Compound Ingredient
Definition
An ingredient that is itself made up of two or more ingredients. Under FSANZ, compound ingredients making up 5% or more of the final food must have their sub-ingredients declared.
Key Takeaways
- •A compound ingredient is any multi-ingredient component used in your recipe, such as tomato sauce, stock, or seasoning blend
- •Under FSANZ Standard 1.2.4, if a compound ingredient makes up 5% or more of the final food, its sub-ingredients must be listed
- •Below 5%, only the compound ingredient name is required — but any allergens within it must still be declared
- •The 5% threshold is calculated on the ingoing weight of the compound ingredient in the finished product
- •Compound ingredients sourced from suppliers must come with full ingredient and allergen declarations to enable compliant labelling
Regulatory Source
- Standard 1.2.4— Statement of ingredients — rules for declaring sub-ingredients of compound ingredients
Last verified against current standards: April 2026
Regulatory authority: Food Standards Australia New Zealand
What is a Compound Ingredient?
A compound ingredient is a multi-ingredient component used in the formulation of a food product. Under FSANZ Standard 1.2.4, if a compound ingredient is used, the ingredient list must name the compound ingredient (e.g. "tomato sauce") and then list its sub-ingredients in parentheses or immediately after (e.g. "tomato sauce (tomato, salt, vinegar, spices)").
The key rule: sub-ingredients of a compound ingredient must be declared on the label if the compound ingredient comprises more than 5% of the final product. If the compound ingredient is less than 5%, the sub-ingredients may be omitted from the label under Standard 1.2.4.
Examples of Compound Ingredients
- Tomato sauce used in a pizza topping (sub-ingredients: tomato, salt, vinegar, spices)
- Mayonnaise used in a salad dressing (sub-ingredients: oil, egg, vinegar, salt)
- Beef stock used in a soup or gravy (sub-ingredients: beef, salt, water, yeast extract)
- Custard powder used in a dessert mix (sub-ingredients: cornstarch, milk powder, sugar, vanilla flavour)
Compound Ingredients in Practice for Australian Food Manufacturers
What triggers compound ingredient declaration? Whenever you purchase a proprietary or supplier-provided ingredient that has its own ingredient list — a sauce, a spice blend, a prepared stock, a batter mix — you must obtain the complete ingredient statement from your supplier and verify whether the compound ingredient exceeds 5% of your final product.
Common mistakes:
Omitting sub-ingredients because the compound ingredient is less than 5%. While this is legal under the >5% rule, it is still important for allergen management. If a compound ingredient contains an allergen (e.g. mayonnaise contains egg), you must still manage the allergen risk even if the compound ingredient is small. Some manufacturers choose to declare all sub-ingredients for transparency and allergen clarity.
Not verifying the compound ingredient formulation. If your supplier changes their recipe for a sauce you use, and adds a new allergen, you may not automatically find out. Establish an approval process for suppliers to notify you of recipe changes.
Using a generic name when a more specific name is available. FSANZ prefers specific ingredient names over generic ones. Use "tomato sauce" rather than "sauce"; use "beef stock" rather than "stock".
Worked example: A food manufacturer produces ready-to-eat lasagne using a pre-made tomato sauce supplied by a processor. The tomato sauce comprises 12% of the final product, so sub-ingredients must be declared. The supplier provides a formula: tomato (45%), salt (2%), vinegar (1%), garlic (0.5%), spices (0.5%), water (balance). The manufacturer's ingredient list includes: "Tomato sauce (tomato, salt, vinegar, garlic, spices), beef, pasta..."
How Batchbase Manages Compound Ingredients
When you add an ingredient to a recipe in Batchbase, you can specify whether it is a single ingredient or a compound ingredient. If it is a compound ingredient, Batchbase stores the sub-ingredient list. When generating an ingredient list for a label, Batchbase automatically expands compound ingredients that exceed the 5% threshold and nests sub-ingredients appropriately.
Related Standards and References
- FSANZ Standard 1.2.4 — Statement of ingredients
- FSANZ food standards code
Related Terms
Allergen Declaration
A mandatory label statement identifying the presence of priority allergens in a food product, required under FSANZ Standard 1.2.3 of the Food Standards Code.
Food Standards Code
The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code — the collection of standards governing food composition, labelling, safety, and production maintained by FSANZ.
Ingredient List
A mandatory component of food labels listing all ingredients in descending order of weight, using prescribed names and identifying allergens and food additives.