Catherine Saxelby's Foodwatch | %DI Labelling - what does it mean?

%DI Labelling - what does it mean?

If you're into healthy eating then you probably survey the food packs for nutrition information. It isn't always clear is it? You may have spotted the %DI on the labels but do you know how to interpret this for you or your children?  The food industry believes many consumers are confused by labelling and has come up with a new way of presenting the figures on pack but I'm not sure it will be all that helpful.

 

 

What is %DI labelling?

%DI stands for Percentage of Daily Intake. It looks like a series of thumbnails and is a graphic representation of how much a serve of a food will contribute to your total day's intake. Ideally it should appear on the front of the pack.

Thumbnails are voluntary

It's a voluntary scheme. Some manufacturers choose to display only the %DI for energy (kJ) while others may include information on energy as well as seven nutrients - protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugars, fibre and sodium.

Some products like breakfast cereals also show four vitamins and the mineral iron. Kelloggs were the first to introduce the %DI in mid-2006 followed by Coca-Cola and McDonalds.

 

Checkout this example

Take a look at the %DI thumbnails from a pack of Just Right breakfast cereal.

For example, a "serve" of Just Right will give you 7.8 per cent of your kilojoule (energy) intake, 6.7 per cent of your protein, 1.5 per cent of fat, 0.9 per cent of saturated fat, 10.5 per cent of carbohydrate, 12.9 per cent of sugars, 11.7 per cent of fibre and 7.1 per cent of sodium (salt).

Make sure you understand though just a what a "serve" is. Click here to read my article on serve sizes.

 

In contrast, if you eat a Big Mac, the thumbnails tell you that it gives you 23 per cent of your energy which makes it a meal.

But, you also getting 50 per cent of your protein along with 40 per cent of your saturated fat and 37 per cent of your day's sodium - not a good thing. You are getting an "excess" of saturated fat and sodium relative to your kilojoules.

 

Nutritionists' gripes

1. The %DI is based on a healthy weight male who consumes 8700kJ (2300 calories) per day. If you are a child, female or anyone overweight - all of whom need to consume fewer kilojoules than most males - the numbers won't apply to you.

Take a Big Mac with 2010kJ as an example again.

• If you are average man, it provide you with 23 per cent of your day's energy intake.
• If you are an average woman, your energy needs would be only around 7500kJ, 1200 less than the average male. Thus a Big Mac would give you 27 per cent of your total (which is 2010/7500 X 100).
• If you are on a diet and eating only 5000kJ a day, that same Big Mac would give you a huge 40 per cent of your day's total. You would need to think twice about whether to eat it or not!
• If you are sporty or very active, you'll burn up more kilojoules and therefore the foods contribute LESS of your DI needs.

Rule of thumb:

• If you're burning up LESS than an average man, the percentages displayed would be greater than your required daily intake.
• If you're burning up MORE than the average man, the percentages displayed would be less than your required daily intake.

2. Just using energy (kilojoules) as a way of comparing foods ignores the overall nutrition of a food. It can make unhealthy foods seem like a good choice as it is all about quantity, not quality. There's no judgement as to whether a food is good for you or not - it's left to the consumer to interpret. In contrast, the red Heart Foundation Tick does the work for you in highlighting healthier options with less saturated fat, sodium (but it doesn't tell you how much to eat of them either).

3. The numbers look complicated - there are too many numbers to make it a simple at-a-glance check. If manufacturers rounded the percentages up to the nearest whole number, they would be a lot simpler.

The bottom line

For people who aren't numerical and find tables hard to decipher, the thumbnails make the nutrition information panel a little easier to interpret but it's too complicated for people to evaluate foods quickly and easily. It's also male orientated and given that most often it's still women doing the shopping and trying lose weight, it's just not relevant enough!

 

Related articles on food labelling

• Serious about weight loss? Then check your serve sizes as not all serves are equal.
• Download our pdf of the kilojoules and %DI in 85 popular fast food items along with the kilojoule requirements for women, men, children and teens.