The Nutrition Panel Calculator (NPC) can help you create a Nutrition Information Panel (NIP) for your food label. Learn about its history, foods and nutrients in the database, key terms and information about how the data is reported.
Foods in the NPC
The NPC is supported by a dataset of common foods which can be used as ingredients when creating an NIP. More details about the dataset is on the Foods in the NPC page.
Nutrients in the NPC
The NPC can be used to create an NIP which includes values for the seven mandatory components required by the Food Standards Code. More details are available on the Nutrients in the NPC page.
Calculations in the NPC
The NPC calculates NIP values in three steps. More details are available on the Calculations in the NPC page.
History and versions of the NPC
In December 2000 the Food Standards Code (the Code) came into effect. Under Standard 1.2.8 - Nutrition Information Requirements, most packaged foods sold in Australia and New Zealand were required to display an NIP on the label. Manufacturers and retailers were given two years to comply with the Standard.
Standard 1.1.1 Preliminary Provisions - Application, Interpretation and General Prohibitions allows the average nutrient quantities to be used to calculate the NIP through several methods including:
- food analysis
- calculation from ingredient nutrient values
- calculation from generally accepted data.
To help manufacturers and retailers meet these requirements, we developed the NPC which was made freely available on our website in 2001.
Key dates in the development of the NPC are listed below.
| Date | Updates |
| September 2020 | Major updates to application and web pages. |
| July 2012 | 14 commercially significant indigenous foods added. |
| 2001 - 2004 | Five minor updates and revisions to the application, web content and supporting database. |
| October 2001 | Initial publication. Based on AUSNUT 1999 database. |
Acknowledgements
FSANZ acknowledges the contribution of nutrient composition data from:
- Professor Heather Greenfield and co-workers at the University of New South Wales
- Associate Professor Jayashree Arcot and others at the University of New South Wales
- Tables of composition of Australian Aboriginal Foods by J Brand-Miller, KW James and PMA Maggiore¹*
- McCance and Widdowson The Composition of Foods and its supplements, United Kingdom Food Standards Agency
- the US Department of Agriculture's National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference²,³*
- the Concise New Zealand Food Composition Tables, 6th and 8th Editions, New Zealand Institute of Plant & Food Research and The New Zealand Ministry of Health⁴,⁵*
- the Danish Food Composition Databank, Revision 7⁶*
- Australian journal articles
- the Australian and New Zealand food industry.
* See the NPC reference list for further information.
Our thanks extend to food analysts from government and private agencies who provided analytical services, and government regulatory agencies such as:
- the National Measurement Institute
- New Zealand Plant and Food Research
- the New Zealand Food Safety Authority
- Dr Peter Nichols of the CSIRO
- the Omega-3 Centre
- members of FSANZ's food composition advisory group.
These individuals and organisations have contributed to the development of the NPC. Many food companies have also generously provided data and aided in the compilation of the food composition data in the NPC.