Traffic Light System, Allergens and Nutritional Information on our Recipes

Making a recipe from our site is entirely your choice, so please do so only if you’re confident it’s safe for you.

Nutritional Information

Across our recipes, you will see some with nutritional information, which comes from a variety of sources (indicated on each recipe). 

We offer this information in good faith as a guide to our readers and have not had any recipe officially tested.  Love Potatoes cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from reliance on this information.

We’ve done our best to give you accurate nutritional information, but please treat these numbers as a guide rather than exact facts. Factors like the brand you buy, natural variations in fresh produce, or the way you prepare ingredients can all affect the final values. Even a small swap can make a big difference. On top of that, different online nutrition calculators may give slightly different results depending on the data they use. 

For the truest picture of your recipe, it’s best to pop your own ingredients into your favourite nutrition calculator. That way you’ll have the information that’s most relevant to what you’ve actually cooked.

Recipes from the old AHDB Site

Love Potatoes was operated by a government agency, Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) before Potato House and a lot of the original recipes have some nutritional information.  We do not know how this information was collated and recorded, but as it is a government agency we assume it to be correct.

Newer Recipes

Since we have started to introduce new recipes, we have tried to include nutritional information if it is available. We rely on the information supplied with the recipe or from online nutritional calculators.

There are many food tracking apps available which give an accurate analysis of the recipes if you need this information. If you have specific dietary requirements, you should ask your GP or nurse for dietary advice.

Allergens

We can’t guarantee that any of our recipes are completely free from allergens. If you have a food allergy or intolerance, it’s important to check the ingredients yourself rather than relying on labels like “gluten-free” or “dairy-free.”  Where an ingredient includes, say mayonnaise, we assume that it is the traditional ingredient made with eggs. There are many Free From ranges in the supermarkets and you can substitute any ingredient. 

Corrections

We welcome any corrections and if you see something that you know to be incorrect (eg if you have the information on an app) please let us know.

Traffic Lights

In the UK, “traffic light” refers to a food labelling system that uses red, amber, and green colours to indicate the levels of fat, saturated fat, sugar, and salt in a product or recipe. Green signifies low levels, amber signifies medium levels, and red signifies high levels of these nutrients. This system helps consumers make healthier food choices by providing a quick visual guide to the nutritional content of recipes and packaged foods.  We have used a similar system in our recipes where we know the values.  

Please be aware that there are limitations of  any traffic light labels:

Oversimplification:

The traffic light system can oversimplify the concept of a healthy diet. A food with all green lights isn’t necessarily the healthiest option, and a food with some red lights can still be part of a balanced diet.

Potential for confusion:

Some consumers may find the labels confusing, especially if they don’t understand the specific nutrient levels associated with each colour.

Focus on “negative” nutrients:

The labels primarily focus on fat, saturated fat, sugar, and salt, which can lead consumers to overlook other important aspects of a healthy diet.

Not always accurate:

There can be some margin of error in the nutritional information provided.

How to use traffic light labels effectively:
Understand the system:

Familiarise yourself with what each colour and nutrient category represents.

Consider the whole label:

Don’t rely solely on the traffic light colours. Look at the full nutritional information

Consider your individual needs:

Tailor your choices based on your specific dietary requirements and health goals.

Be aware of portion sizes:

Pay attention to the serving sizes indicated on the label and how they relate to your actual plate.

For more information on the official traffic light system and how to read food labels, see the NHS site.