GLOSSARY FOR FOOD PROFESSIONALS
Nutrition Industry Terminology Explanations & Related Articles
The following Glossary for food professionals is designed to provide a reference for commonly used terminology on the NutriCalc website.
There are links underneath some Glossary terms to related NutriCalc software features and Expert Paper articles, so this page also provides a helpful central resource for industry topics.
Allergen
Strictly, something that causes an allergic reaction in some people. When used in food labelling, this is a loose term covering both allergies and intolerances.
Related NutriCalc Features:
Related Expert Paper Articles:
August 25th, 2022 – Adding Dairy Products to Your Recipes: Are You Milking Your Products’ Potential?
June 16, 2021 – Eliminating Allergens in Your Products to Help Boost Sales!
March 24, 2021 – Natasha’s Law Guidance – Our Best Practice – Allergen Labelling
October 23, 2020 – Allergen Labelling in Canada
Related Glossary Terms:
Natasha’s Law – point of sale allergen labelling for pre-packaged foods.
AOAC Fibre
% fibre found using the AOAC (Association of Official Analytical Chemists) lab method.
Related Expert Paper Articles:
January 30, 2023 – Dietary Fibre for Food Labels: What is it and How is it Measured?
Available Carbohydrate
The quantity of digestible carbohydrate in a food product.
Related Expert Paper Articles:
May 05, 2023 – How Does ‘Total Carbohydrate’ Differ From ‘Available Carbohydrate’?
January 31, 2020 – Carbohydrates
Related Glossary Terms:
Total Carbohydrate – the total of digestible and non-digestible carbohydrate in a food product.
Back of Pack (BoP)
The standard nutrition panel seen on UK/EU food packages.
Related NutriCalc Features:
Related Expert Paper Articles:
October 20, 2022 – Declaring Low Values of Nutrients on Food Labels
Compound Ingredient
An ingredient brought into a factory that is a mixture of other ingredients (e.g. chocolate).
Cook Loss
Disaccharide
Double-ring sugar.
Energy Contributions
Proportions of energy being provided by the main nutrients.
Englyst Fibre
% fibre found using the Englyst lab method. This method is still recognised and used by many dieticians and nutritionists, but it cannot be used in food labelling.
E-Numbers
Additives that have been approved by the UK and EU Governments.
FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
American Food and Drug Administration.
Relates Expert Paper Articles:
October 07, 2020 – Food Labels – Nutrition Facts For The USA – What You Need To Know
Front of Pack (FoP)
In the UK, optional, colour coded (‘traffic-light’) image with per portion information.
Related NutriCalc Features:
Related Expert Paper Articles:
October 20, 2022 – Declaring Low Values of Nutrients on Food Labels
April 1, 2020 – Front-Of-Pack: Nutri-Score System – A Different Approach?
FSA (Food Standards Agency)
UK Food Standards Agency.
HFSS (High Fat, Sugar, and Salt)
Current government marketing initiative to help combat obesity.
Related NutriCalc Features:
Related Expert Paper Articles:
November 8, 2022 – Salt Reduction Targets: Is Your Sodium Reduction Worth Its Salt?
October 10, 2022 – Scoring for HFSS: Is It Nuts?…Sowing the Seeds…
June 16, 2022 – Nutrient Profiling aka HFSS – How Does it Work in Practice?
May 23, 2022 – Changes to the HFSS Timetable
July 30, 2021 – What’s going on with HFSS/Nutrient Profiling in 2021?
July 2, 2021 – The HFSS Foods Initiative – Will it Make us Healthier?
Related Glossary Terms:
Nutrient Profile – used to work out HFSS score.
Ingredient Declaration
List of ingredients in the order (high to low) in which they appear on a product label.
Related NutriCalc Features:
Related Expert Paper Articles:
November 24, 2020 – To QUID and what to QUID that is the question!
Related Glossary Terms:
QUID (QUantitative Ingredient Declaration) – ingredients that define the product need to have their quantity expressed along with the ingredient name.
Labelling Names
Ingredient names as they appear on a food label.
Related NutriCalc Features:
Related Expert Paper Articles:
October 20, 2022 – Declaring Low Values of Nutrients on Food Labels
July 4, 2022 – Food Supplements – Do They Require Nutrition Labelling?
June 7, 2022 – Nutrition Labelling – Wet or Dry – Does it matter?
March 22, 2022 – Calorie labelling: New legislation for Energy declaration for the ‘Out of Home sector’ from April 6th, 2022
August 22, 2021 – Exemptions From Nutrition Labelling
July 23, 2021 – Rounding Nutrition Values for Labelling
July 16, 2021 – Nutrition Labelling for Children’s Foods and Drinks
March 24, 2021 – Natasha’s Law Guidance – Our Best Practice – Allergen Labelling
October 23, 2020 – Allergen Labelling in Canada
October 7, 2020 – Food labels – Nutrition Facts for the USA – what you need to know
June 30, 2020 – Achieving Accurate Nutrition Information For Pet Food Labels
April 1, 2020 – Front-Of-Pack: Nutri-Score System – A Different Approach?
Related Glossary Terms:
Front of Pack (FoP) – in the UK, optional, colour coded (‘traffic-light’) image with per portion information.
Back of Pack (BoP) – the standard nutrition panel seen on UK/EU food packages.
Macro Nutrients
Major nutrients, especially fat, protein, carbohydrate and dietary fibre.
Related Expert Paper Articles:
February 21, 2023 – Fresh or Frozen Ingredients – Which is Best?
October 20, 2022 – Declaring Low Values of Nutrients on Food Labels
McCance & Widdowson
UK Food Standards agency nutrition database.
Meat Content
In the UK, Meat Content refers to the % of meat in the food product, calculated according to the rules of the Meat Products Regulations 2003. These regulations may disqualify part of the added meat for excessive levels of fat and connective tissue, and also the use of certain parts of the animal such as offal.
Micro Nutrients
Vitamins and minerals.
Related Expert Paper Articles:
February 21, 2023 – Fresh or Frozen Ingredients – Which is Best?
Monosaccharide
Single-ring sugar (e.g. glucose).
Natasha's Law
Point of sale allergen labelling for pre-packaged foods.
Related NutriCalc Features:
Related Expert Paper Articles:
August 25th, 2022 – Adding Dairy Products to Your Recipes: Are You Milking Your Products’ Potential?
June 16, 2021 – Eliminating Allergens in Your Products to Help Boost Sales!
March 24, 2021 – Natasha’s Law Guidance – Our Best Practice – Allergen Labelling
October 23, 2020 – Allergen Labelling in Canada
Related Glossary Terms:
Allergen – strictly, something that causes you an allergic reaction in some people. When used in food labelling, this is a loose term covering both allergies and intolerances.
NPD (New Product Development)
The process of developing new products for sale, from initial concept to customer acceptance.
NRVs (Nutrient Reference Values)
List of daily dietary target values set for nutrients which may differ from Country to Country.
Nutrient Profile
Used to work out HFSS score.
Related NutriCalc Features:
Related Expert Paper Articles:
November 8, 2022 – Salt Reduction Targets: Is Your Sodium Reduction Worth Its Salt?
October 10, 2022 – Scoring for HFSS…Is It Nuts?…Sowing the Seeds…
June 16, 2022 – Nutrient Profiling aka HFSS – How Does it Work in Practice?
May 23, 2022 – Changes to the HFSS Timetable
July 30, 2021 – What’s going on with HFSS/Nutrient Profiling in 2021?
July 2, 2021 – The HFSS Foods Initiative – Will it Make us Healthier?
Related Glossary Terms:
HFSS (High Fat Sugar Salt) – current government marketing initiative to help combat obesity.
Nutri-Score
A FoP version used in some European countries in which alternative which takes into account both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ nutrients.
Related Expert Paper Articles:
April 1, 2020 – Front-Of-Pack: Nutri-Score System – A Different Approach?
Oligosaccharides
Carbohydrates that resemble sugars, but are heavier. So they do not fall into either sugars or starch categories.
Polyols
Alcohols that are more complicated alcohol than simple ones like ethanol. Sometimes used as additives.
Portion Size
Typical portion size for a food product eaten by an average adult.
Product Claims
Claims relating to whether a product is high in, low in or a source of either a macro- or micronutrient.
QUID (QUantitative Ingredient Declaration)
Ingredients that define the product need to have their quantity expressed along with the ingredient name.
Related NutriCalc Features:
Related Expert Paper Articles:
November 24, 2020 – To QUID and what to QUID that is the question!
RDAs (Recommended Daily Allowances)
Recommended target allowances of micronutrients for a typical adult.
RIs (Reference Intake Values)
Recommended target allowances of macronutrients for a typical adult.
Shelf Life
Expected lifetime of a product after which it may not be safe to consume, or may have deteriorated so much that it is unacceptable to the consumer.
Shelf Life Trial
Test carried out by a laboratory to find out shelf life.
Soluble Fibre
Fibre that attracts water and forms a gel that slows down digestion.
Note: soluble fibre will not be measured by the classical AOAC fibre method no. 985.29.
Related Expert Paper Articles:
January 30, 2023 – Dietary Fibre for Food Labels: What is it and How is it Measured?
Spec Sheet
Ingredient specification information from a supplier including the nutrition information, allergens and much more.
Related NutriCalc Features:
Specific Gravity
Calculated as weight divided by volume, especially used with drinks.
Related NutriCalc Features:
Sub-Recipes
Theoretical Nutrition
Nutrition information obtained by calculation.
Total Carbohydrate
The total of digestible and non-digestible carbohydrate in a food product.
Related Expert Paper Articles:
May 05, 2023 – How Does ‘Total Carbohydrate Differ From ‘Available Carbohydrate’?
January 31, 2020 – Carbohydrates
Related Glossary Terms:
Available Carbohydrate – the quantity of digestible carbohydrate in a food product.
USDA (United States Department of Agriculture)
Includes their official ingredient database.
Related NutriCalc Features:
Yield
Quantity of a batch of food remaining after processing/cooking.