Fats on a food label

Fat appears twice on a UK food label, once as fat and once as saturates. The NHS explains how to read both lines and how to use them to choose between similar foods.

The nutrition panel

The NHS says all pre-packed foods carry a nutrition label on the back or side of the packaging. It must give the energy in the food and the amounts of fat, saturates (saturated fat), carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt.

The values are given per 100 grams or per 100 millilitres, and sometimes per portion as well.

High and low

The NHS gives guidelines for telling whether a food is high or low in fat.

Red, amber and green

Some packs carry a coloured label on the front. The colours are part of a voluntary scheme, so not every pack has them. Red means high, amber means medium and green means low.

Any red on the label means the food is high in fat, saturated fat, salt or sugars. The NHS advises eating those foods less often, and in small amounts. When you choose between similar products, go for more greens and ambers and fewer reds.

"Lower fat" and "light"

A product labelled lower fat, reduced fat, lite or light must contain at least 30% less fat than a similar product. The NHS says the lower fat version of a food that is usually high in fat may still be high in fat.

A lower fat food can carry about as many calories as the regular one. Sometimes the maker replaces the fat with sugar.

Saturated and unsaturated fat

Too much fat, especially saturated fat, can raise cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease. The government advises cutting down on all fats and replacing saturated fat with some unsaturated fat.

The government recommends that men eat no more than 30g of saturated fat a day and women no more than 20g. Children should have less.

The NHS lists these as high in saturated fat:

Olive oil, rapeseed oil, avocados and some nuts are sources of unsaturated fat, the NHS says.

Why the body needs some fat

The NHS says a small amount of fat is an essential part of a healthy, balanced diet. Fat helps the body absorb vitamins A, D and E.

All fats are high in energy. A gram of fat gives 9kcal, against 4kcal for a gram of carbohydrate or protein.

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