Food labels
Types of nutrition information on food packaging:
Nutrition tables
Front of pack labels (such as traffic light colour-coded labels)
Ingredients list
Nutrition tables - usually printed on the back or side of pre-packed foods.
This information must be given per 100g; some manufacturers also give this information per portion.
Energy = given as kJ and kcal, kJ is the metric equivalent of kcal.
Fat = total fat which includes saturated and unsaturated fats.
of which saturates = total of saturated fat only.
Carbohydrate = total for starch and sugars.
of which sugars = includes naturally occurring sugar e.g., in milk (lactose) and in fruit (fructose) and added sugars.
Fibre = the amount of fibre within the food.
Protein = the amount of protein within the food.
Sodium/salt = salt content within the food (if only sodium information is given, multiply sodium by 2.5 to get your salt content).
RI’s and % = reference intakes based on average adult female.
Front of pack labels - simplified nutrition information found on the front of some pre-packed foods. Commonly known as the traffic light system.
The use of traffic light colour coding is voluntary.
Mostly greens = LOW, the food is low in that particular nutrient (e.g., low in saturated fat), can be eaten quite frequently.
Mostly ambers = MEDIUM, this food is neither high nor low in a nutrient and can be eaten quite often.
Mostly reds = HIGH, the food is high in a particular nutrient and therefore you might need to be careful with how much/how often you eat that food.
Be aware of some foods: for instance, a bag of jelly babies or boiled sweets will show as green on the traffic light system for the fat, saturated fat and salt content, and therefore look healthy as they only have one red light showing. However, looking closer, this red could be extremely high for this one food and therefore be a less healthy choice (e.g., sugar content for the day should be no more than seven cubes = six teaspoons, jelly babies are well over this amount). On the other hand, natural nuts will be showing red for fats but are a very healthy food. So, the traffic light coding doesn’t always give us an indication of how healthy the food is.
What’s a serving?
Food manufacturers decide what a ‘serving’ or portion size for their own product is (e.g., 50g porridge oats). But remember your serving/portion size might be different from this.
Ingredients list
These are listed in order of weight, so the main ingredient in the packaged food will always come first. It is listed from the highest amount to lowest amount.
The ingredients list can help you work out how healthy and what quality the product is. That means that if the first few ingredients are high-fat ingredients, such as cream, butter or oil, then the food in question is a high-fat food. Or if it’s sugar, honey or syrup, it will be high in sugar.
Is the first ingredient what you would expect it to be based on the name and the label?
Food allergy or allergy advice
Shown for those individuals with intolerances or allergies. The main allergens need to be stated on the label and will be printed in bold.
Food label terms
Use by – dates are used on foods that go off quickly, such as chilled meat, dairy products and ready meals. It’s an offence for shops to sell food past this date. It is not safe to consume foods after this date. For ‘use by’ dates to be valid, foods must also have been stored according to advice on the packaging. If a food can be frozen, the use by date can be extended but follow the advice on the packet. Use by date relates to food safety.
Best before – dates are shown where there is no immediate risk of food poisoning, but after this date, food might be going stale or losing its flavour. Food can be sold and/or consumed after this date. Don’t waste foods that are past their best before date but are perfectly okay to eat! That will save your money and our planet as well. Best before date relates to food quality.
Health claims - any claims made about the nutritional and health benefits of a food must be based on science. Only claims the European Commission has approved can be used on food packaging. General claims about benefits to overall good health, such as "healthy" or "good for you", are only allowed if accompanied by an approved claim. This means that these claims must be backed up by an explanation of why the food is "healthy". Labels are not allowed to claim that food can treat, prevent or cure any disease or medical condition. These sorts of claims can only be made for licensed medicines.
Light - to say that a food is "light", it must be at least 30% lower in at least one typical value, such as calories or fat, than standard products. The label must explain exactly what has been reduced and by how much, for example "light: 30% less fat". You may be surprised at how little difference there is between foods that carry claims and those that don't. A "light" version of one brand of crisps may contain the same amount of fat or calories as the standard version of another brand.
Low fat - a claim that a food is low in fat may only be made where the product contains no more than 3g of fat per 100g for solids or 1.5g of fat per 100ml for liquids.
No added sugar – this usually means that the food has not had sugar added to it as an ingredient. A food that has "no added sugar" might still taste sweet and can still contain natural sugar. Sugars occur naturally in food such as fruit and milk. Just because a food contains "no added sugar", this does not necessarily mean it has low sugar content. The food may contain ingredients that have a naturally high sugar content (such as fruit), or have added milk, which contains lactose, a type of sugar that occurs naturally in milk. It can contain artificial sweeteners.
Unsweetened - this means that no sugar or sweetener has been added to the food to make it taste sweet. This doesn't necessarily mean that the food will not contain naturally occurring sugars found in fruit or milk.
No sugar or zero sugar - this means that no sugar has been added to the product and no natural sugar is present either. The total amount of sugar in the product is therefore 0 (or very close to 0). However, it may contain artificial sweeteners and may taste sweet.