The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has prepared a new guide on nutrition claims. According to the guide, brands will no longer be able to make comparisons that could mislead consumers in food products. For example; comparisons such as yogurt with cheese, pudding with chocolate, compound chocolate with chocolate, biscuits with ice cream, and butter with margarine will be prohibited.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has prepared a Guide on the Turkish Food Codex Nutrition Declarations Regulation. Accordingly, comparisons between yogurt and cheese, pudding and chocolate, cocolin and chocolate, biscuits and ice cream, and butter and margarine will no longer be possible. The details in the Guide that stand out are as follows:
“The nutritional statements used in the labels, promotions and advertisements of foods placed on the market in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation shall be in a form that the average consumer can understand, without being false, misleading, causing suspicion or concern. When comparative declarations are made on energy and nutritional elements in products, if there is no product with the same name in the same category, comparisons can be made with similar products in the same category.
'PLAIN WAFER CANNOT BE COMPARED'
Yogurt and cheese, pudding and chocolate, compound chocolate and chocolate, biscuits and ice cream, butter and margarine cannot be compared. Orange sauce cake and fruit cake (without sauce) cannot be compared. Chocolate covered wafers and plain wafers cannot be compared.
NATURAL SUGAR WILL ALSO BE WRITTEN
If the label of foods that meet the "no added sugar - no added sugar" declaration states "no added sugar - no added sugar", the phrase "NATURALLY CONTAINS SUGAR" will also appear in capital letters, wherever the declaration is made, together with this declaration, in the same font, style and in a way that will contrast with the background color. In products such as honey, fruit juice concentrate, fruit syrup, date syrup, coconut syrup used for sweetening purposes as a sugar substitute, the information about what they are sweetened with will be written in order to inform the consumer, without the "no added sugar - no added sugar" declaration.
THE CONSUMER MUST UNDERSTAND WHAT HE IS BUYING
The Nutrition Declarations Regulation was published in 2023. With the guide prepared in accordance with the regulation, the nutrition claims used in the labeling, promotion and advertising of foods placed on the market will be in a form that the consumer can understand, without being false, misleading, causing doubt or concern.
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Source: https://www.hurriyet.com.tr