Food label language requirements in France

French is the language your label must be in for France under the Union rule that applies directly in every member state.

The rule that applies directly

Reg. (EU) 1169/2011 Art. 15(1) requires the mandatory particulars to appear in a language easily understood by consumers in the member state where the food is marketed. In France that is French.

This is a Regulation, not a Directive. It binds in France without needing a national implementing text, so the language duty exists whether or not France has added its own stipulation on top.

Art. 15(2) allows a member state to stipulate which official Union language or languages must be used. We have not identified a separate French national measure making such a stipulation. Where we have read a national measure for a market we cite it by name; here we do not, because we have not read one.

What that means in practice

The practical answer does not change: put French on the pack, across every mandatory particular. Art. 15(1) is sufficient authority on its own and it is the authority to cite in a compliance file.

Other languages may accompany French. What they cannot do is replace it for any mandatory particular — a multilingual pack is fine so long as French carries the full set.

If you need the national instrument itself for a regulatory submission, treat this page as the Union position and obtain the national text directly; we would rather tell you we have not read it than name an instrument we have not seen.

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 French.

Art. 15(1) attaches to the mandatory particulars as a whole, not to the product name alone.

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 French pack

French across every mandatory particular, with any other languages alongside.

LabelYog builds the French declaration from your recipe, so the same product data drives it as every other language you select.

At a glance

• French present for all mandatory particulars
• Authority is Reg. 1169/2011 Art. 15(1), which applies directly
• No separate French national language measure identified by us
• Other languages may accompany French -- treat French as required, since replacing it would mean meeting the Art. 15(1) easily-understood test on your own evidence
• 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.