About food labels

Select the food label sections below to learn about the different label elements.

Allergen labelling requirements

Food labels help allergic consumers identify foods that contain allergens they need to avoid.

If any of the following ingredients are contained in a product, its presence must be declared on the label, using the required name specified in the Food Standards Code:

• cereals containing gluten and their products, namely, rye, barley and oats and their hybridised strains, other than where these substances are present in beer and spirits
• wheat, irrespective of whether it contains gluten, and their hybridised strains. This excludes where these substances are present in beer and spirits. This also excludes alcohol distilled from wheat and glucose syrups made from wheat starch under certain conditions.
• The following tree nuts - almond, Brazil nut, cashew, hazelnut, macadamia, pecan, pine nut, pistachio, walnut
• crustacea
• egg
• fish, except for isinglass derived from swim bladders and used as a clarifying agent in beer or wine
• milk, excluding milk distilled from whey
• added sulphites in concentrations of 10mg/kg or more
• lupin
• mollusc
• peanut
• sesame seed
• Soybean, excluding specified soybean oil under certain conditions and soybean derivatives that are tocopherol or phytosterol.

Allergens must be declared both in the statement of ingredients, and in a distinctly separate summary statement next to the statement of ingredients. For more information, refer to the allergen labelling fact sheet.

Bee pollen, propolis and royal jelly

Bee pollen, or a food containing bee pollen as an ingredient must contain an advisory statement indicating that the product contains bee pollen which can cause severe allergic reactions.

Propolis, or a food containing propolis as an ingredient must contain an advisory statement indicating that the product contains propolis which can cause severe allergic reactions.

Royal jelly, or a food containing royal jelly as an ingredient must display the following warning statement: ‘This product contains royal jelly which has been reported to cause severe allergic reactions and in rare cases, fatalities, especially in asthma and allergy sufferers’.

Precautionary labelling

Some food labels may include a warning to show that the food product may inadvertently contain a food allergen, for example, ‘may contain traces of nuts’ or ‘made on the same equipment as products containing nuts’. This means that the manufacturer cannot be sure that the food doesn’t accidentally contain small amounts of the allergen.

These are not mandatory declarations, however if you are allergic to any of the foods mentioned in these warnings, you may wish to avoid these food products as a precautionary measure.

Other requirements

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) provides information to help consumers understand all the food labelling requirements, and how to read food labels.

Food label topics covers the requirements and what that label is telling you. It covers:

• Country of origin labelling
• Fish labelling
• GM food labelling
• Health advisory labels on alcoholic beverages
• Health claims (nutrition, health and related claims)
• Ingredient lists and percentage labelling
• Labelling for religious, environmental, animal welfare and other consumer value issues
• Nutrition information panels
• Truth in labelling
• Warning and advisory statements
• Use by and best before dates

More information

Online tools

• Not sure if you need a food label?  Take the Do I need a label? quiz to find out
• Learn how to create a label and a product sheet using the Label Buster tool
• Country of origin labelling tool

Read about:

• Labelling requirements in the Label Buster guide

If you have any further questions regarding relating to the labelling of fermented food, contact your local Queensland Health Public Health Unit.