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A MULTI-SECTOR PARTNERSHIP FOR

IMPROVED NUTRITION

GAIN NORDIC PARTNERSHIP

NUTRITION GUIDELINESDRAFT - work in progressJanuary 18th

2016

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The GAIN Nordic Partnership aims to deliver

nutritious foods to low-income consumers

The GAIN Nordic product Guidelines have been

developed in order to ensure that products

produced and marketed/distributed under the

partnership make a significant contribution to the

nutritional intake and subsequently status of

consumers within the target populations and also

do not harm individuals (physically or financially).

The criteria comprise of general principles for

product selection, development and marketing,

as well as nutrition guidelines.

Criteria are based on international guidelines or

best practice country legislation (where

international guidelines are lacking) as well as

the intent to do no harm.

First draft to use as practical

guidelines – may be refined later

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NUTRITION CRITERIA

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General principles:Add value

• Aim to provide a more affordable and better quality nutrition product than currently available

• Foods must contribute to or help improve, nutritional status of target consumers and should be

within financial reach of lower-income groups

• Main target i) specific population groups, such as infants and young children (> 6 months), school

children, adolescents, pregnant and lactating women, or ii) the general population

Do no harm

• Foods must be safe for human consumption

• The nutrition product must not encourage consumption of unsafe water or increase the consumption

of fuels that bring added human and financial costs

Respect the local context

• The provision of pre-packed foods should not lead to the reliance on more expensive pre-packed

foods, where adequately nutritious & affordable traditional foods are available

• Should be appropriate in view of current consumer habits and preferences

• Products should aim to support sustainable local enterprise including sourcing and manufacturing

and aim not to disadvantage existing informal business or employment opportunities in the local

market.

Comply with legislations and recognised guidelines

• Products marketed/distributed under the Nordic Partnership must adhere to local legislation.

• Where such legislation does not exist, they should adhere to Codex Alimentarius guidelines or other

recognised international guidelines.

• Any product claims must be scientifically substantial.

• Processed foods that target infants and young children, with for instance complementary foods or

‘baby flours’, must adhere to WHO guidelines with respect to nutritional requirements for this age

group and comply with the International Code on the Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and must

not undermine breast feeding practices

First draft to use as practical

guidelines – may be refined later

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NUTRITION CRITERIA

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Scope of foods to which this criteria apply

Does not apply to:

1. Basic foods that are considered inherently nutritious and which form the basis of global

dietary recommendations, i.e:

• Fruits and vegetables, including dried, fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables with no

added ingredients;

• Animal-source foods, such as eggs, milk and yoghurt (except for those with added

sugars), fish, meat with no added ingredients;

• Beans/pulses/legumes and nuts with no added ingredients.

• Consumption of these products should be actively encouraged and as such do not

require that specific criteria are met.

2. Fortified complementary foods and complementary food supplements. For such products,

please refer to GAIN’s 2014 guidelines: ‘Nutritional guidelines for complementary foods and

complementary food supplements supported by GAIN’.

Does apply to:

1. Meal components or complete meals;

2. Snacks

3. Beverages

4. Flavoured/sweetened dairy products

5. Where the above products have had ingredients added to them.

6. Fortified flours e.g. wheat flour or maize meal, fortified blended flours or cooking oil.

First draft to use as practical

guidelines – may be refined later

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NUTRITION CRITERIA

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Criteria for being able to make specific nutrition claims – value additions (min

criteria) for products developed under the GAIN Nordic Partnership

• Processed foods must contain significant amounts of relevant macronutrients (such as

proteins) or micronutrients (such as iron, calcium, folate, vitamin A or other vitamins or

minerals).

• For a product to be recognized as a good source of protein should contain the following

minimum percentages and/or contain at least a significant amount of the RDA/NRV for at

least 2 micronutrients as follows:

• Where a local RDA/NRV is available, it is best practice to use local RDA/NRVs. If this does

not exists RDA/NRV/Codex NRV does not exist for a nutrient, it would be reasonable to use

EU NRVs or Codex as an alternative.

RDA = recommended daily allowance. NRV = nutrient reference value as defined by Codex Alimentarius

First draft to use as practical

guidelines – may be refined later

Product type Protein At least 2 micronutrients

Per 100 g of solid product 10% of energy 15% of RDA

Per 100 ml of liquids (juices and drinks,

flavoured/sweetened drinks)

5% of energy 7,5% of RDA

Per 100 kcal/ per 1 MJ 5% / 12% of energy 5% RDA / 12% RDA

Per serving 10% of energy 15% RDA

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NUTRITION CRITERIA

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Criteria to be met in order to avoid harm (max criteria)

• If sugar (monosaccharides, disaccharides, syrups, honey, powdered fruit for example) is

added to a product, this should amount to no more than 10% of the total amount of calories

provided by one serving of the product .

• The total amount of salt/sodium in a product should not exceed 1.0g salt or 400mg sodium

per 100g.

• If fats are added, use of (poly-)unsaturated) fatty acids is preferred; saturated fatty acids

should preferably be less than 10% of total energy provided by 100 grams of the product or

per serving. The use of synthetic trans fats should be avoided: where used they must

account for less than 1% of total energy

RDA = recommended daily allowance. NRV = nutrient reference value as defined by Codex

Alimentarius

First draft to use as practical

guidelines – may be refined later

Appendix

6

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REFERENCES

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Codex Alimentarius (1997) Nutrition and Health Claims (CAC/GL 23-1997, revised 2013)

Codex Alimentarius (1985, revised 2015) Guidelines on nutrition labelling (CAC/GL 2-1985)

http://www.codexalimentarius.org/standards/list-of-standards/

European Commission (2011) http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-

content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32011R1169&from=en

GAIN (2014) Nutritional Guidelines for Complementary Foods and Complementary Food

Supplements http://www.gainhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/69.-Nutritional-Guidelines-

for-Complementary-Foods-and-Complementary-Food-Supplements-Supported-by-GAIN.pdf

WHO, WFP, UNICEF (2007) Joint statement: Preventing and controlling micronutrient

deficiencies in populations affected by an emergency.

http://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/WHO_WFP_UNICEFstatement.pdf

WHO (2012) Guideline: sodium intake for adults and children

http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/77985/1/9789241504836_eng.pdf?ua=1&ua=1

WHO (2015) Guideline: sugars intake for adults and children

http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/149782/1/9789241549028_eng.pdf?ua=1

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ESSENTIAL VITAMINS AND MINERALS

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English PLW MNP formulation

Pregnant and

lactating women

(PLW)

WHO RDA are

for women 11-50

Danish RDA are

for adults above

11

UL (upper limit) for

average intake

Vitamin A (μg) 800 800 600 800 3000

Vitamin D (μg) 5 5 5 5 100

Vitamin E(mg) 10 15 7.5 12 300

Vitamin K (μg) 55 75

Vitamin C (mg) 70 55 45 80 1000

Vitamin B1 / Thiamin (mg) 1.4 1.4 1.1 1,1

Ribiflavin B2 (mg) 1.4 1.4

Niacin (mg) 18 18 14 16

Vitamin B6 (mg) 1.9 1.9 1,5 1,4 25

Folic Acid (μg) 400 600 400 200 1000

Vitamin B12 (μg) 2.6 2.6 2,4 2,5

Biotin (μg) 15-100 50

Pantothenic Acid (mg) 3-12 6

Iron (mg) 30-60* 30 14 25

Zink (mg) 15 10 10 25

Cobber (mg) 2 1.15 1 5

Mangan (mg) 2

Selenium (μg) 65 30 55 300

Chrom (μg) 40

Molybdæn (μg) 50

Iodine (μg) 150 250 150 600

Reference

HF-TAG MNPMNP composition guidelines 2013 – to address high prevalence of anaemia and micronutrient deficiencies

2007 WHO WFP

UNICEF Joint

Statement

WHO RDA vitamins

for women 11-50

(as on previous

slide)

DK RDA are for

adults above 11

Nordic Nutrition

Recommendations

2012

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Codex NRVs EU NRVs Values to be used for

products for pregnant women

in place of NRVs 1

Vitamin A (mcg) 800 800

Vitamin D (mcg) 5 5

Vitamin E (mg) - 12 15

Vitamin K (mcg) 60 75

Vitamin C (mg) 100 80

Thiamin (mg) 1.2 1.1 1.4

Riboflavin (mg) 1.2 1.4

Niacin (mg) 15 16 18

Vitamin B6 (mg) 1.3 1.4 1.9

Folic acid (mcg) 400 200 600

Vitamin B12 (mcg) 2.4 2.5 2.6

Biotin (mcg) 30 50

Pantothenic acid (mg) 5 6

Potassium (mg) - 2000

Calcium (mg) 1000 800

Magnesium (mg) 300 375

Phosphorous - 700

Iron (mg) 14 14 30

Zinc (mg) 11 10 20

Copper (mg) - 1

Manganese (mg) 3 2

Selenium (mcg) - 55

Chromium (mcg) - 40

Molybdenum (mcg) - 50

Iodine (mcg) 150 150 250

1 (WHO, WFP, UNICEF, 2007)

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2007 WHO WFP UNICEF JOINT STATEMENT

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2007 WHO WFP UNICEF Joint Statement on Preventing and

Controlling micronutrient deficiencies in populations affected by an

emergency

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NORDIC NUTRITION RECOMMENDATIONS

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HF-TAG MANUAL ON MICRONUTRIENT

POWDER (MNP) COMPOSITION

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CALCULATION OF NUTRIENTS

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Carbohydrates 4 kcal/g - 17 kJ

Protein 4 kcal/g - 17 kJ

Fat 9 kcal/g - 37 kJ

Alcohol (Ethanol) 7 kcal/g - 29 kJ

Organic acid 3 kcal/g - 13 kJ

1 Calculation of Energy

The amount of energy to be listed should be calculated by using the following conversion factors:

2 Calculation of Protein

The amount of protein to be listed should be calculated using the formula:

Protein = Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen x 6.25unless a different factor is given in a Codex standard or in

the Codex method of analysis for that food.