try to avoid

OCCASIONALLY – the RED category

The food and drink that fit into this segment are not essential for a healthy diet.

Avoid or limit to a maximum of two occasions a term
Occasionally Food Type Examples

Drinks 
Soft drinks, artificially sweetened soft drinks, energy
drinks, sports drinks, flavoured mineral waters, sports
waters and fruit drinks.
Confectionery 
Confectionery – all types.
Drinks containing caffeine or guarana
Drinks containing caffeine, such as coffee milk, or guarana
(a natural caffeine source), such as energy drinks*.
Icy-poles and ice crushes
All types unless 99% or more fruit juice and less than
250ml.
Artificially sweetened food and drinks
All types.
Deep fried foods 
All types.
Snack foods 
Savoury snack foods – crisps, chips, biscuits and other
similar products.
Ice-creams 
All types.

Cakes and slices 
Cakes, muffins, sweet pastries and slices – croissants,
doughnuts, cream-filled buns/cakes, sweet pastries, slices
and bars. Medium to large serves of many cakes and
muffins.
Savory pastries 
Pies, pasties, sausage rolls.

Other savory hot or cold foods
Pasta meals, pizzas, baked potato products, dim Sims,
fried rice and noodles, crumbed and coated foods,
Frankfort and sausages.


Nutrient Criteria**
If the item you are considering has more than the number specified in the energy, saturated fat or sodium column, or less than the number in the fiber column, it is an ‘Occasional’ RED food.

Hot food items assessed per 100g Key: > means more than, < means less than.

Category &                              Nutrient Criteria
Food                             Energy (kJ) Per 100g       Saturated fat(g) per 100g           Sodium (mg)per 100g
Savoury pastries,                    
pasta, pizzas,
oven baked potato                  >1000kJ                              >5g                                      >400mg
products, dim
sims, spring rolls,
fried rice and
noodles

Crumbed and
coated foods
(eg patties, ribs,                     >1000kJ                               >5g                                    >700mg
chicken products),
frankfurters, sausages

Snack foods assessed per serve Key: > means more than, < means less than.

Category                                                Nutrient Criteria

Food               Energy (kJ)per serve Saturated fat (g)per serve  Sodium (mg)per serve  Fiber(g)per serve
Snack food
bars and                     >600kJ                       >3g                                                                 <1.0g
sweet biscuits

  

Savoury
snack foods
and biscuits                >600kJ                       >3g                              >200mg      

Ice creams,
milk based ice
confections               >600kJ                         >3g
and dairy
desserts

Cakes, muffins
and sweet                 >900kJ                         >3g                                                                   <1.5g                                                                       
pastries etc
 
Note:All types of confectionery fit into the RED end of the spectrum. They are products of minimal nutritional value.