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How to read nutrition information panels

Published: August 28, 2020

Interpreting nutrition information panels is a bit of a skill. It’s not easy to know what every element means in the context of health. Today, Carly, our dietitian, thought she would run you all through it!

  • Ingredients: listed from highest amount found in the food item to lowest by weight. Use this to check the first three items for ingredients high in saturated fat, sodium (salt) and added sugar.
  • Energy: refers to the kilojoules or calories present in the food item, either per serve or per 100g (100g of food is always going to be 100g, whereas a serve is dependent on the item, so the per 100g measurement is best for direct comparison). A calorie actually refers to the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius. To convert between kilojoules and calories, this is the formula:1 calorie = 4.2 kilojoules
  • Protein: refers to the grams of protein in the food item, either per serve or per 100g.
  • Total fat: generally, choose foods with <10g/100g. For milk, yoghurt and ice-cream choose <2g/100g.
  • Saturated fat: aim for as low as possible per 100g. Less than 3g/100g is best.
  • Sugars: avoiding sugars is not necessary but minimising your intake of added sugars is beneficial. If sugar content is >15g/100g check the ingredients list for sugar or other names for sugar (such as: dextrose, fructose, glucose, golden syrup, honey, maple syrup, sucrose, malt, maltose, lactose, brown sugar, caster sugar, raw sugar, sucrose).
  • Sodium: choose foods with lower sodium contents. <400mg/100g is good, but <120mg/100g is best. Ingredients that are typically high in sodium include: baking powder, celery salt, garlic salt, meat/yeast extract, monosodium glutamate (MSG), onion salt, rock salt, sea salt, sodium, sodium ascorbate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium nitrate/nitrite, stock cubes, vegetable salt.

Want to learn more or have any further questions? Book in with Carly, our dietitian, for further assistance!