The Inspectorate Department of Public Health, Social Welfare and Labor is intensifying their controls with regards to the labeling of food products.
The managers and owners of all Supermarkets, Grocery stores, Bakeries, Distributors and any other food outlets, should be aware of the law, stipulated as: Landsbesluit, Houdende Algemene Maatregelen, of the 18th of January 2005, Article 3 (1 a, f and j) of the Commodities Act, P.B. 1997 Nr. 334.
According to the department, the law states that all food products must have an expiration date and be labeled correctly. That includes all meat, dairy and seafood produce.
Products can become unsafe for human consumption very quickly, if not handled and dated correctly. After assessing the risk related to this activity, the Inspectorate Department of Public Health, Social Welfare and Labor have given labeling the highest priority of controls for 2010.
The managers and owners are advised to pay attention to the following;
All Chilled, Fresh and Frozen meats, poultry, fish and their products when packed and displayed for sale MUST have an expiration date.
All goods for sale MUST have a proper label.
All goods for sale MUST have labels indicating their ingredients printed on them.
Breads and pastries from local bakeries MUST have labels indicating, the bakery at which they were produced, the type of bakery products e.g. whole wheat bread, whole wheat salt free bread, etc., and the date on which the item was produced.
If you are not in compliance with the above mentioned laws, corrective measures will be taken, starting with the confiscation of goods.
The measure goes into effect February 10, 2010.