EU ingredient percentages: identify what the number describes
Read QUID wording with its ingredient, basis, and moisture-loss context before doing any arithmetic.
An ingredient percentage on an EU food label can be useful, but it is not automatically the percentage of a nutrient or a simple measurement of that ingredient in the final package. Start by locating the exact ingredient or category the number qualifies.
Understand why a percentage may appear
Article 22 addresses quantitative ingredient declarations when an ingredient is named, emphasized, or important to characterizing the food, with exceptions and technical rules in Annex VIII. See Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011. This is often called QUID: quantitative ingredient declaration.
Annex VIII generally relates the percentage to the quantity at the time of use. It also contains special rules, including for foods that lose moisture during treatment. Read the actual statement and relevant context before treating the number as a universal finished-weight calculation.
Keep the subject attached to the percentage
Imagine a hypothetical filling described as “fruit filling 30%” within a pastry's ingredients. That percentage belongs to the named filling if that is what the wording states. It does not automatically mean 30% of the pastry is the fruit contained inside the filling. The filling may have its own components and declarations.
For another hypothetical example, a label states that 120 g of a named ingredient was used to prepare 100 g of finished food. Preserve that “used to prepare” basis. Do not reject the statement merely because the ingredient-use figure exceeds 100; moisture-loss rules explain why such a basis can be relevant.
Use a short calculation preflight
- Which exact ingredient or category does the number modify?
- Does the statement concern ingredient use, finished product, or another specified basis?
- Is it part of a compound ingredient?
- Is there wording about preparation, concentration, or moisture loss?
Only calculate after those questions are resolved. A percentage of strawberries, for example, is not the same as a percentage of sugars: the ingredient contains more than the nutrient you are trying to compare.
Save the full label sentence with any numeric result. If the basis remains ambiguous in your photo, record the percentage without converting it into grams. A faithful incomplete record is preferable to a precise-looking answer that applies the number to the wrong subject.