The final call to replace food packaging and labels is being heard more and more intensely after the introduction of EU Regulation 1169/2011, which finally comes into effect in December 2016. The reason is the need to develop new tables of nutritional values, in accordance with the guidelines of this regulation. However, many manufacturers do not know exactly what their new obligations are.

Tables of nutritional values ​​according to the template
Information on the nutritional value of a product, regardless of whether it is presented on the packaging in the form of a table of nutritional values ​​or simply in the form of a description as in a sentence, must contain several pieces of information specified in the Regulation exactly as required by the new law.

Specifically, from 13.12.2016, information on the nutritional value of the product must be included on the label or packaging, i.e.:
- energy value,
- fat content, including saturated fatty acids
- carbohydrate content, including sugars,
- protein content
- salt content.

Information on the energy value and the content of nutrients should be presented per 100 g or 100 ml of the product. They can also be expressed for the entire package or a conventional portion, which is determined by the manufacturer based on the average consumption of the product during one meal by an adult.

How to create tables of nutritional values ​​for a product
This question basically raises several issues. What should be included in the mandatory part of the table, we have already presented above, referring to the provisions of the Regulation. Of course, there are manufacturers who will want to show something more, e.g. vitamins and minerals, in which case you can simply enlarge the table of values ​​with additional fields or separate these two tables, containing mandatory values ​​in one and additional values ​​in the other.

Another issue is how to calculate nutritional values ​​for products. In short, there are two methods. The first, more expensive one - send the products to the laboratory and transfer the result obtained to the label. The second, simpler and almost 100 times cheaper, use a program for calculating nutritional values. It is worth using the most proven and recognized program in Poland, Nutrition Calculator FOODCAL, which has a free trial version and, most importantly, has available to users, currently the largest in Poland, tables of nutritional values ​​for individual raw materials used in the food industry.

And finally, the third, quite important issue when obtaining nutritional value results to be presented as value tables on packaging, i.e. the correctness of data and documentation needed in the event of an inspection. This topic has already been discussed in the advice and answers to questions from manufacturers, in the article: How to prove the correctness of nutritional value calculations in the event of an inspection?

EXPERT'S ANSWER:

We hope that your doubts have been dispelled. We invite you to use our software, and if you have any further questions, we will be happy to help.

Editorial Team
Nutrition Calculator FOODCAL
https://pl.nutrition-calculator.com

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