Reading protein and fibre claims

The unit mismatch

Nutrition claims and comparisons are made on a per-100g basis. Very few products people actually eat weigh 100g. A protein bar is typically 40-60g; a serving of cereal is 30-40g. So a bar declaring 20g of protein per 100g contains around 8-12g in the bar itself.

Multiply the per-100g figure by the pack or serving weight and divide by 100. It is a small piece of arithmetic that changes which of two products actually delivers more.

Where the claim thresholds come from

Fibre claims are threshold-based and stated per 100g: widely used labelling standards set "source of fibre" at 3g per 100g and "high in fibre" at 6g per 100g. Those are the same landmarks the Filtizy fibre ladder is pinned to.

Protein claims are defined differently - they are commonly expressed as a share of the product's total energy rather than as a flat gram threshold, which is why a low-calorie product can carry a protein claim at a gram figure a calorie-dense one could not. Filtizy uses its own published per-100g protein ladder instead, so that every product in the catalogue is judged on one consistent basis; the rungs are listed on the methodology page.

Reading a claim against the panel

• Find the per-100g protein or fibre figure on the panel rather than trusting the front of the pack.
• Convert it to the serving you will actually eat.
• Check what came with it - a high-protein bar can also carry a high added-sugar figure, and the panel shows both.
• Compare against another product on the same per-100g basis, not claim against claim.