Nutrition, allergen management and labeling
Scope
This domain tests nutrition calculation, allergen control and label compliance for Western food products: energy, nutrients, the 14 regulated allergens, cross-contact and legal declarations.
Core rules
- Energy: protein 4 kcal/g, carbohydrate 4 kcal/g, fat 9 kcal/g, alcohol 7 kcal/g.
- The EU/UK 14 allergens include cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame, sulphites >10 mg/kg, lupin and molluscs.
- Allergen control needs a documented matrix, segregated storage, dedicated utensils, validated cleaning and label checks.
- Nutrition declaration is per 100 g and may be per portion. Reference intakes are not targets.
- "Gluten-free" generally means ≤20 mg/kg gluten. "May contain" is a risk statement, not a substitute for controls.
Worked example
A 250 g ready meal contains 30 g protein, 20 g fat and 40 g carbohydrate. Energy = (30×4) + (20×9) + (40×4) = 120 + 180 + 160 = 460 kcal. Per 100 g = 184 kcal. If the sauce contains cream and wheat, the label must declare milk and gluten; the allergen matrix must show them in the recipe and in the line cleaning verification.
Traps
- Assuming cooking destroys allergens; most are heat-stable.
- Treating "may contain" as a free pass for poor segregation.
- Using a recipe change without updating the label and matrix.
- Confusing per-100 g and per-portion values.