No C 282/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 5. 11. 88 
Proposal for a Council Directive (EEC) on nutrition labelling rules for foodstuffs intended for 
sale to the ultimate consumer 
COM(88) 489 final — SYN 155 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 7 October 1988) 
(88/C 282/07) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 100 (a) 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
In cooperation with the European Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas it is important that measures should be adopted 
with a view to the progressive establishment of the 
internal market by 31 December 1992; whereas the 
internal market will embrace an area without internal 
frontiers in which freedom of movement is ensures for 
goods, persons, services and capital; 
Whereas there is growing public interest in the 
relationship between diet and health and the choice of an 
appropriate diet to suit individual needs; 
Whereas .the Council and the representatives of the 
governments of the Member States meeting within the 
Council, in their resolution of 7 July 1986 (') on the 
European Programme against cancer, retained the 
improvement of nutrition as a priority; 
Whereas the knowledge of basic principles of nutrition 
and appropriate nutrition labelling of foodstuffs would 
go a long way in enabling the consumer to make this 
choice; 
Whereas the provision of. nutrition labelling should 
stimulate more 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 format applying Community 
wide; 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 circulate freely; 
Whereas, to appeal to the average consumer and to serve 
the purpose for which it is introduced, and given the 
currently-estimated low level of knowledge on the 
subject of nutrition, the information provided should be 
simple and easily understood; 
Whereas the rules laid down in this Directive should also 
take into account the Codex Alimentarius Guidelines on 
Nutrition Labelling; 
Whereas general labelling provisions and definitions are 
contained in Council Directive 79/112/EEC of 18 
December 1978 on the approximation of the laws of the 
Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and 
advertising of foodstuffs for sale to the ultimate 
consumer (2), and therefore need not be repeated; 
whereas the present Directive can therefore be confined 
to those provisions pertaining to nutrition labelling, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
Article 1 
1. This Directive concerns nutrition labelling of food­
stuffs to be delivered as such to the ultimate consumer. It 
shall also apply to foodstuffs intended for supply to 
restaurants, hospitals, canteens and similar mass caterers. 
2. For the purposes of this Directive: 
(a) 'Nutrition labelling' shall mean any information 
appearing in labelling and relating to: 
(i) energy; 
(ii) nutrients: protein, carbohydrate, fat, dietary 
fibre, vitamins and minerals. 
(') OJ No C 184, 23. 7. 1986, p. 19. (2) OJ No L 33, 8. 2. 1979, p. 1. 
5. 11. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 282/11 
(b) 'Nutrition claim'shall mean any representation which 
states, suggests or implies that a food has particular 
properties as to the energy it provides and/or the 
nutrient it contains. However, quantitative or quali­
tative declaration of certain nutrients, if required by 
legislation, do not constitute a nutrition claim. 
(c) 'Protein' shall mean the protein content calculated 
using the formula: 
Protein = Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen x 6,25. 
However, a factor of 6,38 may be used if all the 
protein present is milk protein. 
(d) 'Carbohydrate' shall mean any carbohydrate which is 
metabolized in man and includes sugar alcohols. 
(e) 'Sugars' means all monosaccharides and disaccharides 
present in food but excludes sugar alcohols. 
(f) 'Fat' shall mean total lipids and shall include phos­
pholipids. 
(g) 'Saturates' shall mean fatty acids, i.e. fatty acids 
without double bond. 
(h) 'Monounsaturates' shall mean fatty acids with one cis 
double bond. 
(i) 'Polyunsaturates' shall mean fatty acids with cis, 
cis-methylene interrupted double bonds. 
(j) 'Dietary fibre' shall mean the material measured by 
the method of analysis to be determined in 
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 
6. 
(k) 'Average value' shall mean the value of a nutrient 
which best represents the amount of the nutrient 
which a given food contains, and reflects allowances 
for seasonal variability, patterns of consumption and 
other factors which may cause the actual value to 
vary. 
Article 2 
1. Nutrition labelling shall be compulsory when a 
nutrition claim is made in labelling or advertising. Article 3 
1. When nutrition labelling is provided it shall consist 
of the following, in this order: 
(a) the energy value; 
(b) the amounts of protein, carbohydrate, sugars, fat, 
dietary fibre and sodium. 
2. Nutrition labelling may also include the amounts of 
one or more of the following: 
— starch; 
— sugar alcohols; 
— saturates; 
— monounsaturates; 
— polyunsaturates; 
— any of the vitamins or minerals listed in the Annex 
and present in significant amounts as defined in that 
Annex. 
3. The declaration of a nutrient listed in paragraph 2 
for which a nutrition claim is made shall be compulsory. 
In addition, when the amount of polyunsaturates and/or 
monounsaturates is given, the amount of saturates shall 
also be given. 
Article 4 
The energy value to be declared shall be calculated using 
the following conversion factors: 
Carbohydrates 
(except sugar alcoh< 
Sugar alcohols: 
Protein : 
Fat: 
Alcohol (ethanol): 
Organic Acid: DIS): 4 kcal/g—17 kj/g, 
2,4 kcal/g— 10 kj/g, 
4 kcal/g—17 kj/g, 
9 kcal/g —37 kj/g, 
7 kcal/g —29 kj/g, 
3 kcal/g—13 kj/g. 
Article 5 
1. The declaration of the energy value and of the 
nutrient content shall be numerical. The units to be used 
are the following: 
g — Energy: kj and kcal 
— Protein 
— Carbohydrate 
— Fat 
— Dietary fibre 
— Sodium 
2. Nutrition labelling shall be optional in all other 
cases. — vitamins and minerals: the units specified in the 
Annex 
No C 282/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 5. 11. 88 
2. Information shall be expressed per 100 g or per 100 
ml, or per package where the package contains only a 
single portion of less than 100 g. In addition, this infor­
mation may be given per serving as quantified on the 
label or per portion, provided that the number of 
portions contained in the package is stated. 
3. The amounts mentioned shall be those of the food 
as sold. Where appropriate, information on a prepared 
basis may be given in addition, providing sufficiently 
detailed specified preparation instructions are given and 
the information relates to the foods as prepared for 
consumption. 
4. Information on vitamins and minerals may in 
addition be epxressed as a percentage of the recom­
mended daily allowance (RDA) given in the Annex per 
amounts as specified above. 
5. Where starch and/or sugar alcohols is declared, 
this declaration shall follow immediately the declaration 
of the carbohydrate and sugars content in the following 
format, as the case may be: 
— Carbohydrate g, 
of which: 
— Sugars g 
— Polyols g 
— Starch g 
6. Where the amount and/or type of fatty acids is 
declared, this declaration shall follow immediately the 
declaration of the total fat in the following format, as 
the case may be: 
— Fat g, 
of which: 
— Saturates g 
— Monounsaturates g 
— Polyunsaturates g 
7. The figures declared shall be derived average values 
based on, as the case may be: 
(a) the manufacturer's analysis of the food; (b) calculation from knowledge of the actual or average 
values of the ingredients used; 
(c) calculations from generally acceptable data. 
8. The information covered by this Directive shall 
appear all together in one place in tabular form, if space 
permits, with the numbers aligned. Where space does not 
permit, the linear form shall be used. 
Article 6 
Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to be 
followed, the Representative of the Commission shall 
submit to the Standing Committee a draft of the 
measures to be taken. The Committee shall deliver its 
opinion on the draft within a time limit which the 
Chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the 
matter if necessary by taking a vote. 
The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in 
addition, each Member States shall have the right to ask 
to have its position recorded in the minutes. 
The Commission shall take the utmost account of the 
opinion delivered by the Committee. It shall inform the 
Committee of the manner in which its opinion has been 
taken into account. 
Article 7 
Member States shall take the necessary measures to 
comply with this Directive. They 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 . . . (l); 
— prohibit trade in products which do not comply with 
this Directive, with effect from . . . (2). 
Article 8 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 
(') 18 months after the notification. 
(2) 36 months after the notification. 
5. 11. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 282/13 
ANNEX 
Vitamins and minerals which may be declared and their recommended daily allowances (RDAs) 
Vitamin A, ug 
Vitamin D, jig 
Vitamin E, ug 
Vitamin C, ug 
Thiamin, mg 
Riboflavin, mg 
Niacin, mg 
Vitamin B 6, mg 
Folacin, ug 000 
5 
10 
60 
1,4 
1,6 
18 
2 
400 Vitamin B 12, ug 
Biotin, mg 
Pantothenic acid, mg 
Calcium, mg 
Phosphorus, mg 
Iron, mg 
Magnesium, mg 
Zinc, mg 
Iodine, ug 3 
0,15 
6 
800 
800 
12 
300 
15 
150 
As a rule, 5 % of the recommended intake specified in this Annex supplied by 100 g or 100 ml or per 
package if the package contains only a single portion of less than 100 g should be taken into consideration 
in deciding what constitutes a significant amount.