Table 3.
The mean number and ranges of ingredients, overall and in major food categories.
| Total Products | Number of Ingredients | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean 1 | SD 2 | Min | 25% | 50% | 75% | Max | ||
| All | 24,229 | 9.6 | 8.3 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 62 |
| By food category: | ||||||||
| Convenience foods | 1425 | 21.0 | 10.1 | 1 | 14 | 20 | 27 | 61 |
| Foods for specific dietary use | 2476 | 15.0 | 10.6 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 22 | 50 |
| Bread and bakery products | 2393 | 14.6 | 7.4 | 1 | 9 | 13 | 19 | 49 |
| Meat and meat alternatives | 726 | 11.9 | 9.6 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 18 | 53 |
| Snack foods | 1930 | 11.8 | 6.5 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 17 | 38 |
| Sauces, dressings, spreads and dips | 685 | 11.7 | 6.5 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 43 |
| Confectionery | 1351 | 10.8 | 6.0 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 62 |
| Cereal and grain products | 2556 | 9.2 | 8.7 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 58 |
| Dairy | 2990 | 8.3 | 6.7 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 56 |
| Seafood and seafood products | 1978 | 7.2 | 6.1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 41 |
| Non-alcoholic beverages | 768 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 37 |
| Fruit, vegetables, nuts and legumes | 3923 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 50 |
| Sugar, honey and related products | 441 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 26 |
| Edible oils and oil emulsions | 498 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 16 |
| Egg and egg products | 89 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
1 Mean = the average number of ingredients in products based on the on-pack statement of ingredients. All main and first-level sub-ingredients are included in the total count of ingredients. 2 SD = standard deviation.