Food label language requirements in Sweden

Swedish is required on a food label in Sweden, and several languages may be combined on the same pack.

Swedish, with a narrow substitution

Sweden's rule is Livsmedelsverkets föreskrifter LIVSFS 2014:4 § 5, headed 'Språk'. The mandatory particulars must be in Swedish; another language is acceptable only where it differs insignificantly from Swedish.

As in Denmark, that is a narrow orthographic allowance rather than a general permission to use a neighbouring language.

Several languages may be combined

LIVSFS 2014:4 § 5 expressly contemplates several languages on one label. That is what makes a single Nordic pack workable: Swedish, Danish and Norwegian can sit together provided each market's required language is complete.

'Complete' is the operative word -- a particular that appears only in one language does not satisfy the markets whose language it is missing from.

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 Swedish.

On a combined Nordic pack, each market's language must carry the full list below — a particular present only in Danish does not serve Sweden.

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 Swedish pack

If you are already producing for Denmark or Norway, a combined Nordic pack is usually the cheaper route than three separate artworks.

LabelYog builds each language column from one recipe, so the same nutrition and ingredient data drives every language on the pack.

At a glance

• Swedish present for all mandatory particulars
• Substitution allowance is narrow -- insignificant differences only
• Multiple languages may be combined on one label
• Each required language complete, not partial
• All Reg. 1169/2011 mandatory particulars present in Swedish
• 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.