Nutrient Profile Model Calculator for Front-of-Package Warning Labels
A nutrient profile model (NPM) helps identify which foods and beverages are healthier choices by evaluating their nutritional content and setting clear thresholds for nutrients linked to poor health outcomes. Policymakers use NPMs to inform a range of healthy food policies, including front-of-package warning labels, which help consumers quickly and clearly understand when products are high in nutrients of concern through simple, easy-to-interpret nutrition warnings.
Based on some World Health Organization (WHO) regional NPMs and country experiences, GHAI’s NPM position paper highlights best practices for choosing and using effective NPMs. To make this guidance practical and actionable, GHAI has developed an interactive calculator that lets you apply an evidence-based NPM to identify food and beverage products that contain excess levels of nutrients of concern.
Instructions
1. Identify whether the product is a solid food or a beverage. If you are unsure, you can reference our definitions below.
2. If the product is a beverage, indicate whether it is a non-caloric beverage.
3. Enter the serving size as stated on the nutrition information panel.
4. Select the unit of the serving size (grams or milliliters).
5. Enter the amounts of calories and nutrients of concern declared on the nutrition panel: calories, sodium, sugars, total fat, saturated fat and trans fat.
- Please note that sodium values should be entered in milligrams, while all other nutrients should be entered in grams.
- If the product declares salt (in grams) instead of sodium (in milligrams), apply the following conversion factor: sodium (mg) = salt (g) × 400.
6. Indicate whether the product contains any sweeteners, based on the ingredient list, by selecting Yes or No (click here to access a list of non-sugar sweeteners and other sweeteners).
Notes
For nutrients that are not present, record a value of zero.
For foods or beverages that require preparation or reconstitution prior to consumption, include the nutrient values of the product as prepared and ready to consume, following the preparation instructions provided on the label.
For sugars, use added sugars when available, as most products do not declare free sugars; otherwise, report total sugars.
Describe the product:
Enter the Nutrional Information:
Reference Values
The criteria used in this calculator to identify foods and beverages excessive in nutrients of concern are drawn from WHO regional NPMs developed by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the South-East Asia Region and African Region.
| Recommended Criteria for indentifying food and drinks excessive in nutrients and ingredients of concern curated from PAHOm SEARO and AFRO national NPMs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sodium | Free Sugars | Non-Sugar Sweeteners | Total Fat | Saturated Fat | Trans Fat |
| ≥ 1 mg of sodium per 1 kcal OR ≥ 300mg/100g of product OR 40 mg/ 100 ml in beverages that do not provide any energy | ≥ 10% of total energy from free sugars in solids and ≥ 5% of total energy from free sugars in beverages | Any amount of non-sugar sweeteners | ≥ 30% of total energy from total fat | ≥ 10% of total energy from saturated fat | ≥ 1% of total energy from trans fat |
Definitions and List of Sweeteners
Solid food and beverage
A product is classified as a solid food or a beverage based on the unit used to declare its net content. Products are considered solid foods when net content is expressed in units of mass (e.g., grams), and beverages when net content is expressed in units of volume (e.g., milliliters), in accordance with the International System of Units.
For products that may be declared in either grams or milliliters, classification depends on how the product is consumed. Products consumed as drinks are considered beverages, while products consumed as part of a solid food or in solid form are considered solid foods (e.g., sauces, jams).
Sweeteners
According to PAHO, sweeteners are food additives that impart a sweet taste to foods, including artificial non-caloric sweeteners (e.g., aspartame, sucralose, saccharin and acesulfame potassium), natural non-caloric sweeteners (e.g., stevia) and caloric sweeteners such as polyols (e.g., sorbitol, mannitol, lactitol, and isomalt). This definition does not include fruit juices, honey or other food ingredients that can be used as sweeteners.