Swedish Food Labels Explained: Nyckelhalet, KRAV and Organic

You don’t need Swedish to read a Swedish food pack. You need to know where the law puts the important parts, around forty words, and which logos are official and which are private schemes.

When you need this

You’re in a Swedish supermarket, holding a carton that could be milk or buttermilk, a pack of mince that could be beef or pork, or a yogurt two days past its date. Or you have an allergy and need to know what’s in something before you buy it. Or a green keyhole logo and a KRAV sticker are telling you something and you’d like to know what.

Law on the pack, choice on the logo

Everything on a Swedish pack falls into one of two kinds, and telling them apart is most of the skill.

The mandatory part reads exactly like it would in Germany or the Netherlands, just in Swedish. The Keyhole is the only voluntary mark the state owns: it is Livsmedelsverket’s registered trademark and has its own regulation. KRAV is an economic association owned by its members, Från Sverige is run by a company called Svenskmärkning AB, and MSC is an international certification body. All three are useful, but none of them is a government guarantee.

The ingredient list: read the bold words

Find ingredienser, the ingredient list. EU law requires the fourteen declarable allergens to be emphasised so they stand out from everything else. The law allows font, style or background color, and in Sweden that almost always means bold. So you don’t have to translate the whole list. Just read the bold words.

If a product has no ingredient list, the allergen follows the word Innehåller (“contains”).

Two things catch people out:

• Jordnötter (peanuts) and nötter (tree nuts) are separate allergens. A nut warning doesn’t cover peanuts.
• Kan innehålla spår av… (“may contain traces of…”) is voluntary and has no legal thresholds behind it. A pack without the line hasn’t been certified trace-free. International Codex guidelines on these warnings were adopted in July 2026, but they aren’t binding law in Sweden, and the EU’s own harmonized rules are planned for the fourth quarter of 2027.

Unpackaged food like deli counters, bakeries and pick-and-mix has no printed list, but the shop still has to tell you about allergens, in writing or when you ask. Restaurants work the same way. See eating out with food allergies in Sweden for the whole picture.

The words you actually need

Watch out for nöt. On its own it means beef, and it’s how nötkött gets shortened. Nötter are nuts.

The nutrition table (näringsvärde per 100 g) is mandatory and always lists the same items: energi, fett, varav mättat fett (of which saturates), kolhydrat, varav sockerarter (of which sugars), protein and salt.

Bäst före vs sista förbrukningsdag

This is the most useful distinction on the pack, and the two marks mean opposite things.

• Bäst före (“best before”) is a quality date. It’s the date up to which taste, color and texture are guaranteed if the food is stored as instructed. Food doesn’t become dangerous on that date. Livsmedelsverket’s own advice is to look at it, smell it and taste it. Shops may even sell food after bäst före if they judge it still fit.
• Sista förbrukningsdag (“use by”) is a safety date. It’s used on food that spoils quickly because of bacteria, typically chilled products. After the date the food counts as unsafe and may not be sold. Don’t eat it, even if it looks and smells fine, because the risk is bacteria you can’t sense.

Some foods need no date at all, including fresh uncut fruit and vegetables, drinks of 10% alcohol or more, and bakery goods normally eaten within a day.

Free-from and sugar claims

• Laktosfri (lactose-free) removes only the milk sugar. It’s still milk. If you have a milk allergy you need mjölkfri, which means no milk protein and no lactose.
• Glutenfri means no more than 20 mg of gluten per kilo. Gluten-free food in Sweden covers oats and the crossed-grain symbol.
• Sockerfri (sugar-free) means at most 0.5 g of sugars per 100 g or 100 ml. Utan tillsatt socker (no added sugar) means none was added, not that there’s none in it.
• Vegansk and vegetarisk are voluntary claims. Vegan doesn’t mean milk-free for allergy purposes. See vegan food in Sweden.

The Keyhole: healthier, not organic

The green (sometimes black) keyhole logo is Nyckelhålet, Livsmedelsverket’s voluntary symbol for the healthier choice within a food group: less sugar and salt, more fiber and wholegrain, and healthier or less fat than similar products. It’s governed by a Swedish regulation (LIVSFS 2005:9) and shared across the Nordic region. Denmark, Norway and Iceland use the same criteria, and so do the Faroe Islands and Lithuania.

The Keyhole says nothing about organic production, vegetarian ingredients or allergens. You’ll find it on meat and fish products as well as bread. It isn’t used on food for children under three.

The criteria are changing. An update that tightens salt limits in many groups and raises fiber and wholegrain requirements in bread has been out for consultation. It’s planned to take effect in 2027, with a transition of about 18 months. Until then, the current criteria apply.

Organic: the EU leaf and KRAV

• The EU organic leaf is mandatory on prepacked organic food from the EU. Next to it you’ll find the code number of the control body and an origin line: EU-jordbruk, icke-EU-jordbruk or EU-/icke-EU-jordbruk. A processed food may only call itself organic if at least 95% of its agricultural ingredients are organic.
• KRAV is a private Swedish scheme, founded in 1985 and owned by its members. KRAV products meet the EU organic rules too, and KRAV then adds its own requirements on animal welfare, climate and working conditions. So a KRAV product usually carries both marks. A product with only the leaf is organic but not KRAV-certified.

Where the meat and fish come from

The mandatory origin line is the precise one. Fresh and frozen pork, lamb, goat and poultry must state Uppfödd i (reared in) and Slaktad i (slaughtered in). Ursprung (origin) appears only when the animal was born, reared and slaughtered in one country. Beef has its own EU origin rules.

Från Sverige and Kött från Sverige are voluntary, private origin marks run by Svenskmärkning AB. Kött från Sverige means the animal was born, raised and slaughtered in Sweden. On composite products like sausages, at least 75% of the raw material must be Swedish, and any meat, milk, eggs or fish must be 100% Swedish. The scheme is reliable, but it’s a private one.

MSC (the blue label) is a private certification for wild-caught fish and shellfish from certified fisheries, traceable through the supply chain.

On the shelf edge and the drinks aisle

• Jämförpris. By law, the shelf label shows a comparison price in kr/kg, kr/l or another standard unit (packs of 50 g or 50 ml or less are exempt). Use it instead of the pack price, because a bigger pack isn’t always cheaper per kilo. A sale sign must also show the lowest price from the previous 30 days. Grocery prices in Sweden shows how to use it.
• Pant. The deposit mark on cans and plastic bottles is charged at the till and refunded at the return machine. There’s more in the pant deposit.
• Beer strength. Alkoholfri is up to 0.5%, lättöl up to 2.25% and folköl 2.26–3.5%. Anything stronger is sold only by Systembolaget. See folköl, the 3.5% supermarket beer.

Halal and kosher

Every animal slaughtered in Sweden must be stunned first. Halal slaughter with prior stunning is permitted, and halal products are fairly easy to find in larger cities’ supermarkets and specialist shops. Kosher slaughter without stunning isn’t permitted, so kosher meat on sale in Sweden is imported, and it’s mostly found in the few cities with an organized Jewish community. Halal food in Sweden covers where to look.

Practical information

FAQ

What does “bäst före” mean on Swedish food?

It means “best before”: the date until which the producer guarantees taste, color and texture when the food is stored as instructed. It is not a safety limit. Livsmedelsverket’s advice after the date is to look, smell and taste; the food is often perfectly fine. Shops may even sell it after the date if they judge it still fit.

What is the difference between bäst före and sista förbrukningsdag?

Bäst före is a quality date, used on most food. Sista förbrukningsdag (“use by”) is a safety date, used on food that is highly perishable from a microbiological point of view, typically chilled products. After it, the food is treated as unsafe, may not be sold, and should not be eaten, even if it seems fine. The risk is bacteria you cannot see or smell.

How do I spot allergens on Swedish food packaging?

Look in the ingredient list, ingredienser. EU law requires the fourteen declarable allergens to stand out from the other ingredients, and in Sweden that almost always means bold text. If there is no list, the allergen follows the word Innehåller. Note that jordnötter (peanuts) and nötter (tree nuts) are separate, and “may contain traces” is voluntary.

What does the green Keyhole symbol mean?

The Keyhole (Nyckelhålet) is Livsmedelsverket’s voluntary symbol for the healthier choice within a food group: less sugar and salt, more fiber and wholegrain, and healthier or less fat. It appears on bread, dairy, meat, fish and ready meals alike. It says nothing about organic production, vegetarian ingredients or allergens, and it is not used on food for children under three.

Is KRAV the same as organic?

KRAV-marked food meets the EU organic rules and then adds KRAV’s own requirements on animal welfare, climate and working conditions. KRAV is a private economic association, not an authority. The green EU organic leaf is the mandatory mark for organic prepacked food, so a KRAV product normally carries both; a product with only the leaf is organic but not KRAV-certified.

Does “Från Sverige” mean the food is Swedish?

It is a voluntary, private origin mark run by Svenskmärkning AB. Kött från Sverige means the animal was born, raised and slaughtered in Sweden. On composite products at least 75% of the raw material must be Swedish, with any meat, milk, eggs or fish always 100% Swedish. For fresh meat, the compulsory origin line (Uppfödd i, Slaktad i) is the official statement.

Can I find halal or kosher food in Swedish supermarkets?

Halal products are fairly easy to find in larger cities, both in major supermarkets and in specialist shops. Kosher food is harder: Swedish law requires every animal to be stunned before slaughter, which rules out kosher slaughter, so kosher meat is imported and sold mainly in the cities with an organized Jewish community. Our halal guide covers where to look.

Related guides

• Eating out with food allergies in Sweden: your legal right to allergen information in restaurants and cafés.
• Gluten-free food in Sweden: the crossed-grain symbol, oats and gluten-free beer.
• Swedish supermarkets: the chains, member prices and what they stock.
• Grocery prices in Sweden: putting the jämförpris to work on a real basket.
• Self-checkout in Sweden: scanning your own shopping, including age-restricted drinks.

Facts verified 2026-09-24. Sources: EU Regulations 1169/2011, 1924/2006, 2018/848 and 1337/2013, Livsmedelsverket, Jordbruksverket, Konsumentverket, Systembolaget, Pantamera, and the KRAV, Svenskmärkning and MSC schemes themselves (full register in this topic’s source file). No product or brand is endorsed. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.