The Nutritional Panel Calculator (NPC) on the Food Standards website was introduced to allow manufacturers a simple tool to give a close idea of what the nutritional content of their products are.

For definite contents, the manufacturers are encouraged by the website to have their products laboratory tested by a certified laboratory to get the exact nutritional contents.

The NPC is based on composition tables and has been the most popoular feature of the Food Standards website with approximately 7000 hits per month.

Manufacturers enter their ingredient and weights and the NPC will then find ingredients that are as close a match as possible to those, and will then calculate the nutritional panel based on the related figures in the composition tables in the database of the NPC.

It has been a wonderful tool, and is widely used. However, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) are undertaking a review of the NPC due to advances in technology and updated composition tables now being available.

FSANZ are asking those that have used the NPC, and others who have an interest, for their feedback as part of this review.

Go to the following website to have your say, by no later than 31 August 2010;

http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/npc/index.cfm?fuseaction=DisplayFeedbackForm