Table 4.

Pros and cons of different base approaches.

	Pros	Cons
Per 100 g/100 mL	Simple to conceptualize and easy to compare foods Used on nutrition information panels on SA packaged foods	Certain foods are eaten in very small quantities (e.g., oil) while others are consumed in large quantities (e.g., beverages)
Per 100 kJ/% total energy	Allows for food consumed in smaller quantities to be put into context	Difficult to make sense of individual food items that do not represent total energy intake for the day
Per serving	Recognizes that portion sizes of different food types vary significantly, and if eaten in large quantities, will contribute more to nutritional intake than smaller amounts	Serving sizes are determined by the food producer and as a result vary significantly, even within a food category Easy to manipulate serving sizes to appear ‘healthier’, but these are not representative of the amount usually consumed