Understanding Food Labels

You do not need to understand food labels, but they can help you see if a food is high or low in total fat, saturated (less healthy fat), sugar and salt.

Most foods will have a 'traffic light' on the packaging:

Red for High
Amber for Medium
Green for Low

Aim to eat mostly foods that are ‘green’.

Include some ‘amber’ foods – this category includes some fruits and other nutritious options.

Try to limit foods that are ‘red’ in all or most categories – these include foods such as pies, cakes and pastries.

A Note on Calories

You do not need to count calories to have a nutritious, balanced diet. Being aware of portion sizes and eating a mix of foods that you enjoy is more important and will make sure that you and baby get all the nutrients you need.

Traffic light labelling can be a bit confusing!

Some packages will show you information per 100g. Others will show you per portion. You might need to consider how much you are likely to eat.

Some nutritious foods will have ‘red’ values eg Avocados will be Red for total fat and Amber for saturated fat. Raisins are ‘red’ for sugars. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat these foods, just remember the recommended portion sizes.

If you are interested in food labelling there is more information here: Food labelling | British Nutritional Foundation

More Healthy Living Advice

Weight in Pregnancy

Eating Well

Fruit, Vegetables and Fibre

Vegetarian and Vegan Diets

Gestational Diabetes

Eating and Drinking with Pregnancy Sickness

Making Small Changes

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