1990L0496 — EN — 09.01.2004 — 002.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of24September1990
onnutritionlabelling forfoodstuffs
(90/496/EEC)
(OJ L 276, 6.10.1990, p. 40)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 29 September 2003L 284 1 31.10.2003
►M2Commission Directive 2003/120/EC of 5 December 2003 L 333 51 20.12.2003
▼B
COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of24September1990
onnutritionlabelling forfoodstuffs
(90/496/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
In cooperation with the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (3),
Whereas it is important that measures should be adopted with a view to
the progressive establishment of the internal market by 31 December1992; whereas the internal market is an area without internal frontiersin which freedom of movement is ensured for goods, persons, servicesand capital;
Whereas there is growing public interest in the relationship between
diet and health and in the choice of an appropriate diet to suit indivi-
dual needs;
Whereas the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of
the Member States meeting within the Council, in their resolution of 7July 1986 on the European programme against cancer, considered theimprovement of nutrition to be a priority;
Whereas knowledge of the basic principles of nutrition and appropriate
nutrition labelling of foodstuffs would contribute significantly towardsenabling the consumer to make this choice;
Whereas the provision of nutrition labelling should assist action in the
area of nutrition education for the public;
Whereas, for the benefit of the consumer on the one hand, and to avoid
any possible technical barriers to trade on the other, nutrition labelling
should be presented in a standardized form applying throughout the
Community;
Whereas foodstuffs bearing nutrition labelling should conform to the
rules laid down in this Directive;
Whereas all other forms of nutrition labelling should be prohibited but
foodstuffs bearing no nutrition labelling should be able to circulatefreely;
Whereas, to appeal to the average consumer and to serve the purpose
for which it is introduced, and given the current low level of knowl-
edge on the subject of nutrition, the information provided should besimple and easily understood;
Whereas application of this Directive for a certain length of time will
enable valuable experience on the subject to be gained and consumerreaction to the way in which nutrition information is presented to be
evaluated thus enabling the Commission to review the rules and
propose any appropriate amendments;
Whereas in order to encourage interested parties, especially small and
medium-sized undertakings, to provide nutrition labelling for as manyproducts as possible, measures to make information more complete andmore balanced should be introduced gradually;1990L0496 — EN — 09.01.2004 — 002.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 282, 5. 11. 1988, p. 8 and
OJ No C 296, 24. 11. 1989, p. 3.
(2) OJ No C 158, 26. 6. 1989, p. 250 and
OJ No C 175, 16. 7. 1990, p. 76.
(3) OJ No C 159, 26. 6. 1989, p. 41.
▼B
Whereas the rules laid down in this Directive should also take into
account the Codex Altimentarius guidelines on nutrition labelling;
Whereas general labelling provisions and definitions are contained in
Council Directive 79/112/EEC of 18 December 1978 on the approxi-mation of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling,presentation and advertising of foodstuffs for sale to the ultimate
consumer (
1), as last amended by Directive 89/395/EEC (2); whereas
this Directive can therefore be confined to those provisions pertainingto nutrition labelling,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
1. This Directive concerns nutrition labelling of foodstuffs to be
delivered as such to the ultimate consumer. It shall also apply to food-
stuffs intended for supply to restaurants, hospitals, canteens and othersimilar mass caterers (hereinafter referred to as ‘mass caterers’).
2. This Directive shall not apply to:
— natural mineral waters or other waters intended for human
consumption,
— diet integrators/food supplements.
3. This Directive shall apply without prejudice to the labelling
provisions of Council Directive 89/398/EEC of 3 May 1989 on theapproximation of the laws of the Member States relating to foodstuffsintended for particular nutritional uses (
3) and specific Directives as
referred to in Article 4 of that Directive.
4. For the purposes of this Directive:
(a) ‘nutrition labelling’ means any information appearing on labelling
and relating to:
(i) energy value;
(ii) the following nutrients:
— protein,
— carbohydrate,— fat,
— fibre,
— sodium,— vitamins and minerals listed in the Annex and present in
significant amounts as defined in that Annex.
Changes to the list of vitamins, minerals and their recommended
daily allowances shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure
laid down in Article 10;
(b) ‘nutrition claim’ means any representation and any advertising
message which states, suggests or implies that a foodstuff has parti-cular nutrition properties due to the energy (calorific value) it
— provides,
— provides at a reduced or increased rate or
— does not provide,
and/or due to the nutrients it— contains,
— contains in reduced or increased proportions or— does not contain.
A reference to qualities or quantities of a nutrient does not consti-
tute a nutrition claim in so far as it is required by legislation.1990L0496 — EN — 09.01.2004 — 002.001 — 3
(1) OJ No L 33, 8. 2. 1979, p. 1.
(2) OJ No L 186, 30. 6. 1989, p. 17.
(3) OJ No L 186, 30. 6. 1989, p. 27.
▼B
In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 10, it may
be decided in certain cases whether the conditions described inthis point are satisfied;
(c) ‘protein’ means the protein content calculated using the formula:
protein = total Kjeldahl nitrogen × 6,25;
(d) ‘carbohydrate’ means any carbohydrate which is metabolized in
man, and includes polyols;
(e) ‘sugars’ means all monosaccharides and disaccharides present in
food, but excludes polyols;
(f) ‘fat’ means total lipids, and includes phospholipids;
(g) ‘saturates’ means fatty acids without double bond;(h) ‘mono-unsaturates’ means fatty acids with one cisdouble bond;
(i) ‘polyunsaturates’ means fatty acids with cis, cis-methylene inter-
rupted double bonds;
(j) ‘fibre’ means the material to be defined in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 10 and measured by the method of
analysis to be determined in accordance with that procedure;
(k) ‘average value’ means the value which best represents the amount
of the nutrient which a given food contains, and reflects allowancesfor seasonal variability, patterns of consumption and other factorswhich may cause the actual value to vary.
Article 2
1. Subject to paragraph 2, nutrition labelling shall be optional.2. Where a nutrition claim appears on labelling, in presentation or in
advertising, with the exclusion of generic advertising, nutrition label-ling shall be compulsory.
Article 3
The only nutrition claims permitted shall be those relating to energy, to
the nutrients listed in Article 1 (4) (a) (ii) and to substances which
belong to or which are components of a category of those nutrients.
Provisions restricting or prohibiting nutrition claims within the meaningof this Article may be adopted by the procedure laid down in Article10.
Article 4
1. Where nutrition labelling is provided, the information to be given
shall consist of either group1 or group2 in the following order:
Group 1
(a) energy value;
(b) the amounts of protein, carbohydrate and fat.Group 2
(a) energy value;
(b) the amounts of protein, carbohydrate, sugars, fat, saturates, fibre
and sodium.
2. Where a nutrition claim is made for sugars, saturates, fibre or
sodium, the information to be given shall consist of group2.
3. Nutrition labelling may also include the amounts of one or more
of the following:
— starch,
— polyols,
— mono-unsaturates,
— polyunsaturates,
— cholesterol,
— any of the minerals or vitamins listed in the Annex and present in
significant amounts as defined in that Annex.1990L0496 — EN — 09.01.2004 — 002.001 — 4
▼B
4. The declaration of substances which belong to or are components
of one of the categories of nutrients referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3shall be compulsory where a nutrition claim is made.
In addition, where the amount of polyunsaturates and/or mono-unsatu-
rates and/or the cholesterol rate is given, the amount of saturates shallalso be given, the declaration of the latter not constituting — in thiscase — a nutrition claim within the meaning of paragraph 2.
Article 5
1. The energy value to be declared shall be calculated using the
following conversion factors:
— carbohydrate (except polyols) 4 kcal/g —17 kJ/g
— polyols 2,4 kcal/g —10 kJ/g— protein 4 kcal/g —17 kJ/g— fat 9 kcal/g —37 kJ/g— alcohol (ethanol) 7 kcal/g —29 kJ/g— organic acid 3 kcal/g — 13 kJ/g
— salatrims 6 kcal/g — 25kJ/g
2. Provisions concerning the following points shall be adopted in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 10:
— amendments to the conversion factors mentioned in paragraph 1,
— the addition to the list in paragraph 1 of substances which belong to
or are components of one of the categories of nutrients referred toin that paragraph and their conversion factors in order to calculate
more precisely the energy value of foodstuffs.
Article 6
1. The declaration of the energy value and of the proportion of
nutrients or their components shall be numerical. The units to be usedare the following:
— energy — kJ and kcal
— protein
grams (g)/C148/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C149/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C150— carbohydrate
— fat— fibre— sodium— cholesterol milligrams (mg)— vitamins and minerals the units specified in the
Annex
2. Information shall be expressed per 100 g or per 100 ml. In addi-
tion, this information may be given per serving as quantified on thelabel or per portion, provided that the number of portions contained inthe package is stated.
3. In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 10 it may
be decided that the information in paragraphs 1 and 2 may also begiven in graphical form according to formats to be determined.
4. The amounts mentioned shall be those of the food as sold. Where
appropriate, this information may relate to the foodstuff after prepara-tion, provided that sufficiently detailed preparation instructions are1990L0496 — EN — 09.01.2004 — 002.001 — 5
▼M2
▼B
▼B
given and the information relates to the food as prepared for consump-
tion.
5. (a) Information on vitamins and minerals must also be expressed as
a percentage of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) givenin the Annex for the amounts as specified in paragraph 2.
(b) The percentage of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for
vitamins and minerals may also be given in graphical form.Rules for implementing this subparagraph may be adopted inaccordance with the procedure laid down in Article 10.
6. Where sugars and/or polyols and/or starch are declared, this
declaration shall immediately follow the declaration of the carbohy-
drate content in the following manner:
—carbohydrate g
of which:
— sugars g
— polyols g
— starch g
7. Where the amount and/or type of fatty acid and/or the cholesterol
rate is declared, this declaration shall immediately follow the declara-
tion of total fats in the following manner:
—fat g
of which:
— saturates g
— mono-unsaturates g
— polyunsaturates g
— cholesterol mg
8. The declared values shall, according to the individual case, be
average values based on:
(a) the manufacturer's analysis of the food;
(b) a calculation from the known or actual average values of the ingre-
dients used;
(c) a calculation from generally established and accepted data.
The rules for implementing the first paragraph with regard in particular
to the differences between the declared values and those established in
the course of official checks shall be decided upon in accordance withthe procedure laid down in Article 10.
Article 7
1. The information covered by this Directive must be presented
together in one place in tabular form, with the numbers aligned if space
permits. Where space does not permit, the information shall be
presented in linear form.
It shall be printed in legible and indelible characters in a conspicuous
place.
2. Member States shall ensure that the information covered by this
Directive appears in a language easily understood by purchasers, unlessother measures have been taken to ensure that the purchaser isinformed. This provision shall not prevent such information from beingindicated in more than one language.
3. Member States shall refrain from laying down requirements more
detailed than those already contained in this Directive concerning nutri-tion labelling.
Article 8
In the case of non-prepackaged foodstuffs put up for sale to the ulti-
mate consumer or to mass caterers and foodstuffs packed at the point1990L0496 — EN — 09.01.2004 — 002.001 — 6
▼B
of sale at the request of the purchaser or prepackaged with a view to
immediate sale, the extent of the information referred to in Article 4and the manner of its communication may be determined by national
provisions until the eventual adoption of Community measures in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 10.
Article 9
Any measures likely to have an effect on public health shall be adopted
after consultation of the Scientific Committee for Food set upby Deci-sion 74/234/EEC (
1).
Article 10
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Standing Committee on
the Food Chain and Animal Health, set upby Article 58 of Regulation(EC) No 178/2002 (
2), hereinafter referred to as ‘the Committee’.
2. Where reference is made to this Article, Articles 5 and 7 of Deci-
sion 1999/468/EC (3) shall apply, having regard to the provisions of
Article 8 thereof.
The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be
set at three months.
3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.
Article 11
1. Member States shall take the measures necessary to comply with
this Directive and shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.Those measures shall be applied in such a way as to:
— permit trade in products complying with this Directive by 1 April
1992,
— prohibit trade in products which do not comply with this Directive
with effect from 1 October 1993.
2. Until… (five years following notification of this Directive), the
declaration in nutrition labelling, either on a voluntary basis orfollowing a nutrition claim, of one or more of the following nutrients;
sugars, saturates, fibre, sodium, shall not trigger the obligation set out
in Article 4 (1) and (2) to declare all these nutrients.
3. The Commission shall, by… (eight years after notification of this
Directive), submit to the European Parliament and the Council a reporton the application of this Directive. At the same time, it shall submit tothe Council any appropriate proposals for amendment.
Article 12
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1990L0496 — EN — 09.01.2004 — 002.001 — 7
(1) OJ No L 136, 20. 5. 1974, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1.
(3) Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures
for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (OJ
L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23).▼M1
▼B
▼B
ANNEX
Vitaminsandmineralswhichmaybedeclaredandtheirrecommendeddailyallowances(RDAs)
Vitamin A µg 800
Vitamin D µg 5
Vitamin E mg 10Vitamin C mg 60Thiamin mg 1,4Riboflavin mg 1,6Niacin mg 18Vitamin B6 mg 2Folacin µg 200Vitamin B12 µg 1
Biotin mg 0,15
Pantothenic acid mg 6Calcium mg 800Phosphorus mg 800Iron mg 14Magnesium mg 300Zinc mg 15Iodine µg 150
As a rule, 15 % of the recommended allowance specified in the Annex supplied by 100 g or 100 ml or
per package if the package contains only a single portion should be taken into consideration in
deciding what constitutes a significant amount.1990L0496 — EN — 09.01.2004 — 002.001 — 8