Food Supplement: UK nutrition label

Nutrition labelling requirements in the UK

Packaged food sold in the UK must carry a nutrition declaration under The Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/1387); assimilated Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011. This page covers the UK - Food Supplement format: Retained 2002/46/EC regime - S.I. 2003/1387, assimilated NRVs. A supplement panel lists whatever the product contains rather than a fixed set, but 27 nutrients have a published reference intake, values are declared per daily dose and alongside a % NRV* column. The panel carries the footnote "* NRV = Nutrient Reference Value (Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011).". The panel is headed "Food Supplement". NFL builds a print-ready UK nutrition label from your recipe, applying the rounding rules and reference intakes for the UK automatically, and exports it as PDF, PNG, SVG, JPG or EPS.

Official regulation

Key facts

UK food supplement labelling requirements

In Great Britain, food supplements are covered by separate Food Supplements Regulations for England, Scotland and Wales, all from 2003 and in force, together with the assimilated (retained) Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on food information. Northern Ireland has its own Food Supplements Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003, and relevant EU food law continues to apply there under the Windsor Framework.

The supplement-specific particulars are mandatory across the UK:

• the name "food supplement", which official guidance says should not be replaced by "dietary supplement";
• the categories or nature of the vitamins, minerals or other substances that characterise the product;
• the recommended daily portion and a warning not to exceed it;
• a statement that food supplements should not replace a varied diet;
• a statement that the product should be stored out of the reach of young children; and
• the amounts of vitamins, minerals and other substances with a nutritional or physiological effect.

The general prepacked-food particulars also apply, including ingredients with allergens emphasised, durability date, net quantity and the responsible business name and address. In Great Britain the mandatory information must be in English; other languages are voluntary extras.

Source: The Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003, legislation.gov.uk, and GOV.UK, Food supplements guidance.

How vitamins and minerals are declared on UK supplements

UK supplements do not use the ordinary food nutrition declaration for their active nutrients. Article 29 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 excludes food supplements from that section, and the food supplement regulations set their own declaration, which is mandatory.

Each nutrient or substance with a nutritional or physiological effect must be declared numerically, per portion recommended for daily consumption, as an average value from the manufacturer's analysis. Vitamins and minerals use the prescribed units and must also be shown as a percentage of the reference values. A graphic version of the percentages is voluntary.

A label copied from an ordinary food, with an energy, fat, carbohydrate, protein and salt table in place of the supplement declaration, does not comply.

Source: The Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003 and Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 as it applies in the UK, legislation.gov.uk.

Health claims in Great Britain and Northern Ireland

In Great Britain, claims are governed by the assimilated Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 and the Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims Register, in force. Claims are voluntary, but a claim that is used must be on the GB register and must follow its authorised wording and conditions of use, which is mandatory.

Northern Ireland follows the EU claims regime and the EU register under the Windsor Framework, so a claim authorised only in GB is not automatically usable there, and the reverse also applies.

Across the UK, claims that a supplement prevents, treats or cures a human disease are prohibited. Labels must also not state or imply that a balanced and varied diet cannot supply enough nutrients.

Source: Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims Register, GOV.UK, and GOV.UK, Nutrition and health claims guidance.

Importing supplements into the UK

The importer is responsible for making sure an imported supplement meets UK composition, safety and labelling rules before it is sold. For Great Britain, a UK address for the responsible food business, or the UK importer where the business is outside the UK, is mandatory.

For Northern Ireland, an NI or EU address is mandatory, with an NI or EU importer address if the business is outside both. Products made for the EU market may need a GB-specific label for Great Britain, and products made for GB may need changes for Northern Ireland.

Responsibility is split. The Department of Health and Social Care leads on food supplement policy in England, Food Standards Scotland in Scotland, the Welsh Government in Wales, and the Food Standards Agency covers relevant nutrition matters in Northern Ireland. Local authorities, and district councils in Northern Ireland, enforce the rules.

Source: GOV.UK, Packaging and labelling guidance, and The Food Supplements Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003, legislation.gov.uk.

Sources

Primary documents this page was written from, checked 2026-10-03.

• The Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003
• The Food Supplements (Scotland) Regulations 2003
• The Food Supplements (Wales) Regulations 2003
• The Food Supplements Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003
• Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, UK version
• Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims Register
• GOV.UK, Food supplements guidance
• GOV.UK, Packaging and labelling guidance

How NFL handles it

• Applies the correct rounding rules for every nutrient
• Uses the right Daily Value / Reference Intake table for this jurisdiction
• Renders the required front-of-pack warnings automatically when thresholds are hit
• Handles multilingual labels where required (bilingual EN/FR, EN/ES, Arabic + EN, etc.)
• Exports print-ready vector PDF, PNG, SVG, JPG, and EPS

Common questions

Related formats

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How to generate one

• Open the generator: free account, no credit card
• Pick "UK - Food Supplement" from the format rail
• Enter your ingredients (search USDA FoodData Central or add a custom ingredient)
• The label renders live; export in one click