Nutrional values

My Product Manager's data quality reports show that not entering the nutritional values correctly is one of the most common and made mistakes. Nutritional values are used to help consumers make more conscious and healthy choices when purchasing products.

How can you tell if your products have this error?

In the data quality report, which you will find in My Product Manage r under "My Reports", please check if any of the products have one or more of the error messages or warnings below:

Nutrient type codes ENERA', 'NACL', 'SUGAR', 'CHO-' and 'FIB-' are not allowed for this/these target market(s). (= GDSN rule 1778).
Each nutrient type can only be indicated once per ‘nutrient detail group’.

Then follow the steps below to fill in the nutritional values correctly. In this way, the product sheets are visible to the data recipients even after all the system checks have been carried out again.

How do you resolve the error or warning?

This depends on the way you register or edit the product sheets in My Product Manager.

Webinterface My Product Manager (https://myproducts.gs1belu.org)

Via een andere GS1 GDSN-datapool of via een machine-to-machine-connectie

Webinterface My Product Manager

STEP 1

STEP 2

Use the search function and enter the description, GTIN or brand of the product. To open the product sheet, click on the 14-digit GTIN of the product under 'GTIN'.

STEP 3

Go to the ‘Nutrients’ tab or use the search function and enter ‘Nutritional header’.

In the tab 'Nutrients' under the segment 'Nutritional header', the nutritional values are entered as stated on the packaging/label.

It is possible to adjust the incorrect nutritional information:

Adjust individually (follow Step 4), or
Completely remove the current nutritional values and re-enter them (follow Step 5), the choice is up to you.

STEP 4

Check the nutritional values within the 'Nutritional header' that have already been entered and correct the value(s) causing the error message(s):

Repeating a ‘nutrient code’ within the same ‘nutrient details’,
Use of 'nutrient codes’ values that are not permitted in the Benelux countries:
- ENERA = Energy, gross; determined by direct analysis using bomb calorimetry
- NACL = Salt*
- SUGAR = Sugars, total*
- CHO- = Carbohydrate, total; method of determination unknown or variable
- FIB- = Fibre; method of determination unknown or variable

Both error messages concern the attribute 'nutrient code'.

If there are multiple occurrences of the same nutrient within a 'Nutrient detail', uncheck the duplicate 'nutrient code' and proceed to Step 6

If a 'nutrient code' has been used which is not allowed within the Benelux countries, the wrong value must be adjusted. Click on the ‘Nutrient code' and select a valid value from the code list and go to Step 6

STEP 5

In the tab ‘Nutrients’, under the segment ‘Nutritional header’, click ‘+ Add new’, additional attributes will be made available for entering the nutritional values. Enter only the nutritional information stated on the packaging/label.

Attribute 'Daily intake reference’, is conditionally mandatory and must be entered if a daily intake reference is stated on the packaging/label. The attribute is a free text field which is used to enter the daily intake reference, for example 'Reference intake of an average adult (8400 kJ/ 2000 kcal)'. Under 'Daily intake reference' click on '+ Add new', additional attributes will be made available.

Enter the text of the "daily intake reference" as stated on the packaging/label and in the attribute 'Language', select the language in which the text is entered.

Attribute ‘Nutritional preparation code’ is conditionally mandatory and must be entered if nutritional values are listed on the packaging/label. The attribute contains a code list to specify whether the nutritional values are calculated from the prepared or unprepared product, in most cases the value 'UNPREPARED - unprepared' must be entered.

Click on the attribute and select the value that belongs to the nutritional values that have been/will be entered.

Attribute 'Nutrient basis quantity' + 'Unit of measure' is a conditional mandatory and must be entered if there are nutritional values stated on the packaging/label. The attribute is a free text field (Attention! Only numeric values are allowed) and a code list to enter the nutrient basis quantity with which the nutritional values are measured. For foodstuff products there is a legal obligation to enter this information per 100 grams or 100 millilitres (for mineral water per 1 litre or 1000 millilitres).

Attribute 'Nutrient basis description' + 'Language' is conditional mandatory and must be entered if there is a nutrient basis description stated on the packaging/label. The attribute is a free text field and a code list to provide additional information about the portion size which cannot be entered in the attribute 'Nutrient basis quantity' + 'Unit of measure'.

Click on '+ Add new', additional attributes will be made available.

Does the product contain components for which there are also nutritional values per component stated on the packaging/label? Then use this attribute to specify the nutritional values per component, e.g. for the nutritional value per 100 grams enter the value 'Mars' and for the nutritional value per portion of the component enter the value 'Mars, 18 grams'.

Attribute 'Nutrient code’ is conditionally mandatory and must be entered if there are nutrients stated on the packaging/label. The attribute contains a code list to specify the nutrients that are listed on the packaging/label (the nutrient dietary fibre (FIBTG) may be entered even if it is not stated on the packaging/label). For most foodstuff products the following nutrients are mandatory*:

ENER- = Energy (enter the value in kilojoules and kilocalories)
FAT = Fats
FASAT = Saturated fats
CHOAVL = Carbohydrates
SUGAR- = Sugars
PRO- = Proteins
SALTEQ = Salt

The mandatory nutrients are already entered in My Product Manager you only select the nutrients that are mentioned on the packaging/label by ticking them, additional attributes are made available.

*It is possible to enter additional nutrient codes if you only enter the nutrients stated on the packaging/label. To do so, click on '+ Add new’ within the ‘nutrient details’.

Attribute 'Nutrient value precision code' is conditionally mandatory and must be entered if nutrients are stated on the packaging/label. The attribute contains a code list to specify whether the amount of the measured nutrient is 'approximate' or 'less than'. In most cases the value 'APPROXIMATELY – Approximate value' should be entered, only if the nutrient has a '<' indication should the value 'LESS_THAN - Less than (<)' be entered.

To enter the nutritional values, click on ‘+ Add new’ under ‘Quantities’, additional attributes will be made available.

Attribute 'Quantity' + 'Unit of measure' are conditionally mandatory and must be entered if there are nutritional values stated on the packaging/label. The attribute is a free text field (Attention! Only numeric values are allowed) and a code list to enter the quantity of a nutrient. For the mandatory nutrients, except for the nutrient 'ENER- – energy', only the unit of measurement 'GRM (grams)' is allowed.

For the nutrient 'ENER- – energy', enter both the quantity with the measurement unit 'KJO - kilojoule' and E14 - kilocalories' within the same nutrient. Click on '+ Add new', additional attributes will be made available.

Attributes 'Daily nutrient value percentage' + 'Daily nutrient value percentage precision code’ are conditionally mandatory and must be entered if percentages to the daily intake reference of nutrients are stated on the packaging/label. The attribute is a free text field (Attention! Only numeric values are allowed) and a code list to enter the percentage of the daily intake reference of a nutrient or vitamins and minerals. The percentage of the daily intake reference is expressed based on the (reference) portion size, see attribute 'Daily intake reference'.

Attribute 'Nutrient source' + ‘Language’ is optional and can be entered if there is additional information about the ingredient from which the nutrient originates is stated on the packaging/label. The attribute is a free text field to enter additional information about the ingredient from which the nutrient originates, for example for the nutrient 'SALTEQ (Salt)' – 'Salt is from naturally occurring sodium only' or for the nutrient 'SUGAR- - (Sugars)' – 'Contains naturally occurring sugars'. Attention! Enter the additional information only for the nutrient to which it applies.

Click on '+ Add new', additional attributes will be made available.

Repeat Step 5 if there are several nutrition tables on the packaging/label. Click on '+ Add new' outside the ‘nutritional header’, additional attributes will be made available.

STEP 6

Click on 'Save' or 'Validate & Next' to check and validate the adjustment as well as the entire product sheet. Are there still error messages and/or warnings? If so, these warning/errors need to be resolved as well.

STEP 7

Click on 'validate and release', the updated product sheet is now available to the data recipients.

STEP 8

After releasing the updated product sheet, check in the My Product Manager data quality report that the product sheet no longer displays an error message and/or warning.