Food imitations
In the guide
The law on the supply of articles that resemble food products
Note: although the United Kingdom has left the European Union, certain pieces of legislation (formally known as 'retained EU law') will still apply until such time as they are replaced by new UK legislation; this means that you will still see references to EU regulations in our guidance.
This guidance is for England, Scotland and Wales
This guidance focuses on products that look like or imitate food but are not food. It is an offence to provide products that look like food and can cause injury or a health risk because of this.
Laws covering food-imitating products
A number of laws prevent the sale of potentially dangerous food-imitating products:
- Food Imitations (Safety) Regulations 1989
- Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures
- Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products (enforced by trading standards in the UK by the Cosmetic Product Enforcement Regulations 2013)
FOOD IMITATIONS (SAFETY) REGULATIONS 1989
These Regulations prohibit the marketing, import and manufacture of products that look like foodstuffs but that are not in fact edible. In particular they prohibit the supply of goods that have one or more of the following:
- form
- odour
- colour
- appearance
- packaging
- labelling
- volume
such that people, particularly children, could confuse them with food and put them in their mouth or suck or swallow, which may cause death or injury.
Injury can include choking, strangulation, cutting, poisoning, or even causing a child to vomit.
REGULATION (EC) NO 1272/2008 ON CLASSIFICATION, LABELLING AND PACKAGING OF SUBSTANCES AND MIXTURES
Under this Regulation, dangerous preparations such as detergents, drain and oven cleaners, glues, polishes,etc must not be supplied in a shape that:
- attracts the active curiosity of children
- misleads consumers
- looks like packaging for:
- food (for animals or humans)
- medicines
- cosmetics
REGULATION (EC) NO 1223/2009 ON COSMETIC PRODUCTS
This European law states that a cosmetic product must be safe for human health when used under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use, taking account, in particular, of the following, which should not endanger the health and safety of consumers due to confusion with foodstuffs:
- presentation (and in particular its form, odour, colour, appearance, packaging)
- labelling
- volume
- size
How to assess whether a product is safe
In order to assess whether a product can cause injury or a risk to health any appropriate harmonised European standards could be used. For example, the EN 71 series of standards covers the safety properties of toys and would be suitable to assess, for example, whether a food imitation releases a small part that could cause a choking hazard or contains a prohibited chemical such as lead or cadmium.
The following are examples of products that have been deemed to be food imitating and could cause injury or harm to health.
| Relevant standard(s) | Product | Hazards and examination points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BS EN 71-1: Safety of toys. Mechanical and physical properties
BS EN 71-3: Safety of toys. Migration of certain elements |
wooden apple |  |
choking hazard
toxicity - paints |
| BS EN 71-1: Safety of toys. Mechanical and physical properties | candle |  |
choking hazard |
| BS EN 71-1: Safety of toys. Mechanical and physical properties
BS EN 71-3: Safety of toys. Migration of certain elements |
Christmas decoration - polystyrene lollipop |  |
choking hazard |
| BS EN 71-1: Safety of toys. Mechanical and physical properties | decorative 'I Love Chocolate' magnets |  |
choking hazard
magnets are easily detached and, because they attract each other, can cause serious damage when passing through the intestine (blockages, perforation of the intestine) |
| BS EN 71-3: Safety of toys. Migration of certain elements | naphthalene moth balls |  |
naphthalene may cause irritation, burning and poisoning |
| BS EN 71-1: Safety of toys. Mechanical and physical properties | decorative candle |  |
choking hazard
grapes break off |
| BS EN 71-3: Safety of toys. Migration of certain elements | cooling element resembling ice cube bags. The translucent cubes contain distilled water and ethylene glycol |  |
the product poses a chemical risk because the liquid contains ethylene glycol, which can be toxic if swallowed |
| BS EN 71-1: Safety of toys. Mechanical and physical properties | decorative candles |  |
choking hazard |
| BS EN 71-1: Safety of toys. Mechanical and physical properties
BS EN 71-3: Safety of toys. Migration of certain elements |
Christmas decoration in the form of a cupcake made of expanded polystyrene |  |
choking hazard |
| BS EN 71-1: Safety of toys. Mechanical and physical properties
BS EN 71-3: Safety of toys. Migration of certain elements |
decorative candle in the shape of a chocolate cake topped with cream and blackberries, packaged in a box with a cardboard base and a clear plastic cover, tied around with a brown ribbon |  |
choking hazard |
| BS EN 71-3: Safety of toys. Migration of certain elements | shower and bath gel, wild strawberries |  |
product's detergent content represents a serious health risk (toxic pneumonia) |
| BS EN 71-1: Safety of toys. Mechanical and physical properties | lip glosses packed in plastic mini pots in the form of little tarts (chocolate and strawberry sprinkle, cherry feast, violet fancy, etc) |  |
choking hazard |
| BS EN 71-1: Safety of toys. Mechanical and physical properties | two fragrant novelty soaps, in the shape of a cake slice, in plastic wrapping |  |
choking hazard |
Penalties
Failure to comply with trading standards law can lead to enforcement action and to sanctions, which may include a fine and/or imprisonment. For more information please see 'Trading standards: powers, enforcement and penalties'.
Key legislation
- Food Imitations (Safety) Regulations 1989
- Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures
- Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products
- Cosmetic Product Enforcement Regulations 2013
Last reviewed / updated: February 2020
In this update
No major changes
Please note
This information is intended for guidance; only the courts can give an authoritative interpretation of the law.
The guide's 'Key legislation' links may only show the original version of the legislation, although some amending legislation is linked to separately where it is directly related to the content of a guide. Information on amendments to legislation can be found on each link's 'More Resources' tab.
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