The table
The table in four numbers
Fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt cover almost everything.
| Per 100 g | Low | Medium | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fat (Lípidos) | up to 3 g | 3 to 17.5 g | more than 17.5 g |
| Saturated fat (Saturados) | up to 1.5 g | 1.5 to 5 g | more than 5 g |
| Sugars (Açúcares) | up to 5 g | 5 to 22.5 g | more than 22.5 g |
| Salt (Sal) | up to 0.3 g | 0.3 to 1.5 g | more than 1.5 g |
Thresholds for foods, per 100 g, from the “Descodificador de Rótulos” (label decoder) of the DGS, Portugal’s Directorate-General of Health. It’s an educational reference, not a legal classification. Drinks, measured per 100 ml, have lower thresholds: see the decoder on our sources page (in Portuguese).
This table is your cheat sheet. Use it to work out which colour each product gets, even when the pack has no traffic light.
Some foods often come out amber or red on a particular nutrient: “fruta desidratada” (dried fruit) on sugars, for example, or “queijo curado” (aged cheese) on fat. With foods like these, compare products in the same category.
Don’t go by one number alone. Compare two products of the same kind.
