Food label language requirements in Belgium

Belgium does not have one national label language -- it has three linguistic regions, and the language you must print depends on where the product is placed on the market.

The rule is regional, not national

Belgium's language duty comes from the Loi du 24 janvier 1977, Art. 8 §1, as amended by the loi du 12 juillet 2022 and in force since 22 September 2022. It requires the mandatory particulars in the language or languages OF THE LINGUISTIC REGION where the product is placed on the market -- not a single national language.

In practice that means Dutch in Flanders, French in Wallonia, and German in the German-language area. A product distributed nationally has to satisfy every region it reaches, which is why Belgian packs are so often Dutch and French together.

German is mandatory, not optional

The German-language area is frequently treated as a courtesy translation. It is not. Under Art. 8 §1 German is the required language for products placed on the market in the German-language area, on the same footing as Dutch in Flanders and French in Wallonia.

If your distribution reaches the East Cantons, German is a legal requirement for the mandatory particulars there -- planning it in at artwork stage is far cheaper than discovering it at a border or a retailer audit.

What else Reg. 1169/2011 makes mandatory

Language is one requirement among many, and the language rule applies to ALL of them. Reg. (EU) 1169/2011 Art. 9(1) sets the mandatory particulars: the food name, the ingredient list, allergens, QUID where it applies, net quantity, the date, storage and use conditions, the responsible operator, origin where required, instructions for use, alcoholic strength above 1.2% vol, and the nutrition declaration. Every one of them has to appear in each language the region of sale requires.

A particular that appears only in French does not satisfy Flanders, and one that appears only in Dutch does not satisfy Wallonia.

Art. 13(2)-(3) sets how small they may be: an x-height of at least 1.2 mm, or 0.9 mm where the largest surface of the pack is under 80 cm². X-height is the height of a lower-case x — not the nominal point size, which is the mistake that puts a label under the floor while the artwork file says otherwise.

Allergens, QUID and the nutrition table

Art. 21(1)(b) and Annex II require every one of the 14 allergen groups to be emphasised INSIDE the ingredient list by a distinguishing typeset — a different font, style or background. The 14 include the gluten cereals, sulphites above 10 mg/kg, lupin and molluscs. An ingredient list set entirely in capitals emphasises nothing, because nothing distinguishes the allergen from the rest.

Art. 22(1) requires the QUID percentage whenever an ingredient appears in the food's name, is emphasised in words or pictures, or characterises the food.

Arts 30(1), 32(2) and 34(1)-(2) with Annex XV require the full nutrition declaration — energy plus fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt — per 100 g or 100 ml, in the Annex XV order, tabular where space permits and linear where it does not.

Dates, the operator and net quantity

Art. 24 and Annex X set the date form, and the two are not interchangeable. “Best before” (with the day shown) or “Best before end” (month and year) is quality dating; “Use by” is safety dating, and after that date the food is deemed unsafe. Using one where the other belongs carries different legal consequences.

Art. 8(1) and Art. 9(1)(h) require the responsible operator's NAME AND ADDRESS — the operator under whose name the food is marketed, or the importer where that operator is not established in the market. A website, an e-mail address or a phone number is not an address.

Art. 23 and Annex IX set net quantity: volume in l, cl or ml, mass in kg or g, with drained weight where the food is glazed or packed in liquid. The ℮ mark is optional — an average-system guarantee — and where it is used it must be at least 3 mm and in the same field of vision.

Building a Belgian pack

The practical consequence of a regional rule is that one pack usually carries more than one language. Dutch and French together cover Flanders and Wallonia; adding German covers the German-language area as well.

LabelYog builds the declaration in each language you select from one recipe, so the same product data drives every language column rather than being re-typed per market.

At a glance

• Identify which linguistic regions the product will be sold in
• Dutch for Flanders, French for Wallonia, German for the German-language area
• National distribution means satisfying every region it reaches
• German treated as MANDATORY where it applies, not as an optional extra
• All Reg. 1169/2011 mandatory particulars present in each required language
• All Art. 9(1) particulars present, x-height >= 1.2 mm (0.9 mm under 80 cm2)
• Annex II allergens emphasised INSIDE the ingredient list
• Operator NAME AND POSTAL ADDRESS -- not a website or e-mail

Questions

You can try the free tools without an account, read what a paid plan adds on pricing, or see how we compare with other label software before deciding anything. Every market we build for has a rule-book page of its own.