UK Supplment Label Rules and Regulations
Supplement label regulations are constantly changing. Our experts stay up to date with constant study and industry insight to make sure we can guide you. We can help calculate NRVs, supplement facts, and highlight allergens. Every print VMS does includes a regulatory feedback email at no additional fee.
A UK product, standardly must have:
(see EU FIC: Article 9 for full text, this is a shortened guide only, please speak to our staff for up to date advice)
Name of the food (a product name will do).
List of ingredients, in descending order, including the capsule shell, and sub-ingredients as applicable (see this page here for an explanation of when you don’t need to list the sub-ingredients), along with NRVs where established for each ingredient, unless there is less than 9% of the NRV in the product
Indication of allergenic ingredients (in bold) or processing aids, or those derived from allergens
The net quantity of the food (ie, 30 Capsules)
The best before end date and batch number, or a clear space for the manufacturer to overprint it, or a clear indication of where the manufacturer will overprint it (ie. For best before end see base of tub)
Any special storage conditions and/or conditions of use
Name or business name and address of the food business operator
The country of origin or place of provenance, where failure to include it would be misleading
Instructions for use where it would be difficult to make appropriate use of the food in the absence of such instructions
The words ‘Food Supplement’ clearly visible next to product name
The portion of the product recommended for daily consumption
A warning not to exceed the recommended daily intake (or ‘dose’)
A statement that food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied diet
A statement to the effect that product is stored out of the reach of young children
A declaration of the amount of the nutrients or substances with a nutritional or physiological effect which are provided by the recommended daily intake of the product; the units for the declaration of the vitamins and minerals must be those specified
An indication of the percentage reference intake value for vitamins and minerals
No unapproved health claims.
Vitamin A should be expressed as as micrograms (µg) of retinol equivalents (RE), Vitamin E should be expressed as milligrams (mg) of D-alpha-tocopherol equivalents (TE), and Niacin (Vitamin B3) expressed as milligrams (mg) of niacin equivalents (NE). However there is no requirement to highlight that you have so done.
Font size must be over 1.2mm for lower case letters for all legally required sections of the label.
The word Organic should not appear anywhere on the label, unless the product is certified organic.
There are voluntary warnings which it is best if you include on your label where appropriate.
Don’t forget you need 3mm of bleed around the edge of your label. This may not be a regulatory issue, but failure to include it will delay your print.
The full list of approved health claims for GB can be found here or there is a simplified version here.
The guidence on how to word health claims can be found here.
The UK governing guidence on supplement labels can be found here.