Basics · FIC Regulation
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 explained — the FIC Regulation
Almost every food label in the EU goes back to one piece of law: Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers — the FIC Regulation. It settles what has to be on the pack, how small the type may be, and how allergens and nutrition are declared. This overview explains it from the ground up, with the exact articles so you can look anything up yourself.
What is the FIC Regulation?
It is an EU Regulation, so it applies directly in every Member State without first being turned into national law. Its aim: a high level of consumer protection in food information, and one single market. Before it, labelling was spread across several directives; the Regulation replaced, among others, the labelling Directive 2000/13/EC and the nutrition labelling Directive 90/496/EEC and brought them into one text.
It covers practically all food supplied to final consumers — prepacked on the shelf just as much as loose over the counter or in a restaurant. Member States add national rules on top; in Germany that is above all the LMIDV for food sold loose. What ends up on the label in total — mandatory and voluntary — is in food labelling.
Since when has it applied?
| Date | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 13 December 2011 | Entry into force |
| 13 December 2014 | Binding application — from here food had to comply |
| 13 December 2016 | The nutrition declaration (Article 9(1)(l)) becomes mandatory |
Who does it apply to — and who is responsible?
It addresses the food business operator. Under Article 8, the operator responsible for the food information is the one under whose name or business name the food is marketed or, if that operator is not established in the Union, the importer. Operators who merely supply food must not sell food they know, or presume, does not comply.
The distinction between prepacked and not prepacked matters: prepacked food needs the full label with every mandatory particular; for food sold loose (a bakery counter, a restaurant, a market), Article 44 reduces the set — but allergen information stays mandatory, and the means are set nationally, in Germany by § 4 LMIDV.
The mandatory particulars of Article 9
The heart of the Regulation is Article 9(1). It lists the twelve mandatory particulars (points a to l) for prepacked food:
| Art. 9(1) | Mandatory particular |
|---|---|
| a | The name of the food |
| b | The list of ingredients |
| c | Allergens (substances from Annex II) |
| d | The quantity of certain ingredients (QUID) |
| e | The net quantity |
| f | The date of minimum durability or the ‘use by’ date |
| g | Special storage or use conditions |
| h | The name or business name and address of the food business operator |
| i | The country of origin or place of provenance, where provided for |
| j | Instructions for use, where it would be difficult to use the food without them |
| k | The actual alcoholic strength (beverages above 1.2 % by volume) |
| l | The nutrition declaration |
Two of these are big enough to have rules of their own — the allergens and the nutrition declaration. How to turn the whole set into a finished label is in how to create a food label.
The 14 allergens (Annex II)
Annex II lists the 14 allergens that must be declared — from cereals containing gluten through milk, eggs and nuts to celery, mustard, sesame, lupin and sulphur dioxide. Where they are in a prepacked product, the Annex II name has to be emphasised in the list of ingredients “through a typeset that clearly distinguishes it from the rest” (Article 21) — usually bold.
The full list with examples is in the 14 allergens. What it looks like in practice is in restaurants and bakeries.
The nutrition declaration (Article 30)
Since December 2016 the nutrition table is mandatory. Article 30(1) prescribes seven items in a fixed order — the “big seven”:
- Energy value (in kJ and kcal — convert)
- Fat
- of which saturates
- Carbohydrate
- of which sugars
- Protein
- Salt
The values are given per 100 g or 100 ml (Article 32). Our free nutrition calculator works them out from a recipe.
Minimum font size (Article 13)
Article 13(2) sets a floor: the mandatory particulars have to be printed “in characters using a font size where the x-height, as defined in Annex IV, is equal to or greater than 1,2 mm”. For packaging “the largest surface of which has an area of less than 80 cm²”, Article 13(3) lowers that to 0,9 mm.
Exceptions and reliefs
| Largest surface | Relief | Where |
|---|---|---|
| < 25 cm² | No nutrition declaration required | Art. 16(3) + Annex V no. 18 |
| < 10 cm² | Only four particulars: name, allergens, net quantity, date | Art. 16(2) |
Beyond that, Annex V exempts certain foods from the nutrition declaration altogether — unprocessed single-ingredient products, herbs, spices, salt, water and beverages containing more than 1.2 % alcohol by volume, among others.
What happens if you get it wrong?
The Regulation itself sets no penalties — Article 's enforcement is left to the Member States. In Germany, labelling breaches are dealt with through the LFGB and the LMIDV: depending on the facts, anything from a formal objection through an administrative offence with a fine to, in serious cases such as misleading information or a health risk, a criminal offence. The food business operator is and remains responsible (Article 8).
From the law to the label
The Regulation reads heavily, but in practice it comes down to a clear sequence: record the recipe → calculate the nutrition values → derive the allergens from the ingredients → assemble the mandatory particulars → put them legibly on the label. That is what Foodlex is for.
This article is general information and does not replace legal advice. What counts is the wording of the regulation as it applies at the time (Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011). The English text of the Regulation is quoted from the consolidated version of 1 January 2018 on EUR-Lex.