Nutritional values

A food store must display a nutrition facts table (EU Regulation 1169/2011). Polski for WooCommerce lets you add a table to each product in a format compliant with regulations.

Mandatory nutrients

According to Article 30 of the FIC Regulation, the nutrition facts table must contain at least:

Nutrient	Unit	JSON key
Energy value	kJ / kcal	energy_kj, energy_kcal
Fat	g	fat
of which saturated fatty acids	g	saturated_fat
Carbohydrates	g	carbohydrates
of which sugars	g	sugars
Protein	g	protein
Salt	g	salt

Optional nutrients

Additionally, the following can be provided (Art. 30(2) FIC):

Nutrient	Unit	JSON key
Monounsaturated fatty acids	g	monounsaturated_fat
Polyunsaturated fatty acids	g	polyunsaturated_fat
Polyols	g	polyols
Starch	g	starch
Fibre	g	fibre
Vitamin A	mcg	vitamin_a
Vitamin D	mcg	vitamin_d
Vitamin E	mg	vitamin_e
Vitamin K	mcg	vitamin_k
Vitamin C	mg	vitamin_c
Thiamine (B1)	mg	thiamine
Riboflavin (B2)	mg	riboflavin
Niacin (B3)	mg	niacin
Vitamin B6	mg	vitamin_b6
Folic acid	mcg	folic_acid
Vitamin B12	mcg	vitamin_b12
Biotin	mcg	biotin
Pantothenic acid	mg	pantothenic_acid
Potassium	mg	potassium
Chloride	mg	chloride
Calcium	mg	calcium
Phosphorus	mg	phosphorus
Magnesium	mg	magnesium
Iron	mg	iron
Zinc	mg	zinc
Copper	mg	copper
Manganese	mg	manganese
Fluoride	mg	fluoride
Selenium	mcg	selenium
Chromium	mcg	chromium
Molybdenum	mcg	molybdenum
Iodine	mcg	iodine

Configuration

Enabling the module

Go to WooCommerce > Settings > Polski > Food and activate the “Nutritional Values” sub-module.

Settings

Setting	Default	Description
Reference unit	per 100 g	Default unit: per 100 g or per 100 ml
Display % RI	Yes	Reference intake (% of daily requirement)
Table position	Tab	Where to display the table on the product page
Optional nutrients	Fibre, vitamins	Which optional nutrients to display

Entering data in the product editor

In the “Food” tab in the product editor, you will find the nutritional values form. Fill in fields with numeric values per 100 g or 100 ml.

Reference unit per product

Each product can have an individual reference unit. Beverages should have “per 100 ml” set, solid products - “per 100 g”. If not set, the default value from settings will be used.

Serving

Optionally, you can also provide serving size and nutritional values per serving:

Field	Description
Serving size	e.g. “30 g”, “250 ml”, “1 slice (25 g)“
Servings per package	e.g. “10”

JSON format

Nutritional values are stored in the database as JSON in the meta field _polski_nutrients. Format:

{
    "energy_kj": 1046,
    "energy_kcal": 250,
    "fat": 9.5,
    "saturated_fat": 3.2,
    "carbohydrates": 31.0,
    "sugars": 5.4,
    "fibre": 2.1,
    "protein": 8.7,
    "salt": 1.2,
    "ref_unit": "100g",
    "serving_size": "30g",
    "servings_per_package": 10
}

Validation rules

• Values must be numbers (int or float)
• Decimal separator in JSON: dot (e.g. 9.5)
• Values cannot be negative
• energy_kj and energy_kcal should be consistent (1 kcal = 4.184 kJ)
• Sub-nutrients cannot exceed the parent nutrient (e.g. saturated_fat <= fat)

Shortcode

Use the shortcode [polski_nutrients] to display the nutrition facts table.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
product_id	int	current	Product ID
show_rws	bool	true	Whether to display % RI
show_serving	bool	false	Whether to display the per serving column
fields	string	all	Nutrients to display (comma-separated)
layout	string	table	Layout: table, list, compact
wrapper	string	div	Wrapping HTML element

Usage examples

Full nutrition facts table:

[polski_nutrients]

With per serving values:

[polski_nutrients show_serving="true"]

Basic nutrients only:

[polski_nutrients fields="energy_kcal,fat,carbohydrates,protein,salt"]

Compact layout (without table):

[polski_nutrients layout="compact"]

For a specific product:

[polski_nutrients product_id="123" show_rws="true" show_serving="true"]

In a PHP template:

echo do_shortcode('[polski_nutrients product_id="' . $product->get_id() . '"]');

Generated HTML table

The shortcode generates a table compliant with the EU standard:

<div class="polski-nutrients">
    <table class="polski-nutrients__table">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>Nutritional value</th>
                <th>per 100 g</th>
                <th>% RI*</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td>Energy value</td>
                <td>1046 kJ / 250 kcal</td>
                <td>13%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Fat</td>
                <td>9.5 g</td>
                <td>14%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr class="polski-nutrients__sub">
                <td>of which saturated fatty acids</td>
                <td>3.2 g</td>
                <td>16%</td>
            </tr>
            <!-- ... -->
        </tbody>
        <tfoot>
            <tr>
                <td colspan="3">
                    * Reference intake for an average adult (8400 kJ / 2000 kcal)
                </td>
            </tr>
        </tfoot>
    </table>
</div>

Reference intake (RI)

The plugin calculates % RI automatically based on reference values from Annex XIII of the FIC Regulation:

Nutrient	Reference value
Energy	8400 kJ / 2000 kcal
Fat	70 g
Saturated fatty acids	20 g
Carbohydrates	260 g
Sugars	90 g
Protein	50 g
Salt	6 g
Fibre	25 g

Programmatic access

Getting nutritional values

$nutrients_json = get_post_meta($product_id, '_polski_nutrients', true);
$nutrients = json_decode($nutrients_json, true);

if ($nutrients) {
    $energy_kcal = $nutrients['energy_kcal'] ?? 0;
    $protein = $nutrients['protein'] ?? 0;
}

Saving nutritional values

$nutrients = [
    'energy_kj'     => 1046,
    'energy_kcal'   => 250,
    'fat'           => 9.5,
    'saturated_fat' => 3.2,
    'carbohydrates' => 31.0,
    'sugars'        => 5.4,
    'protein'       => 8.7,
    'salt'          => 1.2,
    'ref_unit'      => '100g',
];

update_post_meta($product_id, '_polski_nutrients', wp_json_encode($nutrients));

Filter for values before display

add_filter('polski/nutrients/values', function (array $nutrients, int $product_id): array {
    // Rounding values according to EU guidelines
    if (isset($nutrients['energy_kcal'])) {
        $nutrients['energy_kcal'] = round($nutrients['energy_kcal']);
    }

    return $nutrients;
}, 10, 2);

CSV import

The polski_nutrients column in CSV should contain values in JSON format:

"Fruit muesli","{""energy_kj"":1590,""energy_kcal"":380,""fat"":8.2,""saturated_fat"":1.5,""carbohydrates"":64.0,""sugars"":22.0,""fibre"":7.5,""protein"":9.8,""salt"":0.05,""ref_unit"":""100g""}"

Quotation marks inside JSON must be doubled ("") in the CSV file.

CSS styling

.polski-nutrients__table {
    width: 100%;
    border-collapse: collapse;
    font-size: 0.9em;
}

.polski-nutrients__table th,
.polski-nutrients__table td {
    padding: 0.4em 0.8em;
    border-bottom: 1px solid #e0e0e0;
    text-align: left;
}

.polski-nutrients__sub td:first-child {
    padding-left: 1.5em;
    font-style: italic;
}

.polski-nutrients__table tfoot td {
    font-size: 0.8em;
    color: #666;
    padding-top: 0.8em;
}

Common issues

Nutrition facts table does not display

1. Check that the nutritional values sub-module is enabled
2. Make sure the product has the _polski_nutrients field filled with valid JSON
3. Verify JSON format - use a validator (e.g. jsonlint.com)

Values display with a dot instead of comma

The plugin automatically formats numbers according to Polish settings (decimal comma). If you see a dot, check that the WordPress locale is set to pl_PL.

% RI does not display

Check that the “Display % RI” option is enabled in settings and that the show_rws parameter in the shortcode is not set to false.

Related resources

• Food products module
• Allergens
• Report an issue

This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a lawyer before implementation. Polski for WooCommerce is open source software (GPLv2) provided without warranty.