Food & Drink
Supporting Food & Drink Companies Worldwide
Whether you are launching a product range into new markets, supplying a retailer overseas, or supporting production sites in multiple countries, we help food and drink brands, producers, and manufacturers communicate accurately and stay compliant. Our manufacturing translation services cover the full range of documentation your business produces, from packaging artwork to HACCP records.
Our Food & Drink Translation Expertise
Food and drink is the UK’s largest manufacturing sector, and one where a translation error reaches the consumer directly. Unlike an internal manual, a product label, an allergen declaration or a safety data sheet is read by the people who buy, eat and handle your products. If it is wrong, the consequences are immediate. This is why every linguist we assign to food and drink projects has relevant experience working with sector-specific terminology and content: ingredient lists, nutrition panels, process documentation and the regulatory statements that go with them. They are native speakers of the target language and understand how food and drink is labelled, sold and regulated in that market.
Each project is led by a dedicated project manager who selects the right linguists, agrees the deadline with you and manages quality control from start to finish. Where you have existing glossaries, approved translations or previous labels, we use them. Where you do not, we compile a termbase as we translate, so that ingredient and allergen names are fixed once and used consistently across every language, every market and every future revision.
We are ISO 9001:2015 certified, and every project follows the same documented quality process regardless of size. For labelling and regulatory content where you need a second, independent linguist to review the translation against the source, we offer ISO 17100-compliant translation as an option; just ask when you request a quote.
Mary Gilbey
Managing Director
Mary grew up in a multilingual family and brings extensive international experience, having worked in global sales and travelled across South America, Europe, and Israel.
Her team manages translation projects in over 50 languages, supporting clients from start-ups to global brands.
Translation Services We Offer
Fast, cost-effective translations combining human expertise with the latest AI technology for enhanced efficiency.
Accurate translation of all document types, from business contracts to technical manuals.
Certified translations of legal, academic, and official documents for international use.
Formatting and typesetting translated content for your multilingual print and digital media.
Localising websites to engage international audiences and boost global visibility.
Subtitling, voiceover, or dubbing services to make video content accessible worldwide.
Helping you to attract the right global talent with our written and oral language skills assessments.
Access new international markets at an affordable price with our specially tailored export package.
A terminology database that ensures consistency, reduces translation time and saves you money.
Professional interpreting for events, meetings, and conferences, either in person or remote.
Pricing & Translation Options
At Anglia Translations Ltd, we treat every project with the highest level of care and precision. Our commitment to quality ensures outstanding results across all translation and interpreting services.
Why Accurate Translation Matters for Food & Drink Labelling
Under the Food Information for Consumers Regulation, mandatory food information must appear in a language easily understood by consumers in the market where the product is sold. In Great Britain, that language is English; across the EU, each member state sets its own. Most other markets take the same approach.
Accurate, consistent translation of your mandatory particulars is the difference between a product reaching the shelf and a recall notice. It is the part of your export process that is cheapest to get right and most expensive to get wrong.
What Food & Drink Documents Can We Translate?
We translate the full range of documentation a food and drink brand or manufacturer produces, including:
- Packaging and labelling: ingredient lists, allergen declarations, nutrition declarations, storage and usage instructions
- Allergen declarations: translated exactly as you have prepared them for each market, with terminology fixed in a termbase
- Safety data sheets: for cleaning agents, processing aids and any hazardous substances used in production
- HACCP plans and process documentation: read by your customer’s technical or quality team before they sign you off as a supplier
- Product specifications and technical data sheets
- Export and compliance paperwork: certificates of analysis, health certificates and customs documentation
- Training and health and safety materials for multilingual production teams
- Marketing and web content: brochures, product listings, e-commerce and web copy, adapted rather than translated word for word where regional taste and naming differ
- Retailer and distributor documentation: product specifications, supplier questionnaires and listing forms for overseas retailers
Labelling content demands absolute accuracy, and it often arrives as packaging artwork rather than an editable document. Our desktop publishing team can work directly in your artwork files, so translated labels come back ready for print.
We ensure:
- Correct, consistent ingredient and allergen terminology across every language
- Regulatory statements translated in full and checked against the source
- Translated artwork that fits the pack
If your content is regulated, technical or consumer-facing, we can translate it accurately.
Translating Allergen Declarations
Allergen information is the most common source of labelling errors in food and drink, and the one regulators act on fastest. It is also translated differently from marketing copy. The fourteen allergens recognised in the UK and EU have to be identified correctly in the source, then declared in the target language using the exact terms and emphasis (bold, capitals or a separate statement) that market requires.
We translate your allergen declarations as you have prepared them for each destination market, and we fix the terminology in a termbase before it is used anywhere else on the pack, so “soya” is never “soya” in one place and “soja” in another. Where you would like an independent second linguist to check the declaration against the source line by line, our ISO 17100-compliant option covers that. And if you need help confirming how a destination market’s allergen list differs from the UK’s, tell us when you request a quote, and we will discuss how best to support you.
How We Help You
Whether you are a growing food or drink brand, an own-label producer or a large manufacturer, we combine linguists with food and drink experience and a clear, human-led process to make sure your labelling, documentation and marketing content are accurate, consistent and ready for every market you sell into. Send your files and target markets to Judit Denny, our Office Manager, and Judit or one of the team will come back to you with a quote and a delivery date.
Here is how we support you:
- Human-led translation: all labelling and regulatory content is translated by experienced, native-speaking linguists with food and drink experience.
- Dedicated project manager: a single point of contact for scheduling, queries and delivery.
- Terminology consistency: a translation memory and termbase built from your content, so every revision, range extension and product launch is faster and costs less than the first.
- Independent review when you need it: ISO 17100-compliant translation with second-linguist review, available on request for labelling and regulatory content.
- Artwork-ready delivery: desktop publishing in your packaging files, so translated labels come back ready for print.
- Reliable delivery: we agree the deadline at quote stage and met 99.5% of delivery dates in 2025.
- Data security and confidentiality: your specifications and formulations are handled securely within our ISO-certified processes.
With Anglia Translations Ltd, your food and drink content is translated with precision, care, and a clear understanding of what regulators, retailers and consumers expect, giving you confidence in every market you sell into.
How We Work
We’re ISO 9001:2015 regulated, which means we follow strict processes to ensure you get the quality translation you require.
Responsive
Our dedicated project managers collaborate closely with you to ensure every requirement is delivered on time.
Quality
We work exclusively with experienced, professional linguists to guarantee the highest quality in every translation.
Terminology
We utilise Translation Memory software to maintain consistency in your brand messaging and terminology across all projects.
FAQs
Q. Does a food label have to be translated for every market we sell into?
In practice, yes. Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 requires mandatory food information to be given in a language easily understood by consumers in the market where the product is sold, and Great Britain’s assimilated version sets that language as English. Most markets specify their own official language or languages, and some, including the Brussels-Capital Region in Belgium and Canada, require more than one on the same label.
Q. What has to be translated on a food label?
The mandatory particulars set out in the regulation: product name, ingredient list, allergens, quantity of key ingredients, net quantity, dates, storage conditions and instructions for use, the business name and address, country of origin where required, alcohol content where relevant, and the nutrition declaration. Marketing copy on the same pack is adapted rather than translated word for word, so that product names and descriptions work for the local consumer.
Q. Are allergen rules the same in every market?
No. The UK and EU recognise fourteen allergens, emphasised within the ingredient list. The United States recognises nine major allergens, declared in parentheses or in a separate “Contains” statement. Canada has its own list of priority allergens and requires bilingual English and French labels. We translate the allergen declaration you have prepared for each market and keep the terminology consistent across every language. If you would like support checking a declaration against a destination market’s requirements, let us know when you request a quote.
Q. How much does food label translation cost?
Cost depends on the volume of translatable text, the number of languages and the file format, rather than the number of pages. Pricing is typically calculated per word, starting from approximately £0.10 per word, and translation memory reduces the cost of content repeated across a product range or from one label revision to the next. Packaging artwork that needs rebuilding in each language is quoted separately as desktop publishing. Send your files and target markets to Judit or one of the team and we will come back with a quote.
Q. How long does a label or safety data sheet take to translate?
Timescale depends on word count, number of languages and file complexity. A professional translator typically translates around 2,000 words a day, with additional time for review and layout. We agree a delivery date with you at quote stage, and if the date you need means splitting the work across more than one linguist, we will tell you so up front. We met 99.5% of agreed delivery dates in 2025.
Q. Can we use Google Translate or ChatGPT for our labels?
Not for anything a regulator or a consumer relies on. Allergen declarations, ingredient lists, nutrition panels and regulatory statements are translated by a professional linguist, with independent second-linguist review available as an ISO 17100-compliant option. For internal or high-volume material, our AI-assisted translation service combines machine translation with full human post-editing, at a lower cost. We will always tell you which approach suits the content.
