Things to look out for on the labels of food and drink products.
• All ingredients with an allergenic effect must be highlighted on the labels of food and alcoholic beverages. They include cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, molluscs, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame seeds, sulphur dioxide, lupin;
• All health claims must undergo an approval and authorisation process at European level;
• Any food which has been treated with ionising radiation must declare "irradiated" or "treated with ionising radiation";
• Drinks with more than 1.2 per cent alcohol by volume must declare their alcoholic strength;
• If packaging gases are used in the packaging of a food, this must be indicated on the label so consumers understand that the shelf-life of the product has been extended;
• The country or place of origin of a foodstuff may be considered as the place in which it was processed or treated, so potatoes grown in Cyprus but processed into crisps in Ireland could carry the "Made in Ireland" label.
Source: The Labelling of Food in Ireland 2007, from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.