Labelling and Packaging

The Food Standards Agency is concerned not only with the food we eat but with what it is sold in. We are responsible for making sure that the rules on the safety of materials that come into contact with food are enforced. Food contact materials include the containers food is sold in, the packaging, as well as the articles used to handle food, from food processing machinery to cutlery.

From 1 September 2010, responsibility for certain aspects of labelling in England has been transferred from the Food Standards Agency to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). In England, the Agency retains responsibility for food safety-related labelling issues, while Defra is now responsible for labelling policy on issues other than food safety and nutrition. The Agency is still responsible for all labelling and standards policy in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The content of these pages will be amended during September to reflect these changes. Visit our consumer advice website eatwell for more information about materials that come into contact with food. Details of our day-to-day work are set out below.