EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health – Portion Sizes
FoodDrinkEurope guidelines
on portion sizes
Marta Baffigo
Chair of the Diet Task Force, FoodDrinkEurope
Director Global Public and Regulatory Affairs, Kellogg Company
09/02/2012
EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health – Portion Sizes
Agenda
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EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health – Portion Sizes
Background
Current legislation – Directive 90/496/EEC:
“Information shall be expressed per 100 g or per 100
ml. In addition, this information may be given per
serving as quantified on the label or per portion,
provided that the number of portions contained in
the package is stated.”
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EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health – Portion Sizes
Background
New legislation – Regulation 1169/2011:
• The energy value and the amount of nutrients may be expressed per portion,
in addition to per 100g/ml
• General conditions when food business operators wish to use per
portion/consumption unit expression:
1. The portion/consumption unit is easily recognisable by the consumer;
2. The portion or unit used is quantified on the label;
3. The number of portions/units contained in the package is stated.
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EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health – Portion Sizes
FoodDrinkEurope Position on Portion Sizes
• FoodDrinkEurope supports the provision of nutrition information per 100g/ml,
providing a tool for comparison.
• However, most foods are not consumed in 100g/ml quantities. So, additional
information is needed to help consumers understand the nutritional value of
the amount of food/drink they actually consume.
• A portion is the amount of a given food or drink reasonably expected to be
consumed by an individual in a single consumption occasion.
• Therefore, FoodDrinkEurope supports the provision of nutrition information
per portion in addition to the information provided per 100g/ml
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EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health – Portion Sizes
Guideline Daily Amounts: Per Portion
•
Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA) were developed by
FoodDrinkEurope (then CIAA) in 2005 as a commitment under
the EU Platform
•
GDAs are a voluntary nutrition labelling guide to how much
energy and nutrients are present in a portion of a food or
beverage and what each amount represents as a percentage of
a person’s daily dietary guidelines
•
Endorsed and implemented by an increasing amount of food
companies, large and small alike
•
Expression of reference intakes explicitly in EU legislation
(Regulation 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to
consumers)
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EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health – Portion Sizes
Why work on Portion Communication?
• Sector-wide portion sizes have been established by various sectors
associations (cereals, soups, confectionary, meat products, snacks, ice cream,
margarine, pasta and soft drinks)
• In order to ensure a consistent approach concerning portion sizes, in early
2010, FoodDrinkEurope (then CIAA) created an Expert Group on Portions to:
1. Establish Guiding Principles
2. To assess whether the sector rationales of portion sizes are consistent
with the Guiding Principles
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EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health – Portion Sizes
Essential Guiding Principles for Portion Communication
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EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health – Portion Sizes
Practical Communication Guidelines
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EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health – Portion Sizes
Practical Communication Guidelines
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EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health – Portion Sizes
FoodDrinkEurope Guidelines on Portion Sizes
Three specific portion ‘categories’ have been identified:
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EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health – Portion Sizes
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Category 1: Single Portion Pack
If a pack is designed to be consumed in one
single consumption occasion, the portion is
the entire pack, even if the pack weight is
greater than the reference portion.
Examples: Snack bar, pre-packed sandwich,
meal-for-one.
EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health – Portion Sizes
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Category 2: Multi Portion Pack – Recognisable Units
The portion is equal to one individual preportioned unit only if this complies with
all essential guiding principles.
If declaring one individual unit as a
‘portion’ does not comply with all guiding
principles, then category 3 should be
applied.
Examples: Sliced bread, sliced ham.
EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health – Portion Sizes
Category 3: Multi Portion Pack - Other
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EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health – Portion Sizes
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Category 3: Multi Portion Pack - Other
Reference portion: where judgment is
required (rice, pasta, sauces...)
o Preferably use the term
‘typical’ (usage based on
individual preferences)
• E.g. ‘a typical portion is
75g rice’
Pack proportion: where the product is
designed to be consumed by a set number
of people:
or
o Portion = total pack weight / # of
people the product is designed to
serve
• E.g. ‘For Two’: ‘Portion = ½ of
this pack (xg)’
o Fractions should only be used up
to ‘one eighth’ of a pack or food
item.
Examples: Jam, family/share packs (e.g. crisps, cereals), some confectionery, family pizza, etc.
EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health – Portion Sizes
Conclusions
• Portions help consumers understand the nutritional value of the
amount of food/drink they actually consume
• Therefore, FoodDrinkEurope supports the provision of nutrition
information per portion in addition to the information provided per
100g/ml
• In order to ensure a consistent approach, FoodDrinkEurope has
proactively worked on EU industry-wide ‘best practice’ guidelines on
portion sizes and continues to encourage sectors to comply with
these guidelines
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EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health – Portion Sizes
The Guidelines on Portion Sizes for purposes of Nutrition Labelling can be found on:
http://gda.ciaa.eu/custom_documents/bro
chures/CIAA_portions_sizes_2010.pdf
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