Food Nutrition Comparison Tool

How to Use the Food Nutrition Comparison Tool

1. Search for the first food and pick it from the list. Then do the same for the second food. You can also tap one of the quick examples.
2. Read the table. Each row is a nutrient. The darker cell is the higher value, and the last column shows the difference.
3. Enter a weight if you want to compare the same amount of each, for example 150g of each food.
4. Swap, clear or share. Swap the order, clear both foods, or copy a link that opens the same comparison.

What the Table Shows

Every row comes from our own food database: energy in kcal, fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, fibre, protein and salt. Iron, calcium, vitamin C, omega-3 and caffeine are added when at least one of the two foods has a value for them.

If a food has no value for a nutrient, the table shows n/a and does not guess one. A difference is only worked out when both foods have a value.

Per 100g or the Same Weight

All our values are stored per 100g, and that is how the table opens. Two foods are not always eaten in the same amount, so you can type a weight and the tool scales both foods to it. Comparing 200g of cooked brown rice with 200g of cooked white rice, for example, doubles every figure but keeps the gap between them in proportion.

For a real portion, use the food's own page to see its serving sizes, then type that weight in.

How to Read the Differences

The tool marks the higher value in each row but does not say which food is better. That depends on what you need. More fibre or protein is useful for some people, while less sugar, salt or saturates matters for others, and a high-calorie food can still be the right choice for the right person.

The “Biggest differences” list picks out the gaps that are at least 10% and big enough to matter, so small gaps in small numbers are left out.

Protein as a Share of Energy

The table also shows protein as a percentage of energy. It is worked out from the protein and calories: protein in grams times 4, divided by the kcal. This is the same measure UK law uses for a “high protein” claim, where at least 20% of the energy has to come from protein. It is not shown for foods with very few calories, where the sum is not reliable. See our Nutrition Claim Checker for the claim rules.

Diet and Allergen Flags

The table lists which diet flags each food has in our database (vegan, vegetarian, halal, kosher, keto, paleo) and which of the main allergens it is recorded as containing. These are a quick guide only. Recipes and brands vary, so always check the label on the product you are buying.

What This Tool Does Not Do

It does not tell you which food to choose, and it does not take your health, medicines or diet plan into account. It compares what is in the database, so the result is only as good as the values behind each food, which you can see on that food's own page. For the colours on a pack, use our Traffic Light Label Checker. To build a label for your own recipe, use our Nutrition Label Generator.

Sources

• Food values are from our own database. Each food's page shows where its figures come from. Many entries are based on UK food composition data such as the Composition of foods integrated dataset (GOV.UK, Public Health England), with others from manufacturer labels.