To QUID and what to QUID that is the question!

We’re often asked by food manufacturers about when they need to apply a QUID (Quantitative Ingredient Declaration).

What is QUIDding?

(Please note: this paper was revised on 12/07/23)

This is when, on an ingredient listing on a food package, you see some ingredients with a percentage value in brackets, e.g. apple (15%).

What’s the point of QUIDding?

The intention is to allow consumers to compare different brands to see which has better value. BUT, it doesn’t always work out like that. For example, the manufacturers of a well-known tomato ketchup (yes, that one) would say that they use far better-quality tomatoes than found in cheaper products and therefore they don’t need so many.

You must QUID ingredients within your product if:

1) the ingredient is in the name of the product, e.g. Cheese and Onion Quiche must have a QUID value for both the cheese and the onion, like this:

Milk, Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Cheddar Cheese (11%)(Milk), Onion (10%), Red Leicester Cheese (6%)(Milk), Egg, Vegetable Oil (Palm Oil, Rapeseed Oil), Cornflour, Single Cream (Milk), Chives, Dijon Mustard (Water, Mustard Seeds, Spirit Vinegar, Salt), Salt, White Pepper.

or

2) there is an expectation of an ingredient that defines the product, for example for Spotted Dick, you should QUID the dried fruit, e.g.:

Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin), Thiamin), Water, Sugar, Currants (15%), Palm Oil, Rapeseed Oil, Humectant (Glycerol), Dried Egg, Milk Proteins, Raising Agents (Diphosphates, Sodium Carbonates, Potassium Carbonates), Whey Powder (Milk), Ground Mixed Spice

or

3) the presence of the ingredient is emphasised in some way on the packaging, e.g. ‘All butter shortbread’.

but there are some exceptions: 

1) the ingredient is present in small quantities – normally taken as less than 2%

2) where regulations require a statement of the quantity to be given on the label already, e.g., ‘prepared with 50g of strawberries per 100g’ would be required by the Jam Regulations (note however that this quantity of fruit is NOT the QUID value as it includes any discarded waste from the fruit).

3) where some variation is reasonable, e.g. a combination of vegetables in varying proportions in a pie, only the overall vegetable content needs to be declared.

4) the ingredient’s quantity will not be a significant influence on customer choice, e.g. potato in Cottage Pie

NutriCalc correctly generates the QUID values taking into account the cooking/drying process. But we do receive queries regarding this as some people are under the misapprehension that QUID should always be carried out at the mixing bowl stage.

Hopefully, this paper will increase understanding and clarify the legislation requirements.

QUIDing at the mixing bowl stage is correct for raw, uncooked products.  If you’re currently doing this, we confirm that it is accurate and in line with the legislation.

However, if your product is cooked or dried prior to selling, or any component of it is, (sub-recipes etc.) then you should QUID after applying a cook/moisture loss due to processing.  Any cook loss occurring in a sub-recipe (e.g. a tomato sauce on a pizza) also needs to be taken into account.

An example of how moisture loss affects QUID values:

1) you use 10g of strawberries to make 100g of a product

2) the product then loses 50% weight on cooking

3) you have now used 10g of strawberries to make 50g of product

4) the QUID value is 20%.

The legislation regarding this (English version) is freely available online here below – EU1169/2011 Annex VIII section 4a:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32011R1169&from=en

“where foods have lost moisture following heat treatment or other treatment, the quantity shall be expressed as a percentage which shall correspond to the quantity of the ingredient(s) used, related to the finished product”

In extreme cases, this can lead to an ingredient having a QUID quantity of over 100%. If the QUID value for an ingredient is over 100% (or, if the total of all QUIDded items is over 100%), then the QUIDding needs to be dealt with differently.

For example for Beef Biltong, which is a dried beef product, the usual description ‘beef (150%)’ should be replaced by ‘prepared with 150g beef per 100g of beef biltong’.  This may be placed after the ingredient listing.

Please contact the support team at NutriCalc with any queries about any of this:

helpdesk@nutricalc.co.uk.  We welcome questions about any aspect of generating accurate values for food labelling.

NutriCalc^® mission:

Promoting best practice and accuracy to food professionals to ensure that every value, on every label, on every food product, is reliable.