Table 2 Adaptation of the SAIN, LIM to become the SENS profiling system

The SAIN is the mean percentage adequacy with the French recommended intakes for five qualifying nutrients (proteins, fibres, vitamin C, calcium, iron), together with optional nutrients. The SAIN expresses the nutrient content per 100 kcal of foodFor foods providing 97% of their energy as fats, two nutrients can be replaced by two optional fat-soluble nutrients (out of a list of four: vitamin E, vitamin D, ALA, and MUFA)For all other foods, one of the five nutrients can be replaced by vitamin D

Specific SAIN_SENS scores were developed for ‘Beverages’, ‘Added Fats’ and ‘Other Solid Foods’, with Other Solid Foods’ divided into six sub-categoriesFor ‘Beverages’: vitamin C and proportion of FV were usedFor ‘Added Fats’: ALA and MUFA were usedFor ‘Other Solid Foods’: proteins and fibres were kept, iron was removed, vitamin C was removed, and proportion of FV was used instead. Calcium was only kept for dairy products

For ‘Beverages’: FV and vitamin C were used in order to discriminate between vitamin C-rich fruit juices, other fruit juices and sweetened beveragesFor ‘Added Fats’: only ALA and MUFA were used, because they reflect the intrinsic composition of added fatsFor ‘Other Solid Foods’:• A high weight was put on fibres for cereals to correctly value fibre-rich cereal products• Vitamin C, initially used in SAIN, LIM as a marker of fruits and vegetables, was replaced by proportion of FV, which is a more immediate proxy• Iron was removed but a higher weight was put on proteins for fish and eggs to correctly value their high nutrient densities• A higher weight was put on calcium for cheeses than for other dairy products to allow discriminating cheeses according to their calcium content per 100 kcal

LIM=mean percentage of the maximal recommended values for three disqualifying nutrients (sodium, added sugars, and SFA) per 100 g [13]For beverages, LIM is multiplied by 2.5

In LIM_SENS, free sugars replaced added sugars. No other changes. For beverages, LIM_SENS is multiplied by 2.5

Based on the WHO definition, free sugars include added sugars plus sugars naturally present in honey, fruit-juices, and concentrates [22]

French recommendations

European Reference Intakes (EU-RIs), as listed in Annex XIII of the regulation EC 1169/2011 [1]

In absence of EU-RIs in Annex XIII of EC 1169/2011 [1], the 2015 WHO recommendation was used for free sugars [22], EFSA recommendations were used for ALA [41] and FAO recommendations were used for MUFA [42]. A reference intake of 20 g was chosen for fibres, as an intermediate value between the EFSA reference values [21] for children (14 g/d) and for adults (25 g/d)

Primary thresholds: • SAIN: 5 (corresponding to 100% adequacy) • LIM: 7.5 (corresponding to 0% excess)

Primary thresholds: • SAIN_SENS: 5 (corresponding to 100% adequacy) • LIM_SENS: 7.5 (corresponding to 0% excess)Secondary thresholds: • SAIN_SENS: 2; 3.5; 7.5; 10; 15 • LIM_SENS: 10; 15; 35; 50

Primary thresholds were kept, as they are nutritionally meaningful (i.e. 100% adequacy for the SAIN and 0% excess for the LIM)Secondary thresholds were established to rank the classes of the SENS algorithm and to limit edge-effects. Following WHO recommendations [2], these secondary thresholds were defined via a trial-and-error (or empirical) approach, in order to reach an ordered classification while still allowing foods with a similar LIM_SENS to be discriminated according to their SAIN_SENS