Get to know nutrition labelling - claims

At Unilever Foodsolutions our aim is to help you cut through the noise and mass of information to give you the essentials. Pass knowledge onto your team and customers. The nutrition table on most of our products is known as the BIG 8 and 5 key nutrients are shown in a table or as lozenges as GDAs.

1. Energy – protein, carbohydrate, fat and alcohol provide us energy needed to stay alive, grow, keep warm and be active; measured in kilojoules (kJ) or calories (kcal).

2. Protein – needed for growth and repair. Found in meat, dairy products and vegetable sources such as pulses.

3. Carbohydrate (sugars and starch) – at least half of our energy should come from carbohydrate preferably as starch or complex carbohydrate (from cereals, fruit and vegetables).

4. Sugars – occur naturally in foods such as fruit and milk. Foods with added sugars contain calories but few other nutrients. You should try to eat these sparingly.

5. Fat – a concentrated source of energy, provides fat-soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids and should provide no more than 1/3 of energy. It is important to eat the right type of fat. 'Good' fats (polyunsaturates and monounsaturates) are found in vegetable and seed oils, oily fish and avocados. See GET YOUR FATS right on page 8.

6. Saturates – increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood. Tend to be solid at room temperature and found in butter, full fat dairy products, commercial cakes and pastries and fatty meat and meat products. Try to limit these.

7. Fibre – found in plant cell walls. Insoluble fibre (wholemeal cereal products, bread, pasta, fruits and vegetables) aids digestion and soluble fibre (peas, beans, lentils, oats, barley, rye, fruits and some vegetables) may help reduce blood cholesterol.

8. Sodium – regulates water and electrolyte balance; involved in energy utilisation and nerve function. Table salt is sodium chloride. Too much salt in the diet is associated with an increased risk of raised blood pressure. We should eat no more than 6g of salt per day.