Food Labels

What is Special about Food Labels?

Basically, food labels are stickers like those known from other packaging: bottles, cans, cartons. However, care must be taken to ensure that food labelling complies with the legislation on labelled food. You will find more information on this below. If food labels are required for cans, for example, the printing of the labels does not differ from that of other paper products. The situation is different for food labels on which the price, quantity or best-before date are printed individually at a later date. These labels are often provided with a so-called window coating.

All food packaging is either printed directly or – like cans and jars – labelled accordingly. They can be round, square, circular or oval. For freshly packaged meat products and the like, stickers are often used, which are then marked with information about the contents, quantity and best-before date.

What Needs to be Taken into Account with Regard to Food Labelling Legislation?

The basic prerequisite for food labelling is compliance with the regulations of the food labelling law, which naturally also influences the materials and printing processes used. For example, the front side must not directly touch the contents. Likewise, food packaging must not be printed from the inside. The printing inks for food labels must be chosen in such a way that, on the one hand, they are resistant to the effects of the contents and, on the other hand, do not influence or change the taste, smell or appearance of the food. It follows automatically that food labels must not release any ingredients that are harmful to health into the food. You can find all the information on the correct labelling of your food on the website of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

How are Food Labels Processed?

In the production of cans and jars, food labels are usually applied by machine. Stickers for fresh meat packaging with back-printing are also frequently used as roll labels; they can then be applied manually or by machine. In principle, roll labels have proven their worth for food labelling.

Material, Shape and Printing

As mentioned above, paper is mainly used in the production of food labels. However, etiqueta.es also offers printed films or transparent labels for packaging your products. In addition to film coating and protective varnish, hot foil stamping, blind embossing and embossing are also available. For your labels, you can choose from round, square, circular or customised shapes, depending on your design. If you want something out of the ordinary, we will be happy to advise you on the possibilities. We print paper as well as coloured and transparent foil labels in top quality in digital and conventional offset processes. For quality reasons, we do not use flexographic or inkjet printing.

Freezer Labels

Freezer labels must not only be resistant to the cold, but also to a certain extent to moisture, as it must be anticipated that dew or condensation will form in the product environment. As a rule, freezer labels are made of film or wood-free paper and coated with a frost-resistant adhesive. They are therefore suitable for temperatures down to -20° C. Special food labels are also required for foods containing oil or preserved in oil. This ensures that the labelling remains intact and legible even if oil leaks from the food packaging. If you have any questions about these issues, please speak to our customer service team. If you have any questions about our labels and options, you can contact us Monday to Friday by phone on +34 932 71 64 00 or by email at info@etiqueta.es.

Quality and Fast Delivery

The issue of food labels is somewhat more complicated than, for example, labels for other products. Here, more comprehensive advice is often necessary. If this is the case, simply contact us: our team will be happy to provide you with detailed and competent advice. As a professional for all types of labels, we do not compromise on the quality of the printing processes or the materials used. Whether paper, foil, coloured, metallic or transparent labels, our priority is high quality. In addition, we guarantee fast delivery and consider deadlines to be binding. You can also have your desired product produced within 48 hours with our express service. Of course, you can also take your time to get a first impression of our materials and finishes – just ask for our free sample book.