This document discusses nutrition labelling requirements on packaged foods. It covers the key components of nutrition labels including the nutrition facts table, ingredient list, and nutrition claims. Nutrition labels provide information on calories, fat, sugars, sodium, vitamins, and minerals per serving. They help consumers make informed choices about the nutritional content of foods and how they fit within daily recommended intake amounts. Certain foods are exempt from nutrition labelling requirements such as plain coffee, bulk foods, and foods prepared on site in restaurants.
2. Introduction:
• Nutrition facts label or nutrition information panel is a label found on many
packaged foods.
• Nutrition facts labels are only one of many types of food label required by
regulation or applied by manufacturers.
• The legislated information includes:
The Nutrition Facts table
The ingredient list
Some optional nutrition claims
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4. Food labels:
• Most pre-packed foods have a nutrition label on the back or side of the packaging.
• These labels include information on energy in kilojoules (kJ) and kilocalories
(kcal), usually referred to as calories.
• They also include information on fat, saturates (saturated fat),
carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt.
• All nutrition information is provided per 100 grams and sometimes per portion of
the food.
• It helps to choose a more balanced diet.
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5. • They are often displayed as panel or grid either on the back or on the side of
packaging.
• It acts as a guidelines to tell whether the food is rich in fat, saturated food, high in
fiber etc.,
• Front labelling acts as a quick guide to energy, fat content, starch content etc.,
• These labels provide information on the number of grams of fat, saturated fat,
sugars and salt, and the amount of energy (in kJ and kcal) in a serving or portion
of the food.
• This is very useful to compare different food products at a glance.
• Some front-of-pack nutrition labels also provide information about reference
intakes.
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8. Reference intake:
• Nutrition labels can also provide information on how a particular food or drink
product fits into the daily recommended diet.
• Some front-of-pack nutrition labels use red, amber and green colour coding. It
indicates the level/amount of fat, saturated fats, sugar and salt in the product.
• Red mean high
• Amber means medium
• Green means low
• The more green in the label, the more healthier the choice.
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9. Amount per servings:
• The total calories and the calories from fat are listed. These numbers help
consumers make decisions about fat intake.
• The list of nutrients includes total fat, trans fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium,
total carbohydrate, dietary fiber, sugars, and protein.
• These nutrients are important to our health.
• Their amounts are given in grams (g) or milligrams (mg) per serving to the right
of the nutrient.
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10. Vitamins and minerals:
• Only 2 vitamins (A and C) and 2 minerals (calcium and iron) are required on the
food label.
• But, when vitamins or minerals are added to the food, or when a vitamin or
mineral claim is made, those nutrients must be listed on the nutrition label.
• Food companies can voluntarily list other vitamins and minerals in the food.
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11. Percent daily value:
• The amounts of vitamins and minerals are listed as a Percent Daily Value on the
nutrition label.
• The Percent Daily Value for vitamins and minerals gives a general idea of how
much of a vitamin or mineral 1 serving of the food contributes to the total daily
requirement.
• For example, if the Percent Daily Value for vitamin C of all the foods you eat in a
day adds up to 100%, you are getting the recommended amount of vitamin C.
• The Percent Daily Value section shows how a food fits into overall daily diet. The
value of the nutrient is given in percentages.
• The Percent Daily Value gives the food's nutritional content based on a 2,000-
calorie diet.
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12. Nutrition content claims:
• A nutrient content claim is a word or phrase on a food package that makes a
comment about the nutritional value of the food. The claim will mean the same
for every product.
• Some approved nutrient claims are:
Calorie terms:
Low-calorie: 40 calories or less per serving.
Reduced-calorie: At least 25% fewer calories per serving when compared to a
similar food.
Light, Lite: One-third fewer total calories or 50% less fat per serving. If more
than half the calories are from fat, the fat content must be reduced by 50% or
more.
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13. Sugar terms:
Sugar-free: Less than 1/2 gram of sugar per serving.
Reduced sugar: At least 25% less sugar per serving when compared to a similar
food.
Fat terms:
• Fat-free: Less than 1/2 gram of fat per serving.
• 100% fat free: Meets the requirements for fat free.
• Low-fat: 3 grams of fat or less per serving.
• Reduced-fat: At least 25% less fat when compared with a similar food.
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14. Cholesterol terms:
• Cholesterol-free: Less than 2 milligrams of cholesterol per serving and 2 grams or
less of saturated fat per serving.
• Low cholesterol: 20 milligrams or less of cholesterol per serving and 2 grams or
less of saturated fat per serving.
Sodium terms:
Sodium-free: Less than 5 milligrams of sodium per serving.
Salt-free: Meets the requirements for sodium-free.
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15. Ingredients:
• Food manufacturers are required to list ingredients in descending order by weight
(from the most to the least). People with food sensitivities can obtain useful
information from the ingredient list on the label.
• The ingredient list will include, when appropriate:
Caseinate as a milk derivative in foods that claim to be
nondairy (such as coffee whiteners)
FDA-approved color additives
Sources of protein hydrolysates
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16. Food exempt from labelling:
• Plain coffee and tea
• Medline foods
• Airline foods
• Food colors
• Bulk foods
• Food service vendors
• Hospital caffetarias
• Spices
• Ready to eat food prepared on site
• Restaurant foods
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