What must be on a product label in the EU: a practical checklist

01Which rules apply to your product

In the EU, labelling is regulated mostly at EU level, so the core list is the same in Warsaw, Berlin and Lisbon. Before anyone designs anything, find out which category your product belongs to:

• Food and drinks: Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on food information to consumers. Some products have extra sector rules on top, such as food supplements, organic food, wine or honey.
• Cosmetics: Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Article 19.
• Other consumer products (candles, homeware, accessories, gadgets): the General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988, known as GPSR, which has applied since 13 December 2024.
• Products covered by harmonised “CE” legislation such as toys, electrical equipment or machinery: their own directives and regulations, plus the CE marking.

National law adds details on top, the most important being the language. In this guide we use Poland as the worked example, because that is where most of our clients sell.

02Food labels: the checklist under EU 1169/2011

Article 9 of Regulation 1169/2011 lists the mandatory particulars for prepacked food:

Font size. Mandatory particulars must be printed with an x-height (the height of a lowercase “x”) of at least 1.2 mm. If the largest surface of the pack is under 80 cm², the minimum is 0.9 mm. For very small packs (largest surface under 10 cm²), the Regulation allows a shorter list on the pack itself.

You also need a lot (batch) number, which is required by separate EU rules (Directive 2011/91/EU). Most producers print it next to the date.

03Cosmetics labels: Article 19 of Regulation 1223/2009

Cosmetics have their own list. It must be indelible, easily legible and visible on the container and the packaging:

• Responsible person: name or registered name and address. For imported products, also the country of origin.
• Nominal content by weight or volume (with some exceptions for very small packs and samples).
• Date of minimum durability (“best used before the end of…” or the hourglass symbol), or the period after opening (open-jar symbol, e.g. “12M”) for products that last more than 30 months.
• Precautions for use, including any required by the Regulation’s annexes.
• Batch number or another reference for identifying the product.
• Function of the product, unless it is clear from how it is presented.
• List of ingredients headed “Ingredients”, using INCI names, in descending order of weight (ingredients under 1% may be listed in any order).

If there is truly no room (a lipstick or a small sample), the Regulation allows precautions and ingredients to go on an enclosed leaflet or tag, with a “hand-on-book” symbol on the pack.

04Other products: what GPSR requires

For most non-food consumer goods without their own specific legislation, GPSR sets the baseline. The manufacturer must ensure the product shows:

• Identification: a type, batch or serial number or another element that lets consumers and authorities identify the product.
• Manufacturer: name, registered trade name or trade mark, plus a postal and an electronic address.
• EU contact: for products made outside the EU, details of the responsible economic operator established in the EU.
• Instructions and safety information in a language consumers in that country easily understand, unless the product can be used safely without them.

If the product is too small, this information can go on the packaging or an accompanying document. If you sell online, the listing must show the same key details: manufacturer, product identification and warnings.

05Language: the Polish example

All of these regulations require the information to be in a language consumers easily understand, and each Member State decides what that means. Poland’s rule is clear: under the Polish Language Act (ustawa o języku polskim), product names, warnings, consumer information, instructions and descriptions of a product’s properties must be in Polish when sold to consumers in Poland. Food and cosmetics laws confirm this for their own labels.

• Other languages are allowed in addition to Polish, so a PL/CZ/SK multilingual label is fine.
• Trade marks and trade names don’t need translating: “Glide Wings” stays “Glide Wings”.
• Cosmetic ingredient lists stay in INCI names in every country.
• For imported goods, a Polish sticker is common. It must not hide other mandatory information and must stay legible.

Planning to sell in Germany or the Czech Republic as well? Check each country’s language rule early. It decides whether you design one multilingual label or a separate version for each market.

06Recycling marks, barcodes and other extras

• Material codes: Commission Decision 97/129/EC sets the numbers and abbreviations for packaging materials (e.g. 1 PET, 5 PP, 20–22 PAP, 41 ALU). The new Packaging Regulation (EU) 2025/40 will introduce harmonised material labels, with deadlines that depend on implementing acts, so leave space in your layout now.
• EAN/GTIN barcode: not required by law, but retail chains and most marketplaces ask for one. In Poland, numbers are issued by GS1 Polska. Test the printed size and contrast before the full print run.
• Claims: “eco”, “natural”, “sugar-free” and similar words are regulated. Nutrition and health claims on food have their own EU rules, and generic green claims without proof face stricter EU rules from 2026 (Directive (EU) 2024/825).

07Common labelling mistakes

• Allergens not emphasised. They are listed, but in the same font as everything else.
• Font below 1.2 mm x-height because the design needed more room for the logo.
• Nutrition values per portion only, without the per 100 g / 100 ml basis.
• Name and net quantity in different fields of vision, e.g. the name on the front and the weight on the back.
• No Polish version, or a sticker that covers the date or the ingredients.
• A CE mark “for credibility” on a product that doesn’t need one.
• No EU address on products imported from outside the EU.
• Low contrast: grey text on kraft paper or metallic foil that looks great and can’t be read.

08How we help with labels

We design labels with the mandatory content in mind from the first sketch. We plan space for the ingredient list, allergens, nutrition table, date and lot window and barcode, check the minimum x-height at print size and prepare language versions. You or your technologist supply the legal wording, and we lay it out legibly and consistently across every SKU. A label for one product starts at 1 200 PLN net in our packaging Start package (prices for the Polish market, + 23% VAT). We work with clients in Poland and worldwide — remotely, in English, Polish and Russian.

09Questions & answers