A trade description is any information that is displayed on the packaging of your dairy product
that describes the nature and intended use of the product.
The details may be on a label or inkjet printed onto the packaging
or attached to the product as a tag.
If you are intending to export your dairy product,
your product's trade description must meet the requirements of the export legislation
as well as any relevant importing country labelling requirements.
As a manufacturer, you are legally required to apply trade descriptions
to each of your products that are accurate and contain all required information.
It's important to remember
that not every country will accept the same type of labelling on imported food products.
So, you must check that your dairy products have trade descriptions
that have been assessed as meeting the importing country requirements
for each country that the product is exported to.
You can check Micor to see if the country you are planning to export your product
requires any specific labelling, such as language,
units of measurement and religious statements.
It's also advisable to confirm any labelling requirements with your importer and/or customer.
Your approved arrangement
needs to include a documented program
for how trade descriptions will be applied to your products.
The program must detail what specific information needs to be included in the trade description.
This may include any differences for products with multiple layers of packaging.
Your program will need to be supported by validation information
for any claims made in your product trade descriptions.
It also needs to describe how the contents of your trade description
will be monitored and verified, the records to be kept
and any corrective actions to be taken if errors are identified.
Trade descriptions must be clear, legible, secure
and consistent with other records to enable product traceability.
Read on below to learn more about trade descriptions and the export requirements.