Public Servant Lifestyle

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) - the independent body responsible for protecting the public's health and consumer interests in relation to food - has published new guidance to improve food labelling for vegans and vegetarians.

The guidance - which is aimed at manufacturers, caterers and enforcement authorities - was drawn up after consultation with a range of stakeholders - incluing The Vegetarian Society and The Vegan Society. The new guide will provide strict criteria for the use of the terms 'vegetarian' and 'vegan' on food labels for the first time, promoting a new confidence in what products contain.

There are approximately 3.5 million vegetarians and 0.25 million vegans in the UK. The guidance should make it easier for these consumers to identify the products that are suitable for them.

It aims to improve consistency in the use of the terms on food labels by manufacturers and caterers and help enforcement agencies to identify misleading labelling.

Common Mistakes

The guidance should also help to prevent some common mistakes by companies such as labelling drink or food that has been derived from animal products or fish as suitable for 'vegans' and 'vegetarians'.

Dr Richard Harding, Head of the FSA’s Consumer Choice, Food Standards and Special Projects Division said: 'There has been a lot of confusion over the use of the terms 'vegetarian' and 'vegan' on food labels both in the retail and catering sectors. The root cause of the problem seems to be the lack of agreed criteria. The guidance aims to improve consistency by providing criteria for the use of these terms in food labelling."

The criteria for the use of the terms 'vegetarian' and 'vegan' in food labelling are set out in the guidance as follows:

'Vegetarian'

The term ‘vegetarian’ should not be applied to foods that are, or are made from, or with, the aid of products derived from animals that have died, have been slaughtered, or animals that die as a result of being eaten

'Animals' in this case means farmed, wild or domestic animals, including for example, livestock poultry, game, fish, shellfish, crustacea, amphibians, tunicates, echinoderms, molluscs and insects.

'Vegan'

The term 'vegan' should not be applied to foods that are, or are made from, or with, the aid of animals or animal products - including products from living animals

George Rodger, Chair of The Vegan Society said: "As more and more foods have become available in packaged form, vegans have had to become accustomed to reading long lists of ingredients to see whether or not a product is suitable for them.

"The new food-labelling guidance from the Food Standards Agency will make things so much easier. If a product is labelled ‘suitable for vegans’ in accordance with this guidance, they need look no further."

Tina Fox, Chief Executive of The Vegetarian Society added: "We all want to know what we are eating and misleading labelling makes it particularly difficult for Britain's three million-plus vegetarians and vegans to make informed choices.

"In the continuing absence of a definition of these terms in law, The Vegetarian Society sincerely hopes that the FSA's guidance is widely taken up by manufacturers, caterers, retailers and local enforcement authorities"

Follow this link to access the complete guidance document from the FSA on vegan and vegetarian food labelling.

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More information available in In Your Kitchen, Supermarkets, To Your Door, Vegetarian