# Nutritional labels on food outside of the USA **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 9, 2006, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-labels-on-food-outside-of-the-usa/379713 "2006-11-09T15:43:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![newcrasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-labels-on-food-outside-of-the-usa/379713/1 "2006-11-09T15:43:29Z")
What sort of information is available for food in countries outside of the USA? Here, almost everything has a nutritional label like the one [here](http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20h1.html). The black box labeled “Nutritional Facts” on the left can be found on most foodstuffs we buy. What sort of info is available abroad? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-labels-on-food-outside-of-the-usa/379713/2 "2006-11-09T15:48:58Z")
“Abroad” covers a lot of territory. I was in France in August and saw labels on most foods just like the U.S. I was in Egypt last year, and not so much. It’s a big world out there. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-labels-on-food-outside-of-the-usa/379713/3 "2006-11-09T15:52:02Z")
In Mexico it appears that most manufactures just copy the American format. In fact, many, many food items are labelled in English as well as Spanish. Now that I’m in Canada, you’d think I’d’ve noticed more of the Canadian items. Well, I know they’re in English-French, but I think they’re similar to the old-style American format. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-labels-on-food-outside-of-the-usa/379713/4 "2006-11-09T16:21:05Z")
Most? Shouldn’t that be _all_? Isn’t the Nutrition Label required by law here on all food we buy? Even it’s format and the info it contains is mandated by law. ---
**Author:** ![Ponster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponster/32/17081_2.png) [@Ponster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponster)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-labels-on-food-outside-of-the-usa/379713/5 "2006-11-09T16:25:29Z")
[QUOTE=Bear\_Nenno] Most? Shouldn’t that be _all_? Isn’t the Nutrition Label required by law here on all food we buy? [/QUOTE] I was in _France_ in August and saw labels on most foods just like the U.S. The poster was referring to France, not the USA. IMHO We don’t get as much info in France as you do in the USA regarding those nutritional labels. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-labels-on-food-outside-of-the-usa/379713/6 "2006-11-09T17:07:31Z")
[QUOTE=Bear\_Nenno] Most? Shouldn’t that be _all_? Isn’t the Nutrition Label required by law here on all food we buy? Even it’s format and the info it contains is mandated by law. [/QUOTE] Really tiny companies - it used to be those selling under $50,000 worth of products, but I don’t know the current rules - are exempt from the nutritional label requirements because it would cost them more than their entire year’s earnings to comply. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-labels-on-food-outside-of-the-usa/379713/7 "2006-11-09T17:24:37Z")
The UK has similar panels on most foods, usually titled as the helpful sounding “Nutritional Information” rather than the bald American NUTRITION FACTS. 🙂 However, as I understand it, it’s not yet compulsory to show this information in the UK, unless specific health claims are made for the food. In practice, though, the vast majority of food and drink does carry the labelling. Lots of info in this [PDF](http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/nutlabel2.pdf) from the Food Standards Agency. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-labels-on-food-outside-of-the-usa/379713/8 "2006-11-09T17:43:18Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] The UK has similar panels on most foods, usually titled as the helpful sounding “Nutritional Information” rather than the bald American NUTRITION FACTS. 🙂 [/QUOTE] Well, that’s what ours used to say until recently, where recently equals not too far back in my memory – four or five years? The old labels seemed more useful, at least format-wise. The new labels seem kind of dumbed down, but hey! we’re Americans. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-labels-on-food-outside-of-the-usa/379713/9 "2006-11-09T17:59:12Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] Really tiny companies - it used to be those selling under $50,000 worth of products, but I don’t know the current rules - are exempt from the nutritional label requirements because it would cost them more than their entire year’s earnings to comply. [/QUOTE] In addition, certain types of food (like fresh meat and produce,) don’t need to have nutritional information either. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-labels-on-food-outside-of-the-usa/379713/10 "2006-11-09T18:26:42Z")
Well, yeah, and fresh baked goods and restaurant foods and bulk foods and other stuff. I was referring only to packaged goods one would expect to find nutritional labels on. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-labels-on-food-outside-of-the-usa/379713/11 "2006-11-09T21:06:59Z")
Are the portion sizes realistic on foreign nutrition labels? In the US, you’ll sometimes see minuscule serving sizes, in what seems like an attempty to make the product seem like it has fewer calories than it actually has. For example, the Nutrition Facts label on a one ounce bag of potato chips from a vending machine might list three servings of 100 calories each, instead of one serving with 300 calories. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-labels-on-food-outside-of-the-usa/379713/12 "2006-11-09T21:13:27Z")
Re: elmwood — I eat a lot of European stuff, and it seem that their labels are standardized to always show the nutirtion in 100 grams, regardless of actual portion size. I can easily see arguments in favor of each method: Europe shows which food is intrinsically healthier or less healthy; USA shows whether this particlar package is more or less helathy than that package. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2006, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-labels-on-food-outside-of-the-usa/379713/13 "2006-11-10T03:57:55Z")
[QUOTE=newcrasher] What sort of info is available abroad? [/QUOTE] What, you want to know the nutritional labelling requirements in every single one of the 250-odd countries that are _not_ the USA? I hope this is for some really really good cause, because frankly I can’t be arsed to search this for you just on the basis of idle curiosity. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2006, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-labels-on-food-outside-of-the-usa/379713/14 "2006-11-10T06:56:54Z")
[QUOTE=Keeve] Re: elmwood — I eat a lot of European stuff, and it seem that their labels are standardized to always show the nutirtion in 100 grams, regardless of actual portion size. I can easily see arguments in favor of each method: Europe shows which food is intrinsically healthier or less healthy; USA shows whether this particlar package is more or less helathy than that package. [/QUOTE] Often European ones will have two columns, one for the 100g/100ml quantity, and another for a ‘typical portion’ or for the entire contents (in the case of a single-portion item). ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2006, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-labels-on-food-outside-of-the-usa/379713/15 "2006-11-10T09:59:43Z")
[QUOTE=Askance] What, you want to know the nutritional labelling requirements in every single one of the 250-odd countries that are _not_ the USA? I hope this is for some really really good cause, because frankly I can’t be arsed to search this for you just on the basis of idle curiosity. [/QUOTE] The OP never suggested that he/she considered the world to consist of the USA and “the rest”. And what is wrong with asking questions in GQ out of idle curiosity? ---
**Author:** ![newcrasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2006, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-labels-on-food-outside-of-the-usa/379713/16 "2006-11-10T12:34:01Z")
[QUOTE=Askance] What, you want to know the nutritional labelling requirements in every single one of the 250-odd countries that are _not_ the USA? I hope this is for some really really good cause, because frankly I can’t be arsed to search this for you just on the basis of idle curiosity. [/QUOTE] Since we have Dopers from around the world, I was hoping people would sort of chime in with what sort of labels they had locally, or what they had seen when they travelled. I wasn’t asking you to bear the nutritional weight of the world on your narrow shoulders. Fret not. ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-labels-on-food-outside-of-the-usa/379713/17 "2006-11-10T13:55:42Z")
As well as the Nutritional Information panel on the back there are moves in the UK to bring in “front of pack” labels for the key nutrients - fat, saturated fat, salt, and sugars. The government is pushing for a traffic light system - red, amber, and green labels for the amount of each element per 100g. This has already been adopted by some of the supermarkets but others have gone off and done their own thing - much to the shopper’s confusion 😕 Lots more information on this at [http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/foodlabels/trafficlights/](http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/foodlabels/trafficlights/)