Die datummerk is op die voorafverpakte voedsel.

Afrikaans usually writes compound nouns as a single word. So datummerk is made from datum + merk.

This is very common in Afrikaans:

• voedselveiligheid = food safety
• huiswerk = homework
• taalreël = language rule

In this case, the double mm happens naturally because datum ends in m and merk begins with m.

Die is the Afrikaans definite article, equivalent to English the.

It appears twice because both noun phrases are definite:

• Die datummerk = the date mark
• die voorafverpakte voedsel = the prepacked food

A helpful point for English speakers: Afrikaans uses the same article die for:

• singular
• plural
• all grammatical genders

So unlike German, there is no separate system like der / die / das.

Voorafverpakte means prepacked or pre-packaged.

It is built from:

• vooraf = beforehand, in advance
• verpak = packed, packaged

So voorafverpak literally means packed beforehand.

This kind of word-building is very common in Afrikaans and often feels quite transparent once you know the parts.

That -e is there because the adjective comes before the noun.

Compare:

• Die voedsel is voorafverpak. = The food is prepacked.
• die voorafverpakte voedsel = the prepacked food

So:

• after is, you often get the basic form: voorafverpak
• before a noun, you often get the attributive form: voorafverpakte

This is a very important Afrikaans pattern for adjectives.

Both relate to food, but they are not always used in the same situations.

• kos is the everyday word for food
• voedsel is more formal, technical, or official

In labeling, legal, scientific, or regulatory contexts, voedsel sounds more appropriate. So in a sentence about packaging or date marking, voedsel is a natural choice.

Yes. This sentence has a very English-like structure:

• Die datummerk = subject
• is = verb
• op die voorafverpakte voedsel = prepositional phrase showing location

So the pattern is:

Subject + verb + location

That makes this sentence fairly straightforward for an English speaker.

Yes. Op usually means on.

In this sentence, it means the date mark is located on the prepacked food item, or more practically, on its surface/label/packaging.

In real-life packaging language, Afrikaans can say something is op the product even when the marking is physically on the wrapper or container. If someone wanted to be more specific, they could say op die verpakking = on the packaging.

Afrikaans does not capitalize all nouns the way German does.

So common nouns like:

• datummerk
• voedsel
• verpakking

stay lowercase unless they begin the sentence.

Only the first word of the sentence and proper names are normally capitalized.

Yes, and that would often sound even more physically precise.

• op die voorafverpakte voedsel focuses on the prepacked food product as the item being labeled
• op die verpakking focuses specifically on the package

Which one is better depends on context. In formal or regulatory language, the broader wording in your sentence can be perfectly natural, but in everyday speech people may often prefer op die verpakking if they mean the label on the package itself.