Distance selling labelling refers to the EU rules requiring that all mandatory food label particulars, except the durability date, be made available to buyers or consumers before an online or catalogue purchase is completed, without additional cost.
In trade practice
For B2B platforms and online catalogues, this means product pages must carry the full ingredients list, allergen information, net quantity, storage conditions and other mandatory particulars drawn directly from the physical label. A common gap is listing only the product name and a photograph while omitting allergen or additive information, which constitutes non-compliance under Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011. Suppliers providing data sheets to online resellers should ensure the information is kept current whenever a recipe or label changes. The durability date is the one particular that may be provided at delivery rather than pre-purchase.
In a specification
A supply agreement for products sold online should require the supplier to provide a complete mandatory-particulars data set in a structured format, and to notify the buyer of any change before the updated product is dispatched.