Guide · Front of pack
Traffic light labelling — the red, amber and green thresholds, and the portion rule
Four coloured boxes on the front of the pack: fat, saturates, sugars, salt. The UK traffic light label is voluntary, it rests on one government guidance document from 2016, and the thresholds are short enough to fit in two tables. The one rule people miss is the portion rule.
Voluntary, but not free-form
The traffic light scheme is not in any regulation. Its rulebook is the Department of Health and Social Care’s Guide to creating a front of pack (FoP) nutrition label, updated in November 2016, and it says so directly:
“The provision of FoP information remains voluntary, but if provided it must meet the requirements set out in the EU FIC”
“EU FIC” is Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, which in Great Britain now applies in its UK version. Three of its rules frame every front of pack label:
- Two formats only. Article 30(3) allows the front of pack to repeat either the energy value alone, or “the energy value together with the amounts of fat, saturates, sugars, and salt”. The traffic light uses the second.
- Never instead of the back. The guidance: front of pack labelling “cannot be given in isolation; it must be provided in addition to the full mandatory (‘back of pack’) nutrition declaration”.
- Colour is an extra form of expression under Article 35, not a claim. The guidance quotes recital 46 of the Regulation to make the point.
Since a traffic light is a repeat of the nutrition declaration, the work is in the declaration: get those seven values right and the colours follow. Our free nutrition calculator works them out from a recipe.
The thresholds for food
Table 2 of the guidance, per 100 g, “whether or not it is sold by volume”:
| per 100 g | Green | Amber | Red |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fat | ≤ 3.0 | > 3.0 to ≤ 17.5 | > 17.5 |
| Saturates | ≤ 1.5 | > 1.5 to ≤ 5.0 | > 5.0 |
| Sugars | ≤ 5.0 | > 5.0 to ≤ 22.5 | > 22.5 |
| Salt | ≤ 0.3 | > 0.3 to ≤ 1.5 | > 1.5 |
All values in grams. Red per portion, for portions over 100 g: fat over 21 g, saturates over 6.0 g, sugars over 27 g, salt over 1.8 g.
The green cut-offs are not new numbers: the guidance notes that “the low cut off is based on the ‘low’ nutrition claim” in the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006.
The thresholds for drinks
Table 3, per 100 ml:
| per 100 ml | Green | Amber | Red |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fat | ≤ 1.5 | > 1.5 to ≤ 8.75 | > 8.75 |
| Saturates | ≤ 0.75 | > 0.75 to ≤ 2.5 | > 2.5 |
| Sugars | ≤ 2.5 | > 2.5 to ≤ 11.25 | > 11.25 |
| Salt | ≤ 0.3 | > 0.3 to ≤ 0.75 | > 0.75 |
All values in grams. Red per portion, for portions over 150 ml: fat over 10.5 g, saturates over 3 g, sugars over 13.5 g, salt over 0.9 g.
The portion rule
The per-portion column applies only to large portions — for food “more than 100g”, for drinks “more than 150 ml”. Then, step 3.2 of the guidance:
“If any of the nutrients are present in levels in excess of their respective cut-off points, then they must be labelled red (HIGH) (regardless of the levels present per 100g/ml).”
Everything not already red is then coloured from the per 100 g or 100 ml table. The portion rule can only make a colour red; it never makes one green.
Two worked examples
Illustrative values, to show the steps:
| Cheese scone, 70 g | Sandwich, 250 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Portion over 100 g? | no — only the per 100 g table | yes — check the portion column first |
| Fat | 14.6 g/100 g → amber | 8.0 g/100 g, 20 g/portion → amber |
| Saturates | 8.0 g/100 g → red | 2.0 g/100 g, 5.0 g/portion → amber |
| Sugars | 5.9 g/100 g → amber | 3.0 g/100 g, 7.5 g/portion → green |
| Salt | 1.2 g/100 g → amber | 1.0 g/100 g, but 2.5 g/portion > 1.8 g → red |
The sandwich is the case that goes wrong: amber for salt on the per 100 g table, red once the portion is checked.
What else goes in the box
- Energy in kJ and kcal, without colour: the guidance says colour coding “should not be applied to energy information” and asks for a neutral background.
- Per portion, with the portion described in a way people recognise (“¼ of a pie or 1 burger”). If the four nutrients are given per portion only, energy must also be given per 100 g or 100 ml.
- % reference intake, optional. The reference intakes are those of Annex XIII Part B: 8 400 kJ, fat 70 g, saturates 20 g, sugars 90 g, salt 6 g. Given per 100 g, they need the statement “Reference intake of an average adult (8 400 kJ/2 000 kcal)” (Article 32(5)).
- HIGH, MEDIUM, LOW as words next to the colours — allowed, not required.
- The minimum font size of Article 13(2) applies here too.
The traffic light is the UK’s front of pack scheme; several countries in continental Europe use the Nutri-Score instead, which scores the product as a whole. In England and Scotland, a different score again — the nutrient profiling model — decides whether a product counts as HFSS.
Frequently asked questions
Is traffic light labelling mandatory in the UK?
No. The Department of Health and Social Care guidance says: “The provision of FoP information remains voluntary”. If a business does use it, it must follow the rules of Regulation 1169/2011 for repeated nutrition information, and it never replaces the full nutrition declaration on the back of the pack.
What makes a food red for salt?
More than 1.5 g of salt per 100 g. For a portion larger than 100 g, the food is also red if the portion contains more than 1.8 g of salt, whatever the amount per 100 g.
Is energy colour coded?
No. The guidance says that red, amber and green colour coding “should not be applied to energy information”. Energy is shown in kJ and kcal on a neutral background.
This article is general information and does not replace legal advice. The thresholds and steps are quoted from the Department of Health and Social Care, Guide to creating a front of pack (FoP) nutrition label for pre-packed products sold through retail outlets, updated November 2016, which is guidance and not law. The legal requirements are from Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 as it applies in Great Britain, revised version in force from 27 February 2025.