Guides
Guides on product recalls, official announcements and the documents that accompany decisions by the authorities.
Recall and withdrawal: the difference, and where the notices are published
What the EU product safety regulation means by recall and by withdrawal, what a notice contains, and which authority publishes what in the European Union and in Germany.
Repair, replacement or refund: what the regulation provides in a recall
What Article 37 of the EU General Product Safety Regulation states about the three remedies, return shipping costs and deadlines.
Batch and lot number: the detail that decides whether your pack is affected
What a lot is, why a letter L often precedes the number, when the lot number may be left off entirely, and what the equivalent is called on non-food products.
Risk categories: what the reason stated in a recall means
What each standard risk category in a recall notice means, which ones appear most often in the European Union, and how the picture shifts from country to country.
Allergens on the label: which 14, and how they have to appear
What the EU food information regulation states about the 14 allergens, why they have to stand out inside the ingredients list, and what a may contain statement is worth.
Best before or use by: two dates that do not mean the same thing
What the EU food information regulation states about the difference between the two dates, when a food is deemed unsafe, and which products need no date at all.
E numbers: what the number next to an additive states, and what it does not
How the EU list of food additives works, why it is a list of what is permitted rather than what is banned, and which six colours oblige the label to carry a specific statement.
How to search the Safety Gate yourself
What the EU alert database for dangerous products contains, what it leaves out, which filters it offers, and why the absence of an alert is not a statement of safety.
The nutrition declaration: seven values, a fixed order, always per 100
Which values are mandatory, why they are given per 100 g or 100 ml, when the table is absent altogether, and where the Nutri-Score stands.
Country of origin: when it is mandatory, and what it does not state
When the regulation requires an origin indication, what origin means in law, the primary-ingredient rule that applies since 2020, and which sectors follow their own rules.
VeraAlert on your phone: turning on notifications on Android and iPhone
How to turn on the daily VeraAlert notification on a phone, step by step for Android and for iPhone, and what the notification shows.
Family Peace: step-by-step guide to the “I am well” button
What Family Peace in Vera Personal is, how a person is set up, what that person sees on their phone on Android and iPhone, and exactly what VeraAlert does when the button is not pressed.
VeraAlert Business: user manual
How to use VeraAlert Business: access, monitored products and CSV import, checks and marks, recording actions, the daily report, the check archive, exports and the end of the term.