Wendy Hess, R.D., C.D.E., is a Registered Dietitian and a Certified Diabetes Educator with more than two decades of experience in the dietetic field.

Use this checklist to help prepare for nutrition analysis of your product. Nutrition is a science as well as an art, and nutrition analysis is only as accurate as the information provided in the recipe. As a professional, I appreciate your attention to these details and respect the proprietary nature of all recipes.

Food Producers, Websites
Food Writers, Chefs
Cookbook Publishers

Complete list of ingredients in recipe or formulation.

• Include as much descriptive information as possible (i.e., specify type of oil used, not just "vegetable oil").

• If a choice of ingredients is given (i.e., "fresh or canned tomatoes"), identify the item most likely to be used.

• Include recipe instructions if the process will alter the ingredients (i.e., cooking, marinating, etc.).

• Does any component of the recipe or product have added salt, sugar or other ingredients that could effect the analysis?

• If an ingredient is a purchased product from another source (such as flavorings or seasonings), provide a resource for nutritionals on those items.

  Amounts of ingredients in recipe

• For beans, grains, pasta and rice, give the amount of the raw or as purchased ("A.P.") item as well as the cooked yield (i.e., 1 cup raw brown rice = 2.5 cups cooked rice).

• Provide measurements in both volume (household measures) and weight.
  
  
  
  
  

List the total yield, serving size and number of servings for the recipe

• If the product will be packaged or bottled, provide the size of the container (how many fluid ounces or cups will it hold?).

• The serving size described on the Nutrition Facts Label for packaged food is regulated by the FDA and will be provided if you do not have it.

• State how many servings the recipe yields.

  Additional information needed for Nutrition Facts label

• Provide the dimensions of the proposed product label so that the most appropriate Nutrition Facts Label size and format can be developed.

• State details if you plan to market several sizes of the product (i.e., a small box with 2 chocolates and a larger one with 6).

Nutrition claims

• Do you intend to market any nutrition claims about the product (such as "low fat" or "low sodium")?