4. Labeling Requirements

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General Foods
France

This section provides information on labeling requirements and the label approval process.

4.1 Mandatory Labeling Parameters

Please refer to Section 4.1 - Mandatory Labeling Parameters - of the "General Foods" guidebook for the EU.

4.2 Languages

French language must be used for product labeling sold in France, as defined in Article R412-7 of the French Consumer Code [1]:

Translated in English:

Pursuant to Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 as amended concerning consumer information on foodstuffs, the labeling of foodstuffs marketed in the national territory is written in French.

4.3 Mandatory Information on Stickers

Please refer to Section 4.3 - Mandatory Information on Stickers - of the "General Foods" guidebook for the EU.

4.4 Product Legal Name

In addition to the EU requirement outlined in Section 4.4 - Product Legal Name - of the "General Foods" guidebook for the EU, the below applies to France:

Food with added flavoring

The DGCCRF authority issued guidance on the legal name of food when flavoring is added to the food. Especially, when a flavoring that mimics the taste of an ingredient used is added to the product name, the product name must indicate the use of flavoring (case number 2 of the guidance) [2].

4.5 Product-specific Labeling Statements

N/A

4.6 Authority Approval

Please refer to Section 4.6 - Authority Approval - of the "General Foods" guidebook for the EU.

4.7 Additional Notes on Labeling

In addition to the requirement listed in Section 4.7 - Additional Notes on Labeling - of the "General Foods" guidebook for the EU, the below applies to France:

Mandatory environmental logo

Food products sold to consumers and mass caterers must provide the Triman and InfoTri logos. Please refer to this report on sustainability requirements for packaging for more information.

Voluntary information

Nutri-Score

Nutri-Score [1,5] is a voluntary front-of-pack nutritional label that converts the nutritional value of food and beverages into a simple overall score. It is based on a scale of 5 colors and letters (A is green to represent the best nutritional quality while E is dark orange to show it’s the lowest).

Nutri-Score is calculated taking into account both the nutrients to limit (calories, saturated fat, sugars and salt) and those elements to favor (fiber, proteins, nuts, fruit, and vegetables). The food is assigned a color and letter based on the resulting score, calculated per 100g or 100ml. The usage right for Nutri-Score is granted for free. Operators wishing to use the Nutri-Score must be registered on one of the following procedures presented on the website.

The French government has been recommending food companies and retailers to use Nutri-Score since 2017.

Marketing Terms

Several marketing terms are defined by French legislation or in authority guidelines, among them:

« produit de montagne » (mountain product), « fermier » (farmhouse product), defined in the French Rural and Maritime Fishing Code [6].
« artisan » and « artisanal », defined in Article L241-1 of the French Artisan Code [7].
« Naturel » (Natural) defined in the French authority guideline DGCCRF [8].

Labeling of Organic food

Please refer to Section 4.7 - Additional Notes on Labeling - of the "General Foods" guidebook for the EU.

Labeling of Halal, Kosher, Vegan.

Please refer to Section 4.7 - Additional Notes on Labeling - of the "General Foods" guidebook for the EU.

GMO-free claim

The claim "sans OGM" (GMO-free) is defined in the French Decree N° 2012-128 relating to the labeling of foodstuffs from qualified sectors "free from genetically modified organisms" [9]. Note, this claim cannot be used for ingredients that have no GM-authorized variety in the EU, nor for organic certified products.

Translated in English:

Article 3

The mention “GMO-free” is reserved for non-genetically modified ingredients and for ingredients obtained from raw materials containing a maximum of 0.1% of genetically modified organisms, provided that this presence is fortuitous and technically unavoidable.

This statement cannot be used to designate ingredients derived from plants of which no genetically modified species has been the subject of marketing authorization in the European Union.