If you run a food business in the UK, understanding how to calculate calories in food and label products correctly is no longer optional—it’s a legal and commercial necessity. From sandwich shops and cafés to caterers and producers of pre-packed snacks, clear and accurate food labelling helps customers make informed choices, supports dietary needs, and ensures compliance with UK law.
In this guide, we’ll walk through how calorie content is calculated, explore legal labelling requirements including Natasha’s Law, and introduce a reliable software solution—NutriData.co.uk—to help your business meet these standards efficiently and accurately.
Why Calorie Labelling Matters
In recent years, consumer demand for transparency has grown sharply. At the same time, government regulations have tightened. Calorie labelling is now required by law for larger businesses, and allergen labelling laws have been strengthened to protect the public—particularly those with severe allergies.
Proper labelling helps avoid costly mistakes, protects customer health, and enhances your reputation as a responsible food provider.
How Are Calories in Food Calculated?
Calories are calculated based on the energy provided by the three main macronutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.
Each of these provides a specific amount of energy:
- Carbohydrates: 4 kcal per gram
- Proteins: 4 kcal per gram
- Fats: 9 kcal per gram
To determine the total energy content of a food product, apply this formula:
Calories = (Carbohydrates × 4) + (Proteins × 4) + (Fats × 9)
For example, if your homemade granola bar contains 12g of carbohydrates, 3g of protein, and 5g of fat per serving:
(12 × 4) + (3 × 4) + (5 × 9) = 48 + 12 + 45 = 105 kcal
Of course, most recipes involve multiple ingredients and varying portion sizes, which can make manual calculations time-consuming and prone to error.
Use NutriData to Streamline Your Labelling
This is where tools like NutriData.co.uk become essential. NutriData is an online software solution built specifically for UK food businesses. It allows you to input your recipes, select ingredients, define portion sizes, and automatically generate:
- Calorie values
- Full nutritional breakdowns
- Legally compliant food labels
- Allergen declarations
The platform uses accurate data from official sources like McCance & Widdowson’s composition tables and keeps your labels compliant with UK and EU legislation. It’s ideal for any business that produces pre-packed or pre-packed-for-direct-sale (PPDS) items.
Legal Requirements: Calories and Natasha’s Law
As of April 2022, any food business in England with over 250 employees is required to display calorie information for food and drink sold to consumers. This includes:
- Energy content in kilocalories (kcal)
- Portion or serving size
- A reference to daily intake: “Adults need around 2,000 kcal a day”
Even if your business is not legally required to provide this information, many do so voluntarily to promote transparency and consumer trust.
Natasha’s Law, introduced in October 2021, applies to pre-packed for direct sale (PPDS) foods. It requires the full list of ingredients and clear highlighting of any of the 14 major allergens—such as nuts, sesame, milk, and wheat—on product labels.
NutriData automates this process by identifying allergens and formatting your labels to ensure legal compliance, helping you reduce risk and maintain customer safety.
Summary
Calculating calories and creating food labels can feel overwhelming, but it’s a critical part of operating a modern food business. With software like NutriData.co.uk, you can take control of your recipes, simplify compliance, and build customer trust.
Whether you’re creating sandwiches, salads, baked goods, or ready meals, proper calorie and allergen labelling ensures your food is legally compliant and safe to eat. It also shows your customers that you care—not just about the food, but about the people eating it.