Table 2.
The top 15 ingredients in the 2019 Australian packaged food and beverage supply.
| Ingredient Rank 1 | Ingredient | Ingredient Major Category | Substantive Ingredient | Frequency 2 | Proportion3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salt | Herbs and spices | N | 11,182 | 46.15% |
| 2 | Sugar | Sweeteners | N | 9872 | 40.74% |
| 3 | Water | Liquids | N | 7971 | 32.90% |
| 4 | Flavour | Additives | Y | 7533 | 31.09% |
| 5 | Colour | Additives | Y | 4392 | 18.13% |
| 6 | Wheat flour | Flours and starches | N | 3780 | 15.60% |
| 7 | Emulsifier | Additives | Y | 3771 | 15.56% |
| 8 | Acidity regulator | Additives | Y | 3124 | 12.89% |
| 9 | Vegetable oil | Oils and fats | N | 3102 | 12.80% |
| 10 | Thickener | Additives | Y | 3015 | 12.44% |
| 11 | Preservative | Additives | Y | 3013 | 12.44% |
| 12 | Yeast | Baking | N | 2763 | 11.40% |
| 13 | Milk powder | Dairy | N | 2676 | 11.04% |
| 14 | Dried herbs | Herbs and spices | N | 2470 | 10.19% |
| 15 | Vitamins | Additives | Y | 1369 | 5.65% |
1 Rank = ingredients are ranked according to how many of the ingredient lists they are included on out of the 24,229 included packaged food and beverage products. 2 The frequency is the number of products for which the ingredient is listed. 3 The proportion is the percent of the 24,229 total products evaluated.