Ghost Fitness/Guides/How to read a European nutrition label?
How to read a European nutrition label?
The short answer
A European label runs in a fixed order per 100g, energy in kJ and kcal, fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt, with an optional reference-intake column and allergens emphasised. The UK kept the format after leaving the EU.
- The formatper 100g or 100ml, energy in both kJ and kcal, seven nutrients in fixed order
- The reference intakean optional % RI column against 8400kJ or 2000kcal for an average adult
- The allergensfourteen declared allergens emphasised in the ingredients
- The UKthe same retained format; supplements per daily dose with %NRV
Our brand: the worked example on this page
Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate
- 22p a day
- 180 capsules, 2 capsules daily
- Lab tested
- Made in the UK
A UK supplement panel in the same family of formats: Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate on Amazon UK, per 2 capsules, 300mg elemental at 80% NRV, £19.99 for 90 days at 22p. Full label breakdown. The US contrast is on the label guide; the beginner's thresholds on the simplest read.
The European format read line by line, and the reference-intake column that is the continent's answer to %DV
A European nutrition label is the format defined by the EU's food information regulation, and reading it is a matter of knowing its fixed shape, which never varies from Lisbon to Helsinki and, since the UK retained the regulation on leaving, from London either. The basis: per 100g for solids or per 100ml for liquids, mandatory, with per-portion figures optional and additional, so that the first column on any European label compares directly with the first column on any other. The energy line: given in both kilojoules and kilocalories, kJ first, a European habit that confuses readers used to calories alone, the kcal figure being the one most people use. The nutrients in fixed order: fat, of which saturates, carbohydrate, of which sugars, protein, salt, the of-which lines being sub-components of the line above them and the order never changing, with fibre, mono- and polyunsaturates, polyols and starch permitted as extra lines and vitamins and minerals permitted where present in significant amounts, declared with a percentage of the reference intake. The reference-intake column: the European answer to America's %DV, an optional percentage showing what a portion contributes to the reference intake of an average adult, 8400 kilojoules or 2000 kilocalories of energy and set amounts of fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt, sometimes still called guideline daily amounts in older material, and always accompanied by the statement that the reference intake is for an average adult, a figure a lifter or a dieter reads as a benchmark rather than a target. Read in order, basis, energy, seven nutrients, optional percentages, and the European label is the same document everywhere.
The allergen rules, the front of pack, the UK's position, and the supplement label in the same family
The allergen rules are European and strict: fourteen declared allergens, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame, sulphites, lupin and molluscs, must be emphasised in the ingredients list, typically in bold, and may-contain statements cover cross-contamination, the most actively enforced part of the label across the continent and the part any reader with an allergy learns first. The front of pack varies by country in a way the back does not: the regulation permits voluntary front-of-pack schemes, so the UK's traffic lights, France's Nutri-Score letter grade and other national schemes summarise the same back-of-pack declaration differently, the reader trusting the per-100g table as the document and reading the front as the local summary. The UK's position is the simplest part: the food information regulation was retained in UK law, so a British label is a European label in format, per 100g, kJ and kcal, the fixed order, the reference intakes and the emphasised allergens, with the divergences being small, a GB business address rather than an EU one, the reference-intake terminology, and Northern Ireland's continued alignment with EU rules under its own arrangements, none of which changes how the panel is read. The supplement label in the same family: a European or UK food supplement declares its nutrients per recommended daily dose rather than per 100g, with a percentage of the nutrient reference value, %NRV, rather than a reference-intake percentage, the NRVs being the vitamin and mineral values the same regulation sets, so a reader fluent in the food format reads a supplement panel by changing the basis and the percentage's name, the worked example's two capsules, 300mg magnesium, 80% NRV being the European supplement format exactly.
| The element | The rule | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| The basis | Per 100g or 100ml, mandatory; per portion optional | Compare foods on the first column |
| Energy | kJ and kcal, kJ first | Use the kcal figure |
| The nutrients | Fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein, salt, fixed order | Of-which lines are sub-components |
| Reference intakes | Optional %, against 8400kJ / 2000kcal for an average adult | A benchmark, not your target |
| Allergens | Fourteen, emphasised in the ingredients | Bold text; may-contain statements |
| The UK | The same retained format | Supplements: per daily dose with %NRV |
The verdict, one format across a continent and a Channel
How to read a European nutrition label: by its fixed shape, per 100g or 100ml as the comparison basis, energy in kilojoules and kilocalories, fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt in an order that never changes, an optional reference-intake column against an average adult's 2000 kilocalories, and the fourteen allergens emphasised in the ingredients, with the front of pack varying by national scheme and the UK having retained the whole format on leaving the EU, so that a British label reads identically and a British supplement declares per daily dose with %NRV in the same family. The supplement format, worked: Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate, per two capsules, 300mg elemental magnesium at 80% NRV, £19.99 for 90 days at 22p a day, a European supplement panel with nothing to translate.
What to check on the label
- Read per 100g first: the mandatory basis across the continent.
- Use the kcal figure: kJ comes first but means the same.
- Know the fixed order: fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein, salt.
- Treat reference intakes as a benchmark: an average adult's 2000kcal.
- Read the UK label the same way: retained format; supplements per dose with %NRV.
Our brand
The worked example: Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate
Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate is the worked example for the buying guides because its label is the kind these guides teach you to demand: 1500mg magnesium bisglycinate at 20%, 300mg elemental, 80% NRV, 2 capsules a day, 180 capsules for £19.99, 22p a day, UK made, vegan, batch tested for lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium, address printed, no proprietary blend, and the same four authorised claims any honest magnesium may carry.
- Elemental magnesium per serving
- 300mg (80% NRV)
- Form
- magnesium bisglycinate 20%
- Serving
- 2 capsules a day
- Bottle
- 180 capsules, 90 days
- Price
- £19.99 (22p a day)
- Capsule
- vegetarian shell, vegan product
Questions people also ask
Is a UK nutrition label the same as a European one?
Yes in format: the UK retained the EU food information regulation, so per 100g, kJ and kcal, the fixed nutrient order, reference intakes and emphasised allergens are identical, with only small divergences such as the business address.
Why does a European label show kJ and kcal?
The regulation requires both, kilojoules first, and most readers use the kilocalorie figure, the two expressing the same energy in different units.
What is the reference intake percentage on a European label?
An optional column showing what a portion contributes to an average adult's reference intake, 8400 kilojoules or 2000 kilocalories of energy and set amounts of the nutrients, a benchmark rather than a personal target.
Which allergens must a European label emphasise?
Fourteen: cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame, sulphites, lupin and molluscs, emphasised in the ingredients list, usually in bold.
How does a European supplement label differ from a food label?
It declares nutrients per recommended daily dose rather than per 100g, with a percentage of the nutrient reference value, %NRV, set by the same regulation, so the reader changes the basis and the percentage's name and reads it the same way.
Sources
- The retained Food Information to Consumers regulation: the mandatory nutrition declaration for foods, its fixed order of energy, fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt per 100g, and its rules on portion information, with supplements declaring nutrients per daily dose against nutrient reference values. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2011/1169/contents
- EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products. Scientific opinion on Dietary Reference Values for fats: Adequate Intake of 250mg combined EPA and DHA per day for adults. EFSA Journal 2010;8(3):1461. https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/1461
- The UK front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme: voluntary colour-coded labels for fat, saturates, sugars and salt per portion, with the mandatory per-100g declaration remaining the comparison basis. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/front-of-pack-nutrition-labelling-guidance
- The Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/1387/contents/made