Foods as defined by article 2 of Regulation (EC) no 178/2002 (Food Law) and specifically describeed in Annex 2 to the Regulation on voluntary labelling of foods with the Keyhole.

C50A (Foddstuffs) and C60A (Labelling).

Amendment of the regulation on voluntary labelling of foods with the Keyhole

The Keyhole is a voluntary symbol used on foods that will enable consumers to make a better choice based on the content of fat, sugar, salt and fiber in the categories of foods listed in Appendix 2 to the regulations. The Keyhole symbol is used jointly in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The scientific basis for the criteria is the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations (NNR). Criteria and food groups reflect the NNR and the dietary habits in the countries. The general provisions for the use of the symbol are stated in the regulations.

Only criteria have been set where these are considered relevant, eg for milk only criteria have been set for the content of fat. The labeling scheme means that a complete assessment of the nutritional quality of the product has been made. The Keyhole symbol may be used in the marketing of pre-packaged and non-prepackaged foods covered by the food categories in Appendix 2 of the regulation if they comply with all the nutritional criteria for the food category concerned. Restrictions on the use of the symbol appear in §§ 5-7 of the Norwegian regulation.The Keyhole can be used for labeling as well as in marketing and presentation of food.

No registration and no fees are required to use the Keyhole. Food business operators using the Keyhole must ensure that they comply with the regulations. The supervisory authorities are responsible for checking compliance with the provisions of the regulations.

The proposed regulation concerns amendments to the current regulations on the volontary use of the Keyhole which was last notified in 2014 (2014/9007 / N). Sweden, Denmark and Iceland also make corresponding changes to their regulations. The amendments mainly concern the conditions in Appendix 2 of the food groups 26-31, Ready meals and food group 25, Vegetable products. Most of the changes are made with the aim of expanding the food groups to include more products, especially products with more whole grains and a larger proportion of vegetables. It is suggested that the condition for saturated fat is stated in grams per 100 grams instead of the percentage of the total fat content.