Consumers and nutrition labelling 145 etting out what that labelling should be. The Directive eventually adopted in 1990, Directive 90/496/EEC on nutrition labelling for foodstuffs, did not require compulsory labelling, except where a claim is made, and focused more on the nature and format of the labelling, about which it goes into great detail Interestingly, for a piece of legislation for which one of the primary aims is the provision of information regarded as being of benefit to the consumer, it is a highly technical Directive, unlikely to be understood by anyone without some knowledge of food science or food legislation, and ideally both. To understand and use it requires detailed analysis. The following are its main provisions 6.2.1 Provisions of the current legislation: format The provision of nutrition labelling is voluntary, unless a nutrition claim is made e.g. reduced fat, high fibre, 'low sodium. If nutrition information is given, it must be in one of two formats: either. Group I information: energy, protein, carbohydrate and fat(in that order) Group 2 information: energy, protein, carbohydrate, sugars, fat, satu ates,fibre and sodium(in that order These formats are commonly referred to as The Big 4 and The Big 4 plus Little 4. Quantities must be given per 100g or 100 ml of the food or drink,or per 100g/100ml and per serving. The Directive requires that the information be given in one place, in tabular format, with the numbers aligned if space permits Declarations may also be made in respect of vitamins and minerals, provided ey are listed in the Annex of the Directive and are present insignificant amounts currently defined as 15% of the Recommended Daily Amount(RDA), supplied per 100g or 100 ml of the food, or per package if the package contains only a single portion. The vitamins and minerals currently listed and their RDAs are Vitamin A(ug) 800 Vitamin B1(ug) Vitamin D(ug) 5 Biotin(mg) Vitamin e(mg) 10 Pantothenic acid(mg) 6 Vitamin C(mg) 60 Calcium(g) Thiamin(mg) 1. 4 Phosphorus(mg) Riboflavin(mg) 1.6 Iron(mg) Niacin(mg) 18 M SIum Vitamin B(mg) Zinc (mg) Folacin(ug) 200 lodine (ug) 150 a declaration may also be given in respect of one or more of the following · starch mono-unsaturates polyunsaturatessetting out what that labelling should be. The Directive eventually adopted in 1990, Directive 90/496/EEC on nutrition labelling for foodstuffs, did not require compulsory labelling, except where a claim is made, and focused more on the nature and format of the labelling, about which it goes into great detail. Interestingly, for a piece of legislation for which one of the primary aims is the provision of information regarded as being of benefit to the consumer, it is a highly technical Directive, unlikely to be understood by anyone without some knowledge of food science or food legislation, and ideally both. To understand and use it requires detailed analysis. The following are its main provisions. 6.2.1 Provisions of the current legislation: format The provision of nutrition labelling is voluntary, unless a nutrition claim is made, e.g. ‘reduced fat’, ‘high fibre’, ‘low sodium’. If nutrition information is given, it must be in one of two formats: either • Group 1 information: energy, protein, carbohydrate and fat (in that order). or • Group 2 information: energy, protein, carbohydrate, sugars, fat, satu￾rates, fibre and sodium (in that order). These formats are commonly referred to as ‘The Big 4’ and ‘The Big 4 plus Little 4’. Quantities must be given per 100 g or 100 ml of the food or drink, or per 100 g/100 ml and per serving. The Directive requires that the information be given in one place, in tabular format, with the numbers aligned if space permits. Declarations may also be made in respect of vitamins and minerals, provided they are listed in the Annex of the Directive and are present in ‘significant amounts’, currently defined as 15% of the Recommended Daily Amount (RDA), supplied per 100 g or 100 ml of the food, or per package if the package contains only a single portion. The vitamins and minerals currently listed and their RDAs are: Vitamin A (mg) 800 Vitamin B12 (mg) 1 Vitamin D (mg) 5 Biotin (mg) 0.15 Vitamin E (mg) 10 Pantothenic acid (mg) 6 Vitamin C (mg) 60 Calcium (mg) 800 Thiamin (mg) 1.4 Phosphorus (mg) 800 Riboflavin (mg) 1.6 Iron (mg) 14 Niacin (mg) 18 Magnesium (mg) 300 Vitamin B6 (mg) 2 Zinc (mg) 15 Folacin (mg) 200 Iodine (mg) 150 A declaration may also be given in respect of one or more of the following: • starch • polyols • mono-unsaturates • polyunsaturates • cholesterol Consumers and nutrition labelling 145