Fish Labelling (England) Regulations 2010

Tuesday 6 April 2010

The Fish Labelling (England) Regulations 2010, which came into force on 6 April 2010, replace the 2003 regulations.

The new legislation adds new commercial designations for species of fish that have recently come onto the market and give extra options for some others that were already listed.

The changes to the Commercial Designations are listed in Annex 2 of the Impact Assessment. The purpose of the regulations is to ensure that fish are labelled correctly and consistently at the point of sale so that purchasers know exactly what they are buying, whether it was caught at sea, in inland waters or was farmed and, if caught at sea, in what sea area.

As the main change in the new regulations is to amend the commercial designations list and all other amendments are technical only, much of the guidance on the previous Regulations (The Fish Labelling Regulations 2003, published below) is still relevant.

It is possible to look up what Commercial designation(s) are allowed for a particular scientific name by going into the Look-up table attached below in Excel and PDF format, and using 'Find' on your computer for that scientific name. Please ensure that you read the Important Notes above the table before use.

Full guidance on the new regulations will be published shortly. The examples contained in the guidance are provided for illustration only.

If retailers need further advice on specific queries, they should contact their Home Food Authority.