How to Read a Bulgarian Food Label: A Guide to Expiry Dates and Ingredients
Understanding Bulgarian food labels helps you shop with confidence. Here's how to decode expiry dates, ingredients and allergens.
Illustration: AI-generated image
Walking down a Bulgarian supermarket aisle, the packaging can feel like a puzzle if you haven't yet mastered the Cyrillic alphabet. Yet once you know what to look for, reading a food label becomes second nature. This guide walks you through the essentials of Bulgarian food labelling so you can shop with confidence and know exactly what you are buying.
Date marking: 'godnost' and 'srok'
On most packaged foods you will see one of two phrases. „Годен до" (Goden do) means "use by" and appears on highly perishable items like fresh meat, fish and dairy. You should not eat these products after the stated date. „Най-добър до" (Nay-dobar do) means "best before" and is found on shelf-stable goods such as pasta, tinned food and biscuits. After this date, the product may lose some flavour or texture but is usually still safe to consume if it has been stored properly and the packaging is undamaged.
Dates are always written in the format day.month.year, so 12.11.2026 means 12 November 2026. Some producers also include a batch number, usually preceded by the letter „Л" (L), but that is mainly relevant for recalls.
Ingredients: 'sastavki'
The ingredients list is headed „Съставки" (Sastavki). Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, just as they are in the UK and most of Europe. The first few items make up the bulk of the product. Look out for common Bulgarian terms: захар (sugar), сол (salt), брашно (flour), олио (oil), яйца (eggs) and мляко (milk) all appear frequently.
Additives are often given as E-numbers, which are standard across the EU. If you prefer to avoid certain additives, familiarise yourself with the ones that matter to you. Many Bulgarian products proudly state „Без консерванти" (without preservatives) or „Без оцветители" (without colourings) on the front of the pack.
Allergens and special diets
By law, the 14 main allergens must be highlighted in the ingredients list, usually in bold, italics or a different colour. The most common allergens in Bulgarian products include глутен (gluten), мляко (milk), яйца (eggs), ядки (nuts) and соя (soy). If you see any of these words in bold, the product contains that allergen. Some packages also include a separate "Contains:" statement, for example „Съдържа: глутен, мляко".
For vegetarians and vegans, look for the green V-label or the words „вегетариански" (vegetarian) and „веган" (vegan). However, even if a product looks plant-based, always check the ingredients for animal-derived additives such as желатин (gelatin) or кармин (carmine).
Other useful phrases
- „Нетно тегло" – net weight
- „Енергийна стойност" – energy value (calories), usually per 100 g or 100 ml
- „Съхранение" – storage instructions, such as "keep in a cool, dry place"
- „Произведено в България" – produced in Bulgaria
- „Внос от" – imported from
Bulgarian labels are generally clear and follow EU regulations, so once you recognise a few key words, you will find shopping much less daunting. Keep this guide handy on your phone for your next trip to the supermarket, and you will never confuse "srok" with "sastavki" again.
