Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the need for food labelling which allows people with medical needs to effectively monitor their condition.

All food sold on the UK must comply with food labelling rules, which include the requirement for specific information to be presented in a specific way. Information provided to the consumer must not mislead and must enable the safe use of food. The United Kingdom maintains high standards on the information provided on food labelling to ensure consumer confidence.

Defra works with other government departments, including both the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to provide consumers with information to assist with medical needs and ensure that food safety standards are maintained.

This includes improving the provision of information for people with allergies and working with food businesses to increase allergen training in the sector. The FSA’s programme on food hypersensitivity is focused on policy, research and evidence to support enforcement and engaging with consumers and businesses.

It is mandatory for food and drinks packaging to include a Nutrition Declaration on the back-of-food packaging. At a minimum, this must include information on energy plus the amounts of fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt. It can also provide information on other nutrients on a voluntary basis including other fats and vitamins and minerals. This label will help individuals with medical conditions, who need to manage their diets.