Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Ask FDF
Why do the labels include percentages?
The percentages are given on the label to help put the nutrition information in
the context of a balanced diet. They will tell you how much of an adult's
reference intake the nutrition information represents. For example, the reference
intake for salt is 6g. If a portion of food contained 3g of salt, the reference
intake information for that portion would be 50%. This can help balance what else
you might choose over the rest of the day.
Reference Intakes
Front of pack labels
Back/side of pack labels
Reference Intakes FAQs
What does RI stand for?
RI stands for 'Reference Intake', and refers to amounts of nutrients, as set out
in law. They are there to provide a guideline of the contribution nutrients can
make to a balanced diet. Reference Intakes are the same across Europe and are
based on a healthy adult eating a 2000kcal diet.
Are Reference Intake values targets or maximums?
Reference Intakes are guidelines as to the approximate amounts of nutrients
needed for an adult to have a healthy, balanced diet. As such, they are not
targets
to meet or maximums, but can be a useful way of showing how products can fit
into a diet.
Where can I find the RI for children?
There is one set of Reference Intakes and these are based on an adult with a
diet of 2000kcal a day. There are no Reference Intakes for children, however advice
on diets for children aged 1-3 years can be found on the British Nutrition Foundation website.
How have the RI values been calculated/set?
The Reference Intake values have been set out in law, and were approved by the
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). They are broadly consistent with
nutrient
recommendations set out by national authorities. The same reference intakes are
used across Europe.
Does alcohol have an RI?
Only nutrients which must be included within the nutritional information have an
RI. As alcohol is not part of nutrition labelling it does not have one. For
more
advice on alcohol and NHS recommendations on units, visit the NHS Choices
website.
Is there an RI for the whole product?
No, there are only Reference Intakes provided for individual nutrients (for
example fat, saturates, sugars or salt). You could, however, use the front of
pack
labelling to work out how much of a specific nutrient, i.e. sugar is in the
whole product, by multiplying the amount per portion or per 100g/ml by the
total
weight of the product.
What does it mean if the % of the RI of a food is over 100%?
The Reference Intake value given for a nutrient is a guide to the amounts of
each nutrient which contribute to a healthy, balanced diet. They are based on a
diet of 2000kcal. If the % RI of a food is over 100%, this means that it
supplies
over 100% of the reference intake for that nutrient.
Where can I find information about the RIs for all the nutrients?
The RIs for the mandatory nutrients can be found on the 'Reference Intakes' page of this website.
Front of pack labels FAQs
Why do the labels include percentages?
The percentages are given on the label to help put the nutrition information in
the context of a balanced diet. They will tell you how much of an adult's
reference intake the nutrition information represents. For example, the reference
intake for salt is 6g. If a portion of food contained 3g of salt, the reference
intake information for that portion would be 50%. This can help balance what else
you might choose over the rest of the day.
Why does the UK have front of pack labelling?
Some manufacturers, both within the UK and across Europe, provide front of pack
labelling on a voluntary basis as a means of making it easier for consumers to
use nutrition labelling on products. Most products must display mandatory
nutrition information which is usually found on the back or side of packaging;
the
front of pack information is in addition to the mandatory information. UK law
allows
manufacturers to display this information on a voluntary basis
What is included in the value for 'sugars'?
The value is for 'total sugars', this includes sugars naturally present
within
fruits, vegetables and milk as well as sugars which have been added to the
food.
Labelling 'added sugars' is not allowed within the new food labelling
legislation.
Why are other nutrients like protein and fibre not included on the front of pack labelling?
The front of pack information is voluntary, and in addition to the mandatory
nutrition information which has to be provided (which is for more nutrients).
As
space on the front of pack can be limited, and to help standardise what people
see, it was decided to show the 5 nutrients deemed to be the most helpful to
consumers when looking to make healthier choices.
Why don't restaurant and café foods have front of pack labels?
Front of pack nutrition labelling is voluntary; so it is up to individual
companies or businesses as to whether they choose to display this or not. Foods
which
are handmade, or are supplied by manufacturers to local retailers which sell to
the public are considered exempt from supplying mandatory nutritional
information also.
Do you need to add the fat and saturates figures together to get a total fat value?
No, the figure given for fat is for total fat, and this includes saturates. If
you are looking for the total fat value then you only need to look at the
figure
for fat. If you want to look at the amount of saturated fat a product contains,
you only need to look at the saturates value.
Why has the way allergens are labelled changed?
The principle behind the change in allergen labelling is to better inform
customers about allergens by labelling these within the ingredients list.
Although it
may be confusing at first, it should help people with allergies get to know
which ingredients they need to avoid, and help them to read labels better. It
also
means that information on allergens will always be in the same place on every
packaging, making it easier to find when looking at products.
Back/side of pack labels FAQs
Can manufacturers choose what to include on the ingredients list or nutritional information?
Manufacturers must list all ingredients within the product, and they must do
this in order of quantity. This information has to be preceded by the word
'ingredients'. Almost all products will have to display nutrition information.
The
nutrients which must be labelled are: energy (in kJ/kcal, fat, saturates,
carbohydrates, sugars, protein and salt. Other nutrients, such as fibre, starch
or
polyunsaturates are voluntary. The decisions over whether nutrients are
mandatory or
voluntary are set out in the legislation and are not made by the manufacturers.
Why doesn't alcohol need to have nutrition labelling?
Currently any products with over 1.2% by volume of alcohol are exempt from
providing nutritional information in accordance with the EU FIC regulations.
Nutritional information on alcoholic beverages can be provided voluntarily by
the
manufacturer, but it is not legally required. The European Commission is,
however,
looking into the possibility of alcoholic beverages displaying nutritional
information.
How do I know if sugars have been added to products?
Because the figure for sugars on nutrition labelling is for 'total sugars', it
isn't possible to tell if a product contains added sugars just by looking at
the
nutritional information. However, if sugars have been added to the product as
an
ingredient (rather than being naturally present in foods, for example fruit or
milk), then this will be included on the ingredients list. Words such as
sucrose,
glucose, fructose, maltose, honey, syrup or 'fruit juice concentrate' normally
indicate that these ingredients have been added for their sweetening
properties.
However, this is a guide only and is not an exhaustive list.
Why do products no longer list gluten in their ingredients list?
As part of the new FIC labelling regulations, ingredients which are known to
cause allergies must be highlighted within the ingredients list and, rather
than
write the name of the allergen (i.e. gluten), the name of the ingredient which
contains this allergen must be identified, (i.e. wheat or oats). If the
ingredient
which contains gluten isn't obvious, gluten may be included after the
ingredients in brackets, but for the most part, you will now need to know the
name of
ingredients that may contain gluten rather than just looking for this word. Coeliac UK contains more information on ingredients which contain gluten.
Will there still be an allergens 'contains' box on packaging?
There will no longer be a box on the packaging which tells you what allergens
the product contains, although there might be a box which directs you to the
ingredients list to look there. The ingredients list will not tell you if a product
'may contain' allergens – these will be found in a box on the packaging close to
the ingredients list.
Last reviewed: 28 Aug 2020