How to calculate nutrition data using Excel or Open Office Calc
Website design By BotEap.comThe EU directive 1169/2011 comes into force on December 13, 2016. The first phase of this directive came into force on December 13, 2014, but the second requires nutritional data, which raises the question of how to calculate the nutritional data.
Website design By BotEap.comThe first phase of this regulation required that all ingredient labels must include allergen information within the ingredient list. Prior to this regulation, it was legally acceptable to include allergen information in a separate area of your label.
Website design By BotEap.comThe new regulations simply require allergens to be highlighted within the list of unique product ingredients, but the ingredients must also be listed in quantitative order.
Website design By BotEap.comQuantitative order simply means that the largest constituent ingredient should be listed first, then the second largest, and so on. The percentages of these ingredients should also be included.
Website design By BotEap.comThere are several ways that highlighting ingredients can be achieved; Users can use bold text, underlined text, colored text, or italicized text.
Website design By BotEap.comThere are 14 allergens that must be indicated on the label if they are present within the ingredients of the product. These include wheat or oats or any other grain containing gluten and also include milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans, molluscs, to name a few.
Website design By BotEap.comAnother aspect of the legislation was to harmonize the legibility of the text on food labels.
Website design By BotEap.comHistorically, text could be incredibly difficult to read as manufacturers packed as much information into as small a section of the label as possible to maximize the marketing potential of the rest of the label.
Website design By BotEap.comThe new regulations require that all text be legible with a specific height of the letter “x” in the font no less than 1.2 millimeters. In layman’s terms, that means the standard Arial or Times New Roman font should be 6.5 points and one size.
Website design By BotEap.comThe second phase of the regulations that will go into effect in December requires nutrition facts to be supplied with all prepackaged foods so that consumers can make decisions regarding nutrition within the foods they purchase.
Website design By BotEap.comThe law establishes that this information must be transmitted to the customer per 100 grams.
Website design By BotEap.comIt is also possible to convey the information additionally per portion, eg a sandwich would constitute one portion so that a food producer can provide the information based on the entire sandwich. The food producer may also indicate nutritional values in a serving, for example a cookie or a small piece of chocolate. But the food producer must also provide the information in a per 100g format in all cases.
Website design By BotEap.comHow to Calculate Nutrition Facts
In order to calculate the nutritional values of pre-packaged foods for sale to the public, food production companies need to know the nutritional values of the constituent ingredients of their product. Perhaps the best way to demonstrate how to calculate nutrition data is to give an example; a ham and mustard sandwich. Website design By BotEap.comA ham and mustard sandwich can consist of four ingredients; we will have bread, ham, mustard and margarine or butter to make a sandwich. Each of these ingredients will be incorporated along the lines of a recipe; that is, there will be a specific weight of each product to make up a standard product. Website design By BotEap.comFood manufacturers must start with basic nutrition facts for each ingredient; as mentioned, the legislation requires nutrition data to be provided per 100 grams. Since all manufacturers are required to do this, most food companies should be able to get that information directly from the packaging of the products they buy or by talking to their supplier. Website design By BotEap.comIn our example, the food producer could tabulate the constituent ingredient data in a table. The information to be transmitted includes energy in both kilojoules and kilocalories; they must also report total fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugar, protein, and salt, all in grams. Website design By BotEap.comFood manufacturers can also list monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, polyols and starch (which are carbohydrates), and fiber if they choose. Website design By BotEap.comThe order of the nutrients is specific and must be respected to comply with the regulations. Website design By BotEap.comOnce the data table per 100 grams for all ingredients is prepared, the food producer must understand the weight of each product used in the recipe to make the sandwich. In this example, the food producer would need to know the weight of two slices of bread (say 60 grams), the ham used (say 30 grams), 10 grams of mustard, 5 grams of margarine. Website design By BotEap.comOnce this is done, a simple calculation is applied to each of the ingredients that make it up to determine how many calories, how much fat, saturated fat, etc. is present in the recipe. The calculation will be to divide the nutritional data by 100g by 100 and then multiply that by the weight of what makes up the ingredient. Website design By BotEap.comFor example, if 100 g of ham is 350 calories, divided by 100 is 3.5 calories per gram. 3.5 calories per gram x 30 grams used in the recipe is 105 calories. Website design By BotEap.comOnce this is complete, the food manufacturer will have an accurate indication of the total nutrition facts for the ham and mustard sandwich simply by adding the values of each constituent ingredient as a total for the recipe. Website design By BotEap.comAnd this is how nutrition data is calculated using Microsoft Excel or Open Office Calc. Website design By BotEap.comRight now, food manufacturers across the UK face a major challenge in achieving the targets set out in the regulations and need to address them quickly if they haven’t already.
In order to calculate the nutritional values of pre-packaged foods for sale to the public, food production companies need to know the nutritional values of the constituent ingredients of their product. Perhaps the best way to demonstrate how to calculate nutrition data is to give an example; a ham and mustard sandwich. Website design By BotEap.comA ham and mustard sandwich can consist of four ingredients; we will have bread, ham, mustard and margarine or butter to make a sandwich. Each of these ingredients will be incorporated along the lines of a recipe; that is, there will be a specific weight of each product to make up a standard product. Website design By BotEap.comFood manufacturers must start with basic nutrition facts for each ingredient; as mentioned, the legislation requires nutrition data to be provided per 100 grams. Since all manufacturers are required to do this, most food companies should be able to get that information directly from the packaging of the products they buy or by talking to their supplier. Website design By BotEap.comIn our example, the food producer could tabulate the constituent ingredient data in a table. The information to be transmitted includes energy in both kilojoules and kilocalories; they must also report total fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugar, protein, and salt, all in grams. Website design By BotEap.comFood manufacturers can also list monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, polyols and starch (which are carbohydrates), and fiber if they choose. Website design By BotEap.comThe order of the nutrients is specific and must be respected to comply with the regulations. Website design By BotEap.comOnce the data table per 100 grams for all ingredients is prepared, the food producer must understand the weight of each product used in the recipe to make the sandwich. In this example, the food producer would need to know the weight of two slices of bread (say 60 grams), the ham used (say 30 grams), 10 grams of mustard, 5 grams of margarine. Website design By BotEap.comOnce this is done, a simple calculation is applied to each of the ingredients that make it up to determine how many calories, how much fat, saturated fat, etc. is present in the recipe. The calculation will be to divide the nutritional data by 100g by 100 and then multiply that by the weight of what makes up the ingredient. Website design By BotEap.comFor example, if 100 g of ham is 350 calories, divided by 100 is 3.5 calories per gram. 3.5 calories per gram x 30 grams used in the recipe is 105 calories. Website design By BotEap.comOnce this is complete, the food manufacturer will have an accurate indication of the total nutrition facts for the ham and mustard sandwich simply by adding the values of each constituent ingredient as a total for the recipe. Website design By BotEap.comAnd this is how nutrition data is calculated using Microsoft Excel or Open Office Calc. Website design By BotEap.comRight now, food manufacturers across the UK face a major challenge in achieving the targets set out in the regulations and need to address them quickly if they haven’t already.