The situation
A product label proof, uploaded as a PDF
A granola maker in Freiburg is launching a nut-and-seed mix for a German supermarket chain. The designer has sent the final label proof. The printer needs approval by Thursday for a run of 40,000 bags, and a reprint after delivery would cost more than the launch budget allows.
The operations lead has checked labels before, but not one with five allergens, a highlighted ingredient in the product name and a small side panel. The hours go on going through each mandatory item, the font size and the allergen emphasis.
What the research has to settle
The rules behind the answer
- The list is set at EU level
- The Food Information to Consumers Regulation requires, among others, the name of the food, the ingredients, allergens, net quantity, the date mark, the operator’s name and address and a nutrition declaration. Other items, such as storage conditions, apply where relevant.
- Allergens must stand out in the ingredients
- Substances listed as allergens must be emphasised in the list of ingredients, for example in bold, so they are clearly distinguished from the other ingredients.
- Legibility and position have rules too
- Mandatory particulars must meet a minimum font size, smaller only on very small packs. The name of the food and the net quantity must appear in the same field of vision.
- Emphasised ingredients need a percentage
- An ingredient highlighted in the name or the artwork must have its quantity declared. Germany requires the mandatory particulars in German, and claims such as high in fibre follow a separate regulation.
How it runs in azta
From the question to the document
The question, as you would type it
Attached is the label proof for our granola, sold in Germany in 500 g bags. It contains hazelnuts, almonds, oats, sesame and soy. Does it show every mandatory particular, are the allergens emphasised correctly and does the hazelnut in the name need a percentage?
You start with
A product label proof, uploaded as a PDF
- 01
Upload the label proof
Add the artwork PDF and the recipe sheet. azta reads the text on the label and refers back to the panel it relied on.
File upload· Pro - 02
Check it against the rules
Ask for each mandatory particular and whether the label meets it. azta cites the EU food information rules and the German implementing law.
Cited research· Free - 03
Read the provision behind a finding
Open any citation to read the rule in its original language with its in-force status before you send the proof back.
Atlas statute reader - 04
Draft the change list for the designer
Ask for a checklist with each item marked present, missing or to fix. Edit it in Canvas and send it with the proof.
Canvas · Ask azta· Pro You send
A checklist of the mandatory particulars: present, missing or to fix
What you get
A checklist of the mandatory particulars: present, missing or to fix
Label checklist · draft
Hazelnut granola 500 g: label proof v4
Present and correct. Name of the food, net quantity in the same field of vision, best-before date with the storage instruction, operator name and address, nutrition declaration per 100 g.
To fix. Sesame and soy are not emphasised in the ingredients list; only oats, hazelnuts and almonds are in bold. Hazelnut appears in the product name but its percentage is missing from the ingredients list.
To confirm. The ingredients panel on the side gusset appears close to the minimum font size. Please send the measured x-height from the print file. The claim on the front panel needs a separate check against the nutrition and health claims rules.
Outcomes on your numbers
What azta is worth on this task
Pro pays for itself after
22 minutes a month
At €75 an hour, that is all the time Pro (€27 a month) has to take off your desk to cover its price.
Example figures. Replace them with your own.
- Hours back a year
- 29
- Capacity at your rate
- €2,160
- More label checks a quarter
- 2.9
- Return on Pro
- 6.7×
- Research
- Drafting
- Your review
A scenario you set, not a promise. The hours that come back go to another client, or deeper into this one.
Want these numbers on your team’s real workload?
Book a demoWhat stays with you
- The recipe and the nutrition values, which come from your own analysis.
- Measuring the print file and approving the final proof.
- Organic, origin and retailer-specific requirements outside the statutory list.
Frequently asked questions
- Can azta read the label from the artwork?
- It reads the text in an uploaded PDF and refers back to the passage it relied on. Check anything it could not read, such as text set in an image, against the print file.
- Does it check health claims as well?
- Ask about them separately. Claims follow their own EU regulation, and azta researches and cites it.
- Does it hold authority guidance on labelling?
- It holds the legislation and EU law. Guidance from food authorities may not be in the sources, so check the source register.
