Food Safety, Labeling, and Regulatory Basics
Food Safety, Labeling, and Regulatory Basics tests hazard control, safe temperatures, allergen rules, date marks, nutrition declarations, and claim interpretation. Expect practical label reading and recognition of legal or safety thresholds.
Core rules
- HACCP uses seven principles: hazard analysis, critical control points, critical limits, monitoring, corrective actions, verification, and record keeping. Hazards are biological, chemical, and physical.
- Keep perishable food out of the temperature danger zone, commonly 5–60°C (41–140°F). Cooling, reheating, and hot or cold holding must be controlled.
- In the EU, 14 major allergens must be declared. “Gluten-free” means no more than 20 mg gluten per kg; “very low gluten” means no more than 100 mg/kg.
- “Use-by” relates to safety and should not be exceeded; “best-before” relates to quality. Nutrition declarations are commonly given per 100 g or 100 mL and may also be per portion.
Worked example
A 250 mL bottle lists 10 g sugar per 100 mL. Total sugar = 10 × 2.5 = 25 g. On a 2,000 kcal diet, the 10% free-sugar ceiling is 50 g/day, so the bottle supplies 50% of that ceiling. If the sugar is intrinsic milk sugar, it is not counted as free sugar in the same way, so the label alone does not establish the free-sugar contribution.
Traps
Do not treat best-before as a safety date. Do not assume “gluten-free” means zero gluten. Do not use front-of-pack claims as proof of overall nutritional quality. Do not ignore portion size when comparing per-100 g data with per-serving data.