The Nutrition Panel Calculator
The Nutrition Panel Calculator (NPC) is a web-based, online nutrition-labelling tool, developed by FSANZ. You can access it, free of charge, via the FSANZ website ( www.foodstandards.gov.au ) by following the links presented on the FSANZ homepage.
The NPC was developed to help the food industry meet the requirements of Standard 1.2.8 - Nutrition Information Requirements, of the new Food Standards Code, during the transition period. On 20 December 2002, the new Code will become the sole Code for Australia and New Zealand, requiring nutrition information panels to be displayed on the labels of most packaged foods. Using the NPC, food manufacturers can calculate average nutrient quantities and prepare these nutrition information panels in a straightforward manner.
Two versions of the NPC are available from FSANZ . The 'Plug-in' version provides a dynamic graphical user interface. An alternative 'Accessibility' version provides access to the visually impaired and those with a minimum browser capacity. The 'Accessibility' version is not compatible with Netscape Navigator web browsers or Macintosh computers.
Detailed explanatory notes have been produced to accompany the NPC and are available for download from the FSANZ website. The explanatory notes include comprehensive information regarding the NPC's development and operation, together with step-by-step instructions for its use. You should read these notes before using the NPC.
How to use the calculator
To compile a nutrition information panel, you search and select specific ingredients and add these to your recipe list, in the quantities used in your products. You can also add in customised nutrient data for your own unique ingredients where required. Nutrient data can be adjusted by use of weight change factors if the food undergoes moisture gain or loss during processing (for example, if the food loses weight during baking).
Prompts allow you to enter serving sizes and the number of serves per package. The final nutrition information panel, together with nutrient composition information for each ingredient in the food, can then be printed off, ready for use.
High quality scientific data
The NPC depends on nutrient composition data for Australia, generated under FSANZ's food composition program and contained in a database known as AUSNUT Special Edition (Australian Food and Nutrient Database for Nutrition Labelling - Release 2). This database built on an earlier database, AUSNUT 1999, which was developed to analyse food intake data from the 1995 National Nutrition Survey (NNS).
FSANZ carried out extensive revisions to AUSNUT 1999 to produce a database appropriate for nutrition labelling, including addition of data for some food additives and ingredients and removal of some data not useful for labelling purposes.
AUSNUT Special Edition only presents data on the seven nutrients that will have to be declared on the nutrition information panel (energy, protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugars and sodium). The carbohydrate and energy values in AUSNUT 1999 were revised for the Special Edition so as to comply with the requirements of Standard 1.2.8 with respect to the definitions of carbohydrate and the required energy factors. The resultant AUSNUT Special Edition database comprises three data files containing nutrient data, alternative names, specific gravities and associated information for some 4,000 foods. It is available at no charge by contacting FSANZ at npc@foodstandards.gov.au.
Limitations of the NPC
While the NPC is a useful tool for preparing nutrition information panels, there are limitations to its use. These limitations relate to both those that are inherent with all food composition data, and those that relate to the NPC itself.
A number of the limitations arise from the use of food composition data. Nutrient values presented in food composition tables reflect the nutrients present in a representative sample of the food at the point in time when the sample was prepared and analysed. However, foods are biological materials and they vary in their natural nutrient composition.
For primary produce, the variability in nutrient composition may be due to different methods of plant and animal husbandry, storage, transport and marketing. Processed foods, despite being subject to quality control during production, also vary because of differences in the composition of ingredients and changes in formulation and production.
Nutrient data in Australian food composition tables may be obtained using a variety of techniques, not only from direct analysis of Australian foods. Data for some recipe foods may be calculated by using their ingredients and correcting for preparation factors. Rarely, they may simply be estimates worked out using similar foods or another form of the same food - for example, values for boiled peas are used to calculate similar values for steamed peas. A small number of records may be derived from the food composition tables of other countries, such as the UK.
Limitations also arise from the use of the NPC itself. For example, it does not have the capacity to make sophisticated adjustments for moisture and nutrient losses/gains as a result of some cooking practices and other processing practices like fermentation. All of these limitations are discussed in further detail in the explanatory notes that accompany the NPC.
Given these limitations, the results generated by the NPC (and indeed the values presented in any food composition tables) will only ever be approximate in nature, rather than an exact value of a product's average nutrient composition. Nutrient data derived from analysis of a representative sample of the individual product would generally provide a more exact reflection of the average nutritional composition of that product.
Alternative methods of calculating NIPs
A number of alternative options are available to manufacturers to assist with the preparation of nutrition information panels. Whatever approach your company takes, you should be aware of the advantages and limitations of each.
Several companies are producing commercial nutrition labelling packages along the lines of the NPC, many with added features such as data storage and retrieval. These commercial packages also tend to use FSANZ's AUSNUT Special Edition database. You should contact the companies direct to discuss your particular requirements and budget.
Alternatively, food manufacturers can have their products analysed by laboratories. FSANZ recommends that the chosen laboratory be accredited by either the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) or International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ).
The advantage of laboratory analysis of your specific product is that this will generally provide a more accurate reflection of the nutrient composition of your product. However, to get the most representative results possible, it is important to develop a suitable sampling protocol. It is also important to bear in mind that the accuracy of the results may depend on the analytical methods used and the complexity of the product.
For those who are happy to calculate their nutrition information panels manually, the User Guide to Standard 1.2.8 - Nutrition Information Requirements (available via the FSANZ website), includes several appendices giving detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to do so. This can become a tedious option, depending on the number of ingredients in the food, and some skill is required to avoid errors in performing the manual calculations.
Further information on the NPC can be obtained by contacting FSANZ's food composition team at npc@foodstandards.gov.au.
September 2002