Part 3: Nutritional Analysis – Needed or can it be calculated?

1 June 2023. By FACTS in Regulatory & Nutrition

There is often confusion regarding when nutritional information can be calculated for labelling purposes, and when it must be tested. With an increasing number of professionals offering their services for ‘Nutritional Calculation’, it’s important to understand how this should be done, as well as when it is appropriate. Luckily, the regulations clearly stipulate the conditions for both. The labelling regulation (R. 146/2010) states that the inclusion of Typical Nutritional Information on a label is only mandatory when a nutrition claim is made on the label. However, it can be included voluntarily, even in the absence of a claim. Given the increase in consumer knowledge and understanding of nutrition, consumers increasingly want to see this information on the products they purchase; and more competitors are making it available even in the absence of a claim. Considering the expense of nutritional testing, this may be driving producers towards calculation of the nutritional information.

If you think calculation may be an option for you, it is important to remember the following:

The information must be calculated with analysed nutritional information for each ingoing ingredient, as included in the product specification sheets from your suppliers (you can ask them for this information)
Nutrition databases such as the MRC food composition tables and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) food composition database may not be used for calculation when intended for labelling (except if your product is a single-ingredient food) *
You may not make any nutrient-content claims on a product for which the nutritional information has been calculated
Be aware of factors which may affect the final values, such as fluid losses and the use of certain enzymes and yeasts

* Databases may be useful for the calculation of nutritional information as part of product development, to estimate what the final product’s nutritional values would be.

Contact us to find out which method would be best for your products. FACTS can assist by facilitating the testing process, or by calculation of the values. Our regulatory team can also help put your nutritional results into the correct format for labelling purposes, and suggest an appropriate serving size.