Food label language requirements in Spain

Castilian Spanish is required across Spain -- and in Catalonia, Catalan is MANDATORY for designation-of-origin, quality-designation and artisanal products, not merely permitted.

Castilian everywhere

Spain's baseline is set by RD 1334/1999 art. 18 together with the TRLGDCU (RDLeg 1/2007) art. 18.3: the mandatory particulars must be at least in Castilian, the official language of the State. That applies wherever in Spain the product is sold.

The co-official languages -- Catalan, Galician and Basque -- are permitted anywhere in Spain alongside Castilian.

The Catalan duty is conditional, and it is real

In Catalonia, Llei 1/1998 art. 34 goes further than permission. For products carrying a designation of origin, a comarcal or quality designation, and for artisanal products, Catalan is MANDATORY on the labelling.

This is the detail most exporters miss, because it is conditional: it does not attach to every product sold in Catalonia, but to those specific categories. If your product carries a DO or a quality designation and is sold in Catalonia, Catalan is not optional.

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 Castilian, and in Catalan where the conditional duty applies.

If the Catalan duty is triggered, the particulars below are the ones that have to appear in Catalan too — not a summary of them.

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 Spanish pack

Most exporters need Castilian only. If your product carries a designation of origin or a quality designation and reaches Catalonia, plan for Catalan alongside it from the start rather than as a sticker.

LabelYog prints the declaration in each language you select from a single recipe, so a Castilian and Catalan pack is built once.

At a glance

• Castilian present for all mandatory particulars
• Check whether the product carries a DO, comarcal or quality designation
• Check whether it is an artisanal product
• If either, and it is sold in Catalonia, Catalan is MANDATORY
• Co-official languages may be added anywhere in Spain
• 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.