Voedings­cen­trum revises Wheel of Five criteria

Breakfast cereals, fish, and plant-based dairy alternatives are now assessed differently in the Wheel of Five. The Dutch Nutrition Centre has revised the criteria to better align with current scientific insights and the availability of products in stores.

For breakfast cereals, the salt limit is now 0.69 grams per 100 grams, instead of the previous criterion of no added salt. This means that whole grain breakfast cereals with a small amount of salt, like Brinta, now fall within the Wheel of Five. The sugar limit has been tightened: from a maximum of 16 grams of sugar per 100 grams to no added sugars. As a result, crunchy mueslis with added sugar are no longer in the Wheel of Five, but mueslis with grains, nuts, and raisins remain.

Fish

Fish products often contain a lot of salt. It was previously difficult to set a proper criterion for this, but thanks to new data, this is now possible. Fish must not contain more than 2.5 grams of salt per 100 grams to stay in the Wheel of Five. This applies to canned anchovies and some types of smoked salmon. However, smoked salmon can still meet the criteria if the salt content is low enough.

Plant-based dairy alternatives

For plant-based protein drinks and desserts, the salt criterion has been relaxed to a maximum of 0.3 grams of salt per 100 grams. This allows more plant-based yogurt alternatives to be included in the Wheel of Five. Additionally, a new vitamin B2 criterion has been added since dairy is an important source of this vitamin. Plant-based products must now contain at least 0.14 milligrams of vitamin B2 per 100 grams.

Tea

For tea products, the addition of maltodextrine is now allowed within the Wheel of Five. This ingredient provides very little sugar, so it is no longer a reason to exclude tea from the Wheel of Five.

With these revisions, the Nutrition Centre aims to make healthy choices easier and to encourage manufacturers to make their products healthier. However, it remains a challenge to evaluate all products optimally.

Voedingscentrum.nl