Compositional Standards
Examples of products with compositional standards in some jurisdictions: ice cream (requirements for milk fat content) and chocolate (requirements for cocoa butter content).
Country of Origin
Country of origin is included in the Vulnerability Assessment Helper because problems with origin can affect regulatory compliance and consumer trust as well as damaging your brand. Examples of country of origin claims: Made in USA, Italian Tomatoes, Brewed in Germany.
Regional provenance
Examples of regional and/or provenance claims: Made from Tasmanian apples, Pure spring water bottled in the Rocky Mountains, Topped with Sicilian olives.
Allergen-related claims
Examples: Nut Free, Low in lactose, Contains no soy, No sulphates, Made from corn not wheat, Dairy-free.
Different jurisdictions have different requirements for allergen claims and allergen warnings as well as different declared allergen lists. Include anything that is relevant to your product group and legal jurisdictions. Allergen claims that should be included here are claims that the product is friendly to allergenic or intolerant consumers such as being low-in or free-from various allergens. Do not include warnings such as May contain traces of nuts or manufactured in a facility that also processes soy; these warnings reduce the risk to allergenic consumers, whereas the intention is to capture claims that increase the risk. Visit the Allergen Bureau for more information about allergens.
Special status
The special status question should capture any markeing or labelling claim about your product or product group that has not been captured in the earlier questions. Answer ‘yes’ here if any products in the group are marketed with any special status such as being kosher, halal, non-GMO, organic, sustainably fished, grass-fed or free-range. The type of claim, the definition and the certifications of such are not important to this process, but any problems in your supply chain that affect the accuracy of these claims can impact on regulatory compliance and consumer trust as well as damaging your brand.