How to read a food label (and what "clean label" really means)

Mille pancake mix pack

You'll see "clean label" on our site, so here's exactly what we mean by it and how you can check any product yourself.

First, an honest note

"Clean label" isn't a legal or regulated term in the UK. For us, a clean-label product is one with a short, recognisable ingredients list: no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives, and no ingredients you'd struggle to find in a kitchen. We tag these products and group them in our Clean Label collection. Not everything we sell is clean label. Some of our heritage favourites are made the traditional way, with sugar, flour and oil, and we say so.

1. Read the ingredients list first

In the UK, ingredients must be listed in descending order of weight, so the main ingredient always comes first (NHS). If sugar or oil is near the top, it's a big part of the product. Allergens are highlighted in the list, usually in bold.

2. Use the per-100g numbers to compare

The NHS gives these guides for what counts as high or low per 100g:

Low (per 100g) High (per 100g)
Fat 3g or less more than 17.5g
Saturated fat 1.5g or less more than 5g
Sugars 5g or less more than 22.5g
Salt 0.3g or less more than 1.5g

3. Look past the front of the pack

Front-of-pack words like "natural" or "wholesome" are marketing. The ingredients list and nutrition table are the facts.

A note on imported products

Many of our brands are made in India. Products sold in the UK must carry their ingredients, allergens and nutrition information in English, so you may see a UK label added to the original pack. We also list the ingredients on every product page.

Shop the Clean Label range