Recognize food labeling helps diet safety

Recently, the Ministry of Health announced four new national standards for food safety, including "Standards for the Use of Food Additives" and "General Rules for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods." Among them, the new standard stipulates that all food additives must be clearly marked on food labels for people concerned about food labeling issues.

Experts remind consumers that consumers are often confused by the dazzling food labels on food packaging. Learning to interpret food labels correctly can create a barrier to your own food safety.

Experts pointed out that non-standard food labels usually have the following categories: Exquisitely packaged food sites, factory names are vague, and no production date or shelf life is specified; bulk foodstuffs are disintegrated into small packages and small packages are not labeled. Origin, production date and shelf life; expired food packaging is sold as scattered food after being dismantled or sold to remote villages; shelf life flexible labeling makes it difficult for consumers to grasp; food labels are sold together with food by “concessions” from manufacturers; Or label the production date by self-adhesive paper.

The authenticity identification methods for food labels mainly include the following aspects:

The content of food labels should be complete and true. The contents that must be marked on the label include: food name, ingredient list, net content and solid content; name and address of manufacturer and distributor; date mark and storage guide; quality grade and product standard number (excluding imported packaged food) . The contents of food labels should be easy for consumers to identify and read when purchasing foods. They should not be vague or even fall off, and must not be separated from the packaging containers.

The content of food labels should be scientifically regulated. The language, text, graphics, and symbols on food labels must be accurate and scientific and meet the requirements of the General Principles of Labelling for Prepackaged Foods. The height of the words and numbers marked on the label shall not be less than 1.8 mm; the Chinese characters of the food label must be in conformity with the standard Chinese characters; Chinese pinyin may be used simultaneously, or the minority language or foreign language may be used at the same time, but it must have strict correspondence with the Chinese characters. Foreign languages ​​must not be larger than the corresponding Chinese characters.

Special food labeling requirements. Labels for foods for special dietary supplements should not have propaganda and therapeutic effects suggesting that the illness can be cured, and false propaganda such as “rejuvenation”, “longevity” and “anti-cancer treatment” may not be conducted. Foods that have been treated with ionizing radiation or ionized energy must be marked with “irradiated food” near the name of the food.

Food labels must have the QS logo. Rice, noodles, oil, and other 28 types of food products must be manufactured by QS Food Safety Certification from January 1, 2008. The labels of these products must bear the QS mark.