Today, consumers are very keen on what they buy and they take time to study product labels to ensure they contain what they need. This is true especially for food products. Over the years, consumers want to eat healthy and for this reason, they take time to study food labels in order to know the composition of the foods they eat.
The FDA has set strict guidelines on how food products should be labeled. Every food producer is required to follow these guidelines to the letter in order to print labels that consumers can trust. In 2006, the FDA required manufacturers to include major food allergens on their food labels in order to protect consumers from harmful reactions.
Basically, food labels are meant to provide information to consumers about a product. It is unfortunate that there are still a number of consumers who neglect to check these labels or simply disregard them. This is why as a manufacturer you need to include food label symbols to act as precautionary statements. Even if a consumer does not have time to go through the information on the labels, they can easily spot these symbols instead.
Let’s take a look at the common food label symbols and what they mean:
Microwave Safe Symbol
Putting a ‘microwave safe’ symbol on a food product means that it is safe to heat that particular food in a microwave while it is still in its original packaging. The plastics used to package these foods do not contain toxic components meaning that they cannot migrate into the food while one is microwaving. The easiest way to inform consumers that your food container is microwavable is to include the microwave safe symbol in your label design. The symbol has three wavy lines in a microwave image to symbolize radiation. That shows that the packaging is able to withstand high temperatures without releasing harmful chemicals.
Nutritional Facts Or Nutritional Compass
A food label should have a list of ingredients which make up the food products. A manufacturer should also include a list of nutrients which is listed on a separate information panel placed on the rear or the side of the package. The information put on this panel includes protein, sodium, carbohydrates, fat, calories and serving size. If your target audience may have concerns about components in a food product, it is best to include statements like “cholesterol free”, “low fat” “reduced calories” and “high fiber” on the packages. You should only include such statements if they are true to avoid misleading consumers.
Suitable For Vegetarians Symbol
Vegetarians live on a strict diet of fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, pulses and grains without the use of eggs or dairy products. Vegetarians are very specific about the food products they choose and they want to be sure that the product they buy is suitable for their needs. As a food producer, if you are sure that your product is suitable for vegetarians’ consumption, you need to include this symbol in your packaging.
Organic Labeling
Before you claim your food products to be organic, you need to prove that the food is organic to a certain percentage. You need to meet all the requirements set by the FDA regarding organic food labeling before you can include the organic symbol on your labels.
Other common food label symbols you can include in your product packaging include:
- Keep frozen symbol
- Recycle symbol
- Halal logo (very important if you are targeting the Muslim community)
- Barcodes and QR codes
