- average value
means the value 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.
- carbohydrate
means any carbohydrate which is metabolised by humans, and includes polyols;
- compound ingredient
means an ingredient that is itself the product of more than one ingredient;
- customary name
means a name which is accepted as the name of the food by consumers in the Member State in which that food is sold, without that name needing further explanation;
- date of minimum durability of a food
means the date until which the food retains its specific properties when properly stored;
- descriptive name
means a name providing a description of the food, and if necessary of its use, which is sufficiently clear to enable consumers to know its true nature and distinguish it from other products with which it might be confused;
- engineered nanomaterial
means any intentionally produced material that has one or more dimensions of the order of 100 nm or less or that is composed of discrete functional parts, either internally or at the surface, many of which have one or more dimensions of the order of 100 nm or less, including structures, agglomerates or aggregates, which may have a size above the order of 100 nm but retain properties that are characteristic of the nanoscale.
- fat
means total lipids, and includes phospholipids;
- fibre
means carbohydrate polymers with three or more monomeric units, which are neither digested nor absorbed in the human small intestine and belong to the following categories:
- field of vision
means all the surfaces of a package that can be read from a single viewing point;
- food information
means information concerning a food and made available to the final consumer by means of a label, other accompanying material, or any other means including modern technology tools or verbal communication;
- food information law
means the Union provisions governing the food information, and in particular labelling, including rules of a general nature applicable to all foods in particular circumstances or to certain categories of foods and rules which apply only to specific foods;
- ingredient
means any substance or product, including flavourings, food additives and food enzymes, and any constituent of a compound ingredient, used in the manufacture or preparation of a food and still present in the finished product, even if in an altered form;
- label
means any tag, brand, mark, pictorial or other descriptive matter, written, printed, stencilled, marked, embossed or impressed on, or attached to the packaging or container of food;
- labelling
means any words, particulars, trade marks, brand name, pictorial matter or symbol relating to a food and placed on any packaging, document, notice, label, ring or collar accompanying or referring to such food;
- legal name
means the name of a food prescribed in the Union provisions applicable to it or, in the absence of such Union provisions, the name provided for in the laws, regulations and administrative provisions applicable in the Member State in which the food is sold to the final consumer or to mass caterers;
- legibility
means the physical appearance of information, by means of which the information is visually accessible to the general population and which is determined by various elements, inter alia, font size, letter spacing, spacing between lines, stroke width, type colour, typeface, width-height ratio of the letters, the surface of the material and significant contrast between the print and the background;
- liquid medium
shall mean the following products, possibly in mixtures and also where frozen or quick-frozen, provided that the liquid is merely an adjunct to the essential elements of that preparation and is thus not a decisive factor for the purchase: water, aqueous solutions of salts, brine, aqueous solutions of food acids, vinegar, aqueous solutions of sugars, aqueous solutions of other sweetening substances, fruit or vegetable juices in the case of fruit or vegetables.
- mandatory food information
means the particulars that are required to be provided to the final consumer by Union provisions;
- mass caterer
means any establishment (including a vehicle or a fixed or mobile stall), such as restaurants, canteens, schools, hospitals and catering enterprises in which, in the course of a business, food is prepared to be ready for consumption by the final consumer;
- means of distance communication
means any means which, without the simultaneous physical presence of the supplier and the consumer, may be used for the conclusion of a contract between those parties.
- mono-unsaturates
means fatty acids with one cis double bond;
- nutrient
means protein, carbohydrate, fat, fibre, sodium, vitamins and minerals listed in point 1 of Part A of Annex XIII to this Regulation, and substances which belong to or are components of one of those categories;
- nutrition labelling
means information stating the:
- place of provenance
means any place where a food is indicated to come from, and that is not the ‘country of origin’ as determined in accordance with Articles 23 to 26 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92;
- polyols
means alcohols containing more than two hydroxyl groups;
- polyunsaturates
means fatty acids with two or more cis, cis-methylene interrupted double bonds;
- prepacked food
means any single item for presentation as such to the final consumer and to mass caterers, consisting of a food and the packaging into which it was put before being offered for sale, whether such packaging encloses the food completely or only partially, but in any event in such a way that the contents cannot be altered without opening or changing the packaging;
- primary ingredient
means an ingredient or ingredients of a food that represent more than 50 % of that food or which are usually associated with the name of the food by the consumer and for which in most cases a quantitative indication is required;
- principal field of vision
means the field of vision of a package which is most likely to be seen at first glance by the consumer at the time of purchase and that enables the consumer to immediately identify a product in terms of its character or nature and, if applicable, its brand name.
- protein
means the protein content calculated using the formula: protein = total Kjeldahl nitrogen × 6,25;
- salt
means the salt equivalent content calculated using the formula: salt = sodium × 2,5;
- saturates
means fatty acids without double bond;
- sugars
means all monosaccharides and disaccharides present in food, but excludes polyols;
- trans fat
means fatty acids with at least one non-conjugated (namely interrupted by at least one methylene group) carbon-carbon double bond in the trans configuration;