The general legislation on the provision of food information to consumers, Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, also apply to food based on seaweed. Among several demands in this regulation, information should be provided on the presence of substances or products that may cause allergy or intolerance. Certain seaweed products may contain traces of crustaceans, molluscs, and fish on the surface, and should be labelled to ensure that consumers with allergies to such substances are properly informed. Examples of such labelling are “May contain traces of crustaceans, molluscs or fish” and “May contain shellfish or fish”.
Seaweed is often reported to have health benefits and is marketed accordingly. Business operators should only use permitted claims when marketing their products. According to Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006, only claims that are on the list of permitted nutrition claims or authorised health claims may be used. Such claims must be based on and substantiated by generally accepted scientific data and must not be false, ambiguous, or misleading. The European Commission decides which claims are permitted.
There is also legislation on common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products, which also include seaweed (Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013). However, this regulation is not implemented in all Nordic countries.