Every non-alcoholic drink sold in Australia carries a label packed with useful information. Here’s how to make sense of it, ingredient by ingredient, panel by panel.
Food labels can seem confusing, but they contain important information to help you choose products that suit your needs. The guide below breaks down the main parts of a drink label, making it easier to compare products, check ingredients and find what you need.
Explore a real label
Move your cursor over the sample drink to reveal all 19 elements that appear on an Australian non-alcoholic drink label.
Use the per 100mL column to compare across drinks. The per serve column reflects what you’ll actually drink in one go.
Serving size shown here: 250mL. The same bottle may contain multiple serves, always check the top of the panel.
| Per serve | Per 100mL | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 450 kJ | 180 kJ |
| Protein | 0 g | 0 g |
| Fat, total | 0 g | 0 g |
| Carbohydrate | 26.5 g | 10.6 g |
| – sugars | 26.5 g | 10.6 g |
| Sodium | 25 mg | 10 mg |
The Health Star Rating (HSR) is a front-of-pack label that scores a drink’s overall nutritional profile from ½ a star to 5 stars.
More stars generally mean a healthier choice within the same product category. Use it to compare similar drinks side-by-side at a glance.
Reading the label is the simplest way to make an informed choice.