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Food label checker (NZ and FSANZ)
Paste your label text and check it against NZ and FSANZ rules. A check, not legal sign-off.
How this works ↓The name as it appears on the front of your label.
Paste the full ingredient list, comma-separated. Include percentages if shown. List ingredients in descending order of ingoing weight. Compound ingredients under 5% only need their allergens and working additives in brackets.
The "Contains" line or allergen text from your label. We check it against your ingredient list. Allergens go in bold in the ingredient list and in a bold 'Contains' line right beside it, e.g. Contains milk, almond, gluten.
The date mark text as shown on the label. Over 3 months out, month and year is enough, e.g. "Dec 2027".
State storage conditions if the food needs them to last until its date, e.g. 'Keep refrigerated at or below 4°C'.
Net weight or volume in metric (g, kg, mL, L), at least 2 mm high, near the product name. (Weights and Measures Regulations 1999.)
Optional. Most packaged foods don't need country of origin, but if you state an origin it must be true. Exporting to Australia? Australia has its own origin rules.
Supplier details: business name and physical address in NZ or Australia.
A lot or batch ID is required on packaged food. It can be a date code if that identifies the batch and where it was packed.
Additional Details
Your label
0 of 10 checks passed
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- ✕
Product Name
A prescribed name or accurate description of the food is required under FSANZ Standard 1.2.2. Some foods, including honey, must use the exact name from the Code.
FSANZ Standard 1.2.2
Read the rule: Product Name - ✕
Nutrition Information Panel
Most packaged food needs an NIP. Main exceptions: packs under 100 cm², herbs, spices, tea, coffee, water and alcoholic drinks (unless you make a nutrition claim). Single-ingredient fresh fruit, veg, meat and fish are exempt. Other single-ingredient foods (like honey) aren't. Food made and packed where it's sold doesn't need a label. Use our NIP Formatter tool to create one.
FSANZ Standard 1.2.8
Read the rule: Nutrition Information Panel - ✕
Ingredient List
An ingredient list in descending order of ingoing weight is required (FSANZ Standard 1.2.4). Single-ingredient foods are exempt. Compound ingredients under 5% only need their allergens and working additives in brackets.
FSANZ Standard 1.2.4
Read the rule: Ingredient List - !
Allergen Declarations
No allergen text entered. Declare these if present: wheat, gluten (from barley, oats, rye), peanut, each tree nut by name (almond, Brazil nut, cashew, hazelnut, macadamia, pecan, pine nut, pistachio, walnut), milk, egg, fish, crustacean, mollusc, sesame, soy, lupin, and added sulphites at 10 mg/kg or more.
Read the rule: Allergen Declarations - ✕
Date Marking
Add a date mark: "Best Before" (quality) or "Use By" (safety). Foods with a shelf life of 2+ years may be exempt (FSANZ Standard 1.2.5).
FSANZ Standard 1.2.5
Read the rule: Date Marking - !
Storage Conditions
State storage conditions if the food needs them to last until its date, e.g. 'Keep refrigerated at or below 4°C'.
Read the rule: Storage Conditions - ✕
Net Weight / Volume
Net weight or volume in metric (g, kg, mL, L), at least 2 mm high, near the product name. (Weights and Measures Regulations 1999.)
Weights and Measures Regulations 1999, regs 79(4), 79A
Read the rule: Net Weight / Volume - i
Country of Origin
Optional. Most packaged foods don't need country of origin, but if you state an origin it must be true. Exporting to Australia? Australia has its own origin rules.
Read the rule: Country of Origin - ✕
Supplier Details
Supplier details: business name and physical address in NZ or Australia.
Read the rule: Supplier Details - ✕
Lot / Batch ID
A lot or batch ID is required on packaged food. It can be a date code if that identifies the batch and where it was packed.
Read the rule: Lot / Batch ID
Rules last checked against Food Standards Code, MPI guide to retail food labelling, FSANZ allergen labelling and others on 13 October 2026. This is a check, not legal sign-off.
The checks update as you type. The checker runs in your browser. Your entries stay on your device unless you request a quote from this page, which sends a one-line summary of your result. It flags likely issues against the Food Standards Code. This is a check, not legal sign-off. Confirm your product’s rules with Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and MPI.
What this checker covers
It reads the text you type: product name, ingredients, allergens, date marking, storage, net weight or volume, country of origin, supplier name and address, and lot or batch ID. It asks whether you have a nutrition information panel. Our guide to NZ food labelling requirements explains each rule. Build a panel in the NIP generator. Honey? See the honey labelling guide.
What this checker can’t check
- Your artwork. It reads text, so type size, layout and contrast go unchecked. Try the artwork checker.
- Claims and Health Star Rating. It warns on words like “natural” in a product name but can’t tell whether you can back a claim up. It doesn’t look at a Health Star Rating.
- Standards for particular foods. It adds a few checks for some product types, but doesn’t apply the full standard for any particular food, such as Standard 2.8.2 for honey.
- Imported food. Check with MPI.
- Allergen layout. It looks for a “Contains” line, but can’t see bold or check how close the line sits. See FSANZ’s allergen labelling page.
The allergens the tool looks for
These are the allergens it looks for, with the other words it recognises for each. Each tree nut by name; “tree nuts” alone isn’t accepted.
| Allergen | Other words it recognises |
|---|---|
| wheat | None |
| gluten | barley, rye, oat, oats |
| peanut | peanuts, groundnut |
| almond | almonds |
| brazil nut | brazil nuts |
| cashew | cashews |
| hazelnut | hazelnuts |
| macadamia | macadamias |
| pecan | pecans |
| pine nut | pine nuts |
| pistachio | pistachios |
| walnut | walnuts |
| milk | dairy, cream, butter, cheese, whey, casein, lactose |
| egg | eggs |
| fish | None |
| crustacean | crustaceans, prawn, shrimp, crab, lobster, crayfish |
| mollusc | molluscs, oyster, mussel, squid, octopus, clam, scallop |
| sesame | None |
| soy | soya, soybean, soybeans |
| lupin | None |
| sulphites | sulphite, sulfite, sulfites |
Product name terms that can mislead
Product-name terms that raise a warning. The Rule column separates legal conditions from guidance.
| Term | Rule | What to be ready to show |
|---|---|---|
| no added sugar | Food Standards Code | must comply with FSANZ nutrition content claim conditions (Standard 1.2.7) |
| low fat | Food Standards Code | must contain no more than 3g fat per 100g solid or 1.5g per 100mL liquid (FSANZ Standard 1.2.7) |
| diet | Food Standards Code | has strict energy and nutrient-profile rules. Check Schedule 4 |
| lite | Food Standards Code | about fat, sugar or energy means at least 25% less than the regular version. Check Schedule 4 |
| light | Food Standards Code | about fat, sugar or energy means at least 25% less than the regular version. Check Schedule 4 |
| natural | Guidance, not a Code rule | needs to be accurate for the whole product, with evidence to back it up |
| healthy | Guidance, not a Code rule | used about a food's effect on health can count as a health claim under Standard 1.2.7 |
| pure | Guidance, not a Code rule | implies nothing has been added — the product should be free from additives or other ingredients |
| fresh | Guidance, not a Code rule | needs to be accurate, since shoppers may read it as not processed, frozen or preserved |
| homemade | Guidance, not a Code rule | may mislead if the product is commercially manufactured |
| superfood | Guidance, not a Code rule | has no regulatory definition — avoid or ensure any associated health claims are properly substantiated |
| organic | Fair Trading Act | Organic claims must be true and provable today (Fair Trading Act). |
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