Table 3 The first step for classifying a food with SENS: identifying and collecting the information needed

From: The SENS algorithm—a new nutrient profiling system for food labelling in Europe

Food categories

Amount of sub-category ingredients (%/100 g)

Energy (kcal/100 g)

Free sugars (g/100 g)

SFA (g/100 g)

Sodium (mg/100 g)

FV (g/100 g)

Proteins (g/100 g)

Fibres (g/100 g)

Calcium (mg/100 g)

Vitamin C (mg/100 g)

MUFA (g/100 g)

ALA (g/100 g)

Beverages

—

X

X

X

X

X

   

X

  

Added Fats

—

X

X

X

X

     

X

X

Other Solid Foods

            

Cereals

>50%

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

    

Cheese

>70%

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

   

Other dairy products

>50%

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

   

Eggs

>50%

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

    

Fish

>50%

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

    

Others

—

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

    

Minimum and maximum amounts to be considered in the calculation

 Minimum amount

  

1

  

20

 

0.5a

20a

2a

1a

0.1a

 Maximum amount

        

150b

50;20;0c

  
  1. ALA α-linolenic acid, MUFA monounsaturated fatty acids, FV fruits and vegetables, SFA saturated fatty acids. X indicates that the nutrient is required to calculate the SENS sytem to the corresponding food category.
  2. aCorrespond to nutrient content <2.5% of the corresponding Reference value
  3. bApplied to ‘other dairy products’ but not to ‘cheese’
  4. cThe maximum amount depends on the proportion of FV: 50 if FV=1 g/g; 20 if FV >0.3 g/g; 0 if FV <0.3 g/g
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