Decoding the Coding
The UK nutritional front-of-pack labelling is designed for speed. By understanding how the red, amber, and green indicators are calculated, you can shop with confidence and clarity in seconds.
The Logic of Color
At-a-glance decision making.
Standardised food nutrition coding helps you compare two similar products quickly. Instead of reading complex data tables, you look for the balance of colours to see if a choice fits your daily goal.
Most items use "per 100g" as the base for these colours to ensure fairness across different portion sizes.
Green: Low
The healthier choice. Choosing products with more greens on the label means you are picking foods lower in saturated fats, sugars, and salt.
Amber: Medium
An acceptable choice most of the time. Amber means the food is neither high nor low in that specific nutrient.
Red: High
Enjoy in moderation. A red label indicates high levels of a nutrient. It doesn't mean "stop," but suggests you should eat it less often.
Understanding the thresholds
UK nutrition labels apply specific criteria to determine which colour is assigned to fa, saturates, sugars, and salt.
Note: Thresholds for drinks differ slightly from food to account for typically larger serving volumes.
Beyond the Colours
While the traffic light system provides an excellent snapshot, it is intended to be used alongside the full ingredient list. For example, some fats are unsaturated and derive from nuts or seeds, which are part of a balanced diet, yet might still trigger an amber or red label due to high total fa content per 100g.
Similarly, the "sugars" category on the traffic light label includes both added sugars (free sugars) and those that occur naturally in fruit and milk. Understanding this distinction can help you make a more nuanced choice.
Common Questions
The system is currently voluntary in the UK, although the majority of major retailers and manufacturers have adopted it to help provide transparency to consumers. Most supermarket-brand products will feature this coding on the front of the pack.
The percentages you see represent the Reference Intake (RI). This shows you how much a single portion of that food contributes to the average adult's daily requirement for energy and key nutrients based on a 2000-kcal diet.
While colours are usually based on 100g/ml, the numerical values for grams of fa or salt are often shown "per serving." It's vital to check if the manufacturer's suggested serving size matches the amount you actually intend to eat.