Reading labels
How much protein is in flour, oats and seeds per 100 g?
Soya flour has 35.8 g of protein per 100 g, wheat flour 9.6 g and oat flakes 13.3 g. Protein and calories for 17 flours, grains and seeds.
Reading labels
Caffeine from supplements and drinks: how to add it up from the label
Drinks state caffeine per 100 ml, supplements per serving, and blends often give no number. How to add up a day from the labels, and where they go silent.
- A supplement states caffeine per serving: here 200 mg a scoop.
- A high-caffeine drink states mg per 100 ml: 20 × 5 for a 500 ml can = 100 mg.
- A cup of coffee has no label, so it enters as an estimate, marked as one.
- A proprietary blend lists guarana seed extract but no amount: the tub does not say how much.
Key takeaways
- In the EU and UK, a drink with more than 150 mg of caffeine a litre must say “High caffeine content” and give the amount in mg per 100 ml; multiply by the millilitres in the can.
- A food supplement with added caffeine states it per portion in the EU. In the US, the amount of each ingredient is listed only when it sits outside a proprietary blend.
- Guarana seed extract, green tea extract, yerba mate and kola nut carry caffeine without the word; inside a blend, their amount is usually not stated.
- Coffee, tea and the cup from the café have no label, and in the US packaged foods name caffeine as an ingredient without having to give the amount.
- No label can tell you your own limit. A doctor can, especially when pregnant, breastfeeding, under 18 or on medication.
The short answer
Caffeine adds up from three kinds of label. In the EU and UK a high-caffeine drink states it per 100 ml: multiply by the can. A supplement states it per serving, unless it sits in a proprietary blend, which gives only the blend’s weight. Coffee and tea have no label. Your doctor sets your limit; the label only gives numbers.
Where does a label state caffeine, and in what unit?
A label states caffeine by the rule for its kind of product: drinks per 100 ml, supplements per serving, and blends often give no number. The table is the map; the sections after it do the arithmetic.
| Product | What the label says | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Drink with more than 150 mg/l (EU) | “High caffeine content. Not recommended for children or pregnant or breast-feeding women”, then the amount[1]. Drinks based on coffee or tea whose name says so are outside this rule. | mg per 100 ml |
| Drink with more than 150 mg/l (UK) | UK guidance words the warning “Not suitable for children, pregnant women and persons sensitive to caffeine”[2]. | mg per 100 ml |
| Food with added caffeine (EU) | “Contains caffeine. Not recommended for children or pregnant women”, then the amount[1]. | mg per 100 g or 100 ml |
| Food supplement (EU) | The caffeine content per portion as recommended for daily consumption[1]. | mg per portion |
| Packaged food or drink (US) | Caffeine is named in the ingredient list when added on its own; a caffeine-containing ingredient such as chocolate is listed by its own name. The amount is given voluntarily, not by law[3]. | mg, when the maker chooses |
| Dietary supplement (US) | Supplement Facts per serving. In a proprietary blend the total weight of the blend is listed; the amount of each ingredient inside it is not required[4]. | mg per serving, or blend total only |
| Energy drink (Gulf) | Covered by GSO 1926, “Recommendation of handling energy drinks”, a Gulf technical regulation from 2009[5]. | as printed on the pack |
How do you turn mg per 100 ml into the amount in the can?
To turn mg per 100 ml into the amount in the can, multiply by the millilitres and divide by 100. A can printed “32 mg/100 ml” holds 80 mg in 250 ml and 160 mg in 500 ml. A bottle sold as “two servings” still holds the whole amount; what counts is what you drank. The printed figure is per 100 ml because that is the legal unit, not because 100 ml is a serving[1].
How do you read a pre-workout or weight-management tub?
Read a pre-workout or weight-management tub from the serving size line, because the maker chooses it: one scoop, two scoops, three capsules. The caffeine line below it is per that serving, written for example as “Caffeine (as caffeine anhydrous) 200 mg”. Take two scoops and you have 400 mg from the tub alone. In the EU the figure is per portion as recommended for daily consumption[1]; in the US a botanical such as guarana must name the plant part, so you will read “guarana seed extract”[4].
The same tub may carry caffeine twice: once as caffeine anhydrous and once inside green tea extract or guarana. Only the first usually comes with a number.
What does a “proprietary blend” hide?
A proprietary blend hides the amounts of its parts. In the US, a proprietary blend must list its total weight and its ingredients in descending order of weight, but not the weight of each one[4]. “Energy blend 1,250 mg: guarana seed extract, green tea leaf extract, caffeine anhydrous” tells you the blend weighs 1,250 mg and that caffeine is in it. It does not tell you how much. That is the honest line, and the one Bravoora prints: the tub does not say how much.
What you can do: write “not stated” rather than a guess, ask the maker, choose a tub that prints the caffeine line outside the blend, or ask your doctor what to assume for the day.
What about coffee, tea and the cup from the café?
Coffee, tea and the café cup have no label, and in the US restaurants and cafés are not required to tell you how much caffeine is in what they serve, though the FDA encourages you to ask[3]. A cup therefore enters the day as an estimate, and an estimate should be marked as one. Bravoora adds the day up from the labels you scanned and the cups you logged, and shows the total with no limit beside it.
Why does the app show the total but no limit?
The app shows the total but no limit because the limit is personal. The European Food Safety Authority’s 2015 opinion covers caffeine from all dietary sources, supplements included, and addresses healthy adults, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and children and adolescents separately[7]. The FDA says to talk to a health care provider about caffeine when pregnant, trying to become pregnant, breastfeeding, on medication or living with a condition, and to talk to a professional about a child’s or teenager’s intake[3]. A label gives numbers. Your doctor turns them into a plan.
Caffeine names in Bravoora’s caffeine guide
- The guide lists seven label names that carry caffeine without the word: coffee, guarana, green tea extract, yerba mate, kola nut, caffeine anhydrous and matcha[8].
- Caffeine is not in the public allergen dictionary, because it is not an allergen; its names live in the ingredient guide, and a blend with no stated amount is read as “the tub does not say how much”, not as zero[8][9].
Method: names from Bravoora’s caffeine guide, reviewed 22 September 2026, and the public dictionary file (English edition), version 1.5.1 (1 October 2026), both read on 10 October 2026[8][9]. These describe what the guide matches, not how much caffeine any product contains.
Which words on a label point to caffeine?
- Caffeine, caffeine anhydrous, contains caffeine: caffeine named outright.
- High caffeine content: the EU and UK warning on a drink with more than 150 mg a litre, with the amount per 100 ml beside it.
- Guarana, guarana seed extract: a caffeine source whose amount is often not stated.
- Green tea extract, matcha, yerba mate, kola nut: caffeine sources under other names.
- Proprietary blend, energy blend: a mix whose amounts are not listed.
- Per 100 ml, per serving, serving size: the unit beside the amount; multiply up to the can or the scoop.
How do you add up a day in 30 seconds?
- For each drink, read the mg per 100 ml and multiply by the millilitres you drank, divided by 100.
- For each tub, read the serving size, then the caffeine per serving, and count the servings you took, scoops included.
- For a blend, write “not stated” and look for the sources: guarana, green tea extract, yerba mate, kola nut, coffee.
- Add a cup of coffee or tea as an estimate, marked as one.
- Take the total to your doctor if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, on medication, or adding it up for a teenager.
How does Bravoora add caffeine up?
Bravoora reads the stated amount when the label prints one, per 100 ml or per serving, and does the multiplication for the can or the scoops. When a label names a source without an amount, it shows the printed word and its meaning, “guarana seed extract = caffeine”, with the line “the tub does not say how much”. The day’s total comes from the labels you scanned and the cups you logged, with no limit beside it: your doctor sets that number. The methodology shows how it is tested.
Let Bravoora read the label with you.
Tell it once what matters: your allergens, your diet, the ingredients you watch. Every answer then shows the words it is based on.
Scope and limits
This guide covers caffeine statements on prepacked drinks, foods and food supplements in the EU, the UK, the US and the Gulf. It does not cover medicines or drinks served in cafés and restaurants.
Sources were checked on 10 October 2026. The Gulf energy-drink regulation is cited by its title and edition[5][6].
This is general label information, not medical advice. It gives no limit and no dose: your doctor sets those.
Frequently asked questions
Does “High caffeine content” mean the drink has more than a coffee?
No. It means more than 150 mg a litre, the EU and UK threshold for the warning. Drinks based on coffee or tea whose name says so are outside that rule. The amount printed per 100 ml is the figure to compare.
Is guarana the same as caffeine?
Guarana is a seed that naturally contains caffeine. A label that names guarana seed extract carries caffeine even when the word is absent; the amount is stated only when the maker chooses to, or when the extract sits outside a proprietary blend.
Why does my tub say “per serving” when the scoop says something else?
The “per serving” line uses the maker’s serving, which may be one scoop or two. Read the serving size line first, then the caffeine line, then count the scoops you took.
Can the app tell me how much is too much?
No. It adds up what the labels say and shows the total. The number that fits you comes from your doctor, especially when pregnant, breastfeeding, under 18 or on medication.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers (Article 18, Annexes I, II and III)
- Food labelling and packaging: food and drink warnings
- Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine is Too Much?
- Dietary Supplement Labeling Guide: Chapter IV. Nutrition Labeling (proprietary blends, plant parts)
- GSO 1926:2009 Recommendation of handling energy drinks
- GSO 9/2013 Labeling of Prepackaged Food Stuffs (English text): clauses 5.2.1, 5.2.5 and 7.2
- Caffeine (topic page and the 2015 scientific opinion on the safety of caffeine)
- Caffeine on labels: Bravoora ingredient guide
- Bravoora label dictionary (public data file, English edition, version 1.5.1)
Change log
- Figures redrawn in English and the label words section rewritten: it now lists the names as they are printed on English-language packs. Every dictionary count is read from the published English file, and the byline names the Bravoora team.
- First published.
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