How do you compare packaged snacks?

Packaged snacks can only be compared on the same column. Looking at the portion column for one product and the hundred-gram column for the other is not a comparison; because portion size varies from product to product, while a hundred grams means the same thing on every package.

Below we look at which column the comparison is made in, what the portion column says, how the number of portions in a package is worked out, what a single-portion package solves, and the share of snacks in the daily plan.

Which column the comparison is made in

The compulsory basis of the nutrition declaration is a hundred grams or a hundred milliliters; the regulation requires the energy value and the amounts of nutrients to be given on that unit. The portion column is put there in addition to it.

That order sets the ground for comparison. Products whose package sizes differ widely — chips, crackers, cookies and bars — come side by side only on common ground, that is on a hundred grams.

We covered the same principle as a single question in this tip; here we apply it to the snack shelf.

What the portion column says

The portion column exists not for comparison but for estimating how much is actually eaten. The regulation’s definition says as much: portion size is the average amount of a food expected to be eaten at one time.

The word here is “expected”. The expected amount does not have to be your amount; if the package is finished in one sitting, the number in that column describes not the amount eaten but a part of it.

That distinction becomes particularly visible with snacks, because the number of packages finished in one sitting is high. It is possible to look at the same table and come away with two different results: per portion and per package.

Where the number of portions in a package comes from

How many portions a package contains is not estimated but calculated: the net quantity written on the packaging is divided by the portion size given in the annex to the regulation, and the result is rounded to the nearest whole number.

So two different product groups of the same weight can show a different number of portions. The number arises not from the size of the packaging but from the portion defined for that product group.

It is also a condition that the portion size and the number of portions are written on the label in a form the consumer can easily notice. We explained the subject separately in this tip.

What a single-portion package solves

A small single-use package does the dividing for you. The decision about the measure has been made not in the kitchen but in the packaging, and when the package is finished the stopping point has come too.

What it does not solve is the price: the small package of the same product is usually more expensive per unit. The second thing it does not solve is how many packages will be opened; two small packages can come to the same place as half a large one.

Looking at how long the first package lasted before opening the second is a measure too. A small package sets the measure with the packaging, but you still decide how many packages get opened.

Which line separates two products

In the snack group the energy line is often the least distinguishing one; two products on the same shelf can carry similar energy and differ in how their content is distributed.

The lines that make the distinction vary by group: salt for savory products, sugar for sweet ones, and the fiber and saturated fat lines for grain-based ones. First you decide which question you are asking, then you look at that line.

So you have to stay within the product group. Comparing two crackers rather than a cracker and a chocolate forms the measure on its own, and the difference shows in a single line.

The phrases on the front do not enter the comparison

Some of the nutrition claims on the front of a package have a defined threshold behind them and others only set up an association. Neither is the comparison itself.

The practical route is always the same: look for the phrase on the front in the table on the back. If it has a counterpart there it is information; if not, it is emphasis.

The share of snacks in the daily plan

TÜBER, Türkiye’s national dietary guideline, keeps snacks outside the food groups, under a heading of their own. In the eating patterns built by energy level, an explicit share is set aside for them under the name foods that may be eaten optionally, and the share rises as the energy level rises.

The guideline also asks that foods high in fat, salt and sugar be kept out of daily eating and be eaten rarely and in small amounts. So the question is not “which one is forbidden” but “what will this share be filled with”.

Making the comparison once

Reading every package at every shop is not realistic. For snacks bought regularly the decision is made once and not reopened on later rounds.

The one situation that calls for another look is a change in the packaging or the weight. When the package shrinks, the portion column is rewritten too; that makes the numbers in the table fall, but it does not mean anything in the product has improved.

In short: make the comparison in the hundred-gram column, use the portion column to estimate the amount eaten, see the number of portions in the package and make the decision once. We covered the criteria for choosing in this guide and the whole picture in the snacks and sweet cravings guide.