harmonizing results on joint issues.

The main task essentially involves examining and assessing products subject to the German Food and Feed Code.

The responsibilities of the ALS include, among other things, topics such as the composition and labeling of food, drinking water, or residues and contaminants, as well as the corresponding food analysis.

Source: www.bvl.bund.de

The ALTS is a panel of experts at the federal-state level. The abbreviation stands for “Working Group of Experts on Food Hygiene and Food of Animal Origin.”

The panel consists of representatives from official testing institutions, the military, counter-sample experts, and employees of federal research institutions. The main task is essentially to exchange experiences and opinions, as well as to aim for harmonization in the assessment of test results. The areas of responsibility for the ALTS include topics such as the composition of food of animal origin, food hygiene and microbiology, as well as food analysis.

The "primary ingredient" of a food product is the ingredient that makes up more than 50% of the food product or the one that is usually associated by the consumer with the name of the food product and for which a percentage indication is required in most cases.

This definition is found in Article 2 (2q) of Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 (Food Information Regulation - FIR).

According to current understanding, examples of primary ingredients in certain food products include:

• Grain flour in baked goods
• Durum wheat semolina in pasta
• Fruits in fruit yogurt
• Pork in cooked ham