Understanding food labels and its importance

The importance of labelling food products and why customers need them

The importance of clear and accurate food labelling cannot be underestimated, especially when considering your customers with allergies and food intolerances. Aligning this with the increased demand for nutritional information labelling, places food labelling at the forefront of excellent customer service. 

Consumers need to be able to easily find, as well as know how to read and understand, food labels so that they can see precisely what ingredients your products contain in order to make properly informed buying decisions, so compliance with current food label legislation is fundamental to your operation. 

Price is also a key factor - in an increasingly competitive market, there is a growing opportunity for retailers to improve their labelling to drive sales.

So, is it time to take a fresh look at labelling?

Food label requirements: accuracy, every time

Maintaining trust in your brand means being meticulous about providing clear guidance on a product’s ingredients.

For some consumers, choosing what to eat can literally be a life-or-death decision, putting great pressure on producers to get their labelling 100 per cent accurate every single time.

We know that this is a responsibility that food firms feel very deeply . EU food label legislation, as well as the introduction Natasha’s Law in the UK, shows that this is a universal issue worthy of a comprehensive and collective industry response. 

Additionally, ethical beliefs, as well as the growing popularity of vegetarianism and veganism, also create a variety of challenges to the sector.

This is clearly an area that is quite rightly highly legislated – and it stands to reason that food packaging labels will only increase in terms of the amount of extensive information which they display. Currently labels typically include use-by date, origin of product, allergens, quantity, barcode, name  of food, ingredients, nutritional value, name and address of the manufacturer, packer or seller, storage conditions and, if relevant, cooking instructions.

Food label issues

It’s vital to help the sector better understand the key issues around food labelling. To look at the problems with food labelling and identify who is responsible for food labelling, we commissioned a piece of research Putting Safety at the Top of the Food Chain, which found that, despite the growing need for detailed and accurate food labelling, problems are still occurring.

Unreliable equipment which makes the labelling process more difficult and time-consuming than it should be is a recurring issue.  

Food industry workers told us that label printing devices can be difficult to use, labels can lack adhesive power and label machines with a slow print speed can cause a real frustration, given that time is of the essence in food labelling. 

In response to the specific needs of the food sector, we have continued to develop a range of food safety solutions alongside industry experts like Nutritics and Navitas that meet increased labelling requirements , such as food nutrition labelling, food allergen labelling, food safety solutions for day dot labelling, PPDS and menu management systems.

Food labelling solutions

Through rigorous research and development, the latest Brother technology helps to improve industry processes with cutting-edge features to meet a diverse range of requirements.

All our product development is informed by our deep understanding of consumers’ requirements:

• Speed – our devices cut down on printing times, producing labels that ensure stock can be quickly and correctly stored, priced and dispatched. Our desktop TD-2120N label printer is capable of printing at up to 152.4mm of label per second.
  
  
• Ease of use – mobile and desktop food label printers mean that workers can use them anywhere on the shop floor and on the move. Their modular design means they can be configured to your exact requirements, with the option to add features like a battery base, touch display unit and more.
  
  
• Versatility – one size doesn’t fit all. Having a food labeller with label design software and the ability to integrate into existing or new food safety software solutions makes it easy to create the ideal label for a range of specific jobs.
  
  
• Clarity – easy-to-read food labels with clear text and logos are essential for customers to decide whether to buy an item or not. Our QL-800 series prints both black and red text, making information stand out and helping customers to detect any allergen advice as well as attracting them to the point of sale.

Find out more about Brother's food labelling solutions here.