Butter, unsalted
Checked by us One serving: 10 g (about 2 pats of butter) · 72 kcal
Little of the nutrients we score, per serving.
A lot per serving: saturated fat. Worth knowing: dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs.
Good for
How we counted this
What one serving (10 g) gives you.
Your body needs enough of each of these. Past enough, more doesn’t help. Amounts are what the food databases list, not what your body absorbs, unless a row says it was measured.
The words: “A lot” means one serving gives 20% or more of Health Canada’s daily amount, “Some” 10% to 19%, “A little” 2% to 9%, “Almost none” under 2%. Strongest word first; within a word, protein and fibre lead, then the biggest share. ?
A milligram (mg) is a thousandth of a gram, and a microgram (µg) a thousandth of a milligram: 1,000 µg make 1 mg.
No nutrient we score reaches “some” in one serving. The rest, at “a little” or less, is below.
22 more nutrients at a little or less
- A little
Vitamin A
Your eyes need it to see in dim light.
Learn more
Getting enough matters; more than enough doesn’t sharpen your sight.
68.4 µg in one serving: 8% of the 900 µg a day men need, 10% of the 700 µg women need. The word follows the smaller share, which is the share of the higher amount. ?
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, vitamin A fact sheet for health professionals
- A little
Omega-3: ALA
The one omega-3 your body can’t make: it must come from food. Your cells build it into their membranes and burn it for energy.
Learn more
118 mg in one serving: 7% of the 1,600 mg a day men need, 11% of the 1,100 mg women need. The word follows the smaller share, which is the share of the higher amount. ?
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, omega-3 fatty acids fact sheet for health professionals
- A little
Vitamin E
Shields the fats in your cells from damage; your immune system uses it too.
Learn more
0.23 mg in one serving: 2% of the 15 mg a day.
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, vitamin E fact sheet for health professionals
- Almost none
Vitamin B12
Your body needs it to make red blood cells and keep nerves working.
Learn more
0.02 µg in one serving: 1% of the 2.4 µg a day.
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, vitamin B12 fact sheet for health professionals
- Almost none
Vitamin K1
Your blood needs it to clot.
Learn more
0.7 µg in one serving: 1% of the 120 µg a day men need, 1% of the 90 µg women need. The word follows the smaller share, which is the share of the higher amount. ?
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, vitamin K fact sheet for health professionals
- Almost none
Choline
Your cells need it for their membranes, and to make acetylcholine, a messenger for memory, mood and muscle control.
Learn more
1.88 mg in one serving: under 1% of the 550 mg a day men need, under 1% of the 425 mg women need. The word follows the smaller share, which is the share of the higher amount. ?
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, choline fact sheet for health professionals
- Almost none
Riboflavin (B2)
Your cells use it to make energy and handle fats. It also helps turn tryptophan into niacin and activate vitamin B6.
Learn more
0 mg in one serving: under 1% of the 1.3 mg a day men need, under 1% of the 1.1 mg women need. The word follows the smaller share, which is the share of the higher amount. ?
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, riboflavin fact sheet for health professionals
- Almost none
Calcium
Builds your bones and teeth.
Learn more
2.4 mg in one serving: under 1% of the 1,000 mg a day.
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, calcium fact sheet for health professionals
- Almost none
Selenium
Your thyroid uses it to make its hormones.
Learn more
0.1 µg in one serving: under 1% of the 55 µg a day.
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, selenium fact sheet for health professionals
- Almost none
Protein
Your muscles, and every other tissue, are built and repaired from it.
Learn more
0.09 g in one serving: under 1% of the 56 g a day men need, under 1% of the 46 g women need. The word follows the smaller share, which is the share of the higher amount. ?
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. Institute of Medicine 2005, Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids
- Almost none
Niacin (B3, niacin equivalents)
More than 400 of your enzymes need it to work.
Learn more
0.02 mg in one serving: under 1% of the 16 mg a day men need, under 1% of the 14 mg women need. The word follows the smaller share, which is the share of the higher amount. ?
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, niacin fact sheet for health professionals
- Almost none
Zinc
Your immune system and healing wounds depend on it.
Learn more
0.01 mg in one serving: under 1% of the 11 mg a day men need, under 1% of the 8 mg women need. The word follows the smaller share, which is the share of the higher amount. ?
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, zinc fact sheet for health professionals
- Almost none
Folate
Your body needs it to make DNA and to divide new cells.
Learn more
0.3 µg in one serving: under 1% of the 400 µg a day.
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, folate fact sheet for health professionals
- Almost none
Potassium
Your nerves, muscles and kidneys need it to work.
Learn more
2.4 mg in one serving: under 1% of the 3,400 mg a day men need, under 1% of the 2,600 mg women need. The word follows the smaller share, which is the share of the higher amount. ?
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, potassium fact sheet for health professionals
- Almost none
Magnesium
Your muscles and nerves need it to work.
Learn more
0.2 mg in one serving: under 1% of the 400 mg a day men need, under 1% of the 310 mg women need. The word follows the smaller share, which is the share of the higher amount. ?
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, magnesium fact sheet for health professionals
- Almost none
Thiamin (B1)
Your cells use it to get energy from food, and so to grow and work.
Learn more
0 mg in one serving: under 1% of the 1.2 mg a day men need, under 1% of the 1.1 mg women need. The word follows the smaller share, which is the share of the higher amount. ?
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, thiamin fact sheet for health professionals
- Almost none
Vitamin B6
Helps you use protein, and your brain needs it to make its chemical messengers.
Learn more
0 mg in one serving: under 1% of the 1.3 mg a day.
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, vitamin B6 fact sheet for health professionals
- Almost none
Iron
Carries oxygen in your blood.
Learn more
0 mg in one serving: under 1% of the 8 mg a day men need, under 1% of the 18 mg women need. The word follows the smaller share, which is the share of the higher amount. ?
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, iron fact sheet for health professionals
- Almost none
Omega-3: EPA + DHA
Long-chain omega-3s, built into your cell membranes. DHA is concentrated in your brain and retinas.
Learn more
0 mg in one serving: under 1% of the 250 mg a day.
Health Canada sets no daily amount for these fats, so the daily figure here is the European Food Safety Authority’s.
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, omega-3 fatty acids fact sheet for health professionals
- Almost none
Fibre
Keeps your gut moving.
Learn more
0 g in one serving: under 1% of the 38 g a day men need, under 1% of the 25 g women need. The word follows the smaller share, which is the share of the higher amount. ?
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. Institute of Medicine 2005, Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids
- Almost none
Vitamin C
Your body makes collagen with it, which wounds need to heal. It also helps you absorb iron from plants.
Learn more
0 mg in one serving: under 1% of the 90 mg a day men need, under 1% of the 75 mg women need. The word follows the smaller share, which is the share of the higher amount. ?
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, vitamin C fact sheet for health professionals
- Almost none
Vitamin D
Your body needs it to absorb calcium and keep your bones hard.
Learn more
Your skin also makes it in sunlight, so food is only one of its sources.
0 µg in one serving: under 1% of the 15 µg a day.
Source: How much of it gets in hasn’t been measured for this food yet. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, vitamin D fact sheet for health professionals
Watch out
How we counted this
An average adult is already at or past the limit from other food.
Learn more
Flagged for women who are or may become pregnant and for breastfeeding women; no cap for other adults. EFSA's 2026 tolerable weekly intake for dioxins and PCBs is 0.6 pg/kg body weight/week, 42 pg for 70 kg. On the upper-bound mean of CFIA's 89 Canadian butter samples (0.1822 pg/g, non-detects counted at the detection limit), about 230.5 g of butter a week eaten alone would reach it, roughly 33 g a day. A daily 10 g serving is 30.4% of the weekly limit and adds 3.2% to 9.6% to the average adult's weekly exposure, far from doubling it. The salted figure is used; no unsalted data exist.
3 other measurements of this food, same verdict
An average adult is already at or past the limit from other food.
Learn more
Flagged for women who are or may become pregnant and for breastfeeding women; no cap for other adults. EFSA's 2026 tolerable weekly intake for dioxins and PCBs is 0.6 pg/kg body weight/week, 42 pg for 70 kg. On the lower-bound mean of CFIA's 89 Canadian butter samples (0.0619 pg/g; 74% of congener results were below detection), about 678.5 g of butter a week eaten alone would reach it. Non-detects count as zero here, so the true amount could be lower. A daily 10 g serving is 10.3% of the weekly limit and adds 1.1% to 3.3% to the average adult's weekly exposure, far from doubling it. The salted figure is used; no unsalted data exist.
An average adult is already at or past the limit from other food.
Learn more
Flagged for women who are or may become pregnant and for breastfeeding women; no cap for other adults. EFSA's 2026 tolerable weekly intake for dioxins and PCBs is 0.6 pg/kg body weight/week, 42 pg for 70 kg. EFSA's European butter data, not Canadian: a lower-bound mean of 0.20 pg/g of fat (0.1622 pg/g butter). About 258.9 g a week eaten alone would reach the limit. A daily 10 g serving is 27.0% of it and adds 2.9% to 8.6% to the average adult's weekly exposure, far from doubling it. The salted figure is used; no unsalted data exist.
An average adult is already at or past the limit from other food.
Learn more
Flagged for women who are or may become pregnant and for breastfeeding women; no cap for other adults. EFSA's 2026 tolerable weekly intake for dioxins and PCBs is 0.6 pg/kg body weight/week, 42 pg for 70 kg. On EFSA's European butter data, the upper-bound mean of 0.23 pg/g of fat is 0.1866 pg/g of butter, and about 225.1 g a week eaten alone would reach the limit. A daily 10 g serving is 31.1% of it and adds 3.3% to 9.9% to the average adult's weekly exposure, far from doubling it. At the 95th percentile (0.3812 pg/g), 110.2 g a week would reach it and a daily serving is 63.5% of it. The salted figure is used; no unsalted data exist.
Checked for preformed vitamin A, cadmium and lead: fine at normal amounts.
Preformed vitamin A (retinol)
Nothing to watchYou’d need about 45 servings in a day of this food alone to reach the limit.
Learn more
One serving carries 67.1 µg
How we got this
450 g a day reaches the limit
The dataset’s rating: Nothing to watch: under the limit
No cap: the tolerable upper intake level for preformed vitamin A is 3000 µg RE/day for adults (EFSA 2024). A 10.0 g serving carries 67.1 µg retinol (a listed value), 2.2% of it. No adult average intake is recorded, so only the serving's share is shown.
Cadmium
Nothing to watchYou’d need more than 100 servings a day, every day, of this food alone to use up what an average adult’s intake leaves under the limit.
Learn more
One serving carries 0 µg
How we got this
A serving a day adds 0% to what an average adult already takes in: a share of that intake, not of the limit. With that serving every day, an average adult would be at about 71% of the limit.
An average adult already takes in about 71% of the limit. One serving a day fits in the room left.
Counted from zero, with no allowance for what adults already take in from other food, 350,000 g a week would reach the limit.
Why this rating: Eating it daily comes to 70 g a week, which stays within the 100,000 g of room left before the limit.
The dataset’s rating: Nothing to watch: under the limit
A daily serving adds 0.028% to an average adult's cadmium intake (EFSA 2012 adult median, 1.77 µg/kg body weight/week; Canadian adults in 2007: 1.2-1.75), far from doubling it, so no cap.
Health Canada, Canadian Total Diet Study – Trace Elements (2005–2018 composites) · grade A
Lead
Nothing to watchYou’d need more than 100 servings a day, every day, of this food alone to double the lead an average adult already gets. No dose is known to be safe, so doubling is where we flag.
Learn more
A serving a day adds 0.1% to what an average adult already takes in. There is no limit to take a share of.
One serving carries 0.03 µg
How we got this
The dataset’s rating: Nothing to watch: doesn’t double average intake
No cap: a 10.0 g serving adds 0.025 µg, 0.07% of the average adult's lead intake of 35 µg/day (EFSA), far from doubling it. No safe threshold is set for lead. Measured on salted butter; no unsalted measurement exists.
Health Canada, Canadian Total Diet Study – Trace Elements (2005–2018 composites) · grade A
Worth knowing
No limit applies, so none is rated.
Sodium and saturated fat
One 10 g serving, as a share of the label’s daily value: sodium 1 mg (0%) · saturated fat 5 g (25%)
Learn more
We name one of these whenever a serving gives 20% or more of its daily value on Health Canada’s Table of Daily Values (sodium 2,300 mg, saturated and trans fat together 20 g), the same 20% that reads “a lot” under Good for. The same rule applies to every food. Daily values are what labels count against, not limits. No trans fat figure is held for this food, so its saturated fat is counted alone.
Source: Health Canada, Table of Daily Values (nutrition labelling)
Sugar
0 g of sugar in a 10 g serving, natural and added together.
Learn more
Shown, not rated. The food tables we read give total sugar, and few give added sugar, so the site can’t yet tell sugar added in making a food from the sugar in fruit or milk.
Also measured in it
Figures from the dataset. None has a limit to be rated against, so none is a verdict.
Lactose: 0.6–0.7 g per 100 g, so about 0.06–0.069 g in a 10 g serving. · PubMed 28649541, UK food tables (CoFID 2021) · grade A, B
Also checked (nothing to act on) · 2
Noted for context, or not measured in this food yet.
Context only (aflatoxin M1 is shown as context): no grams figure, no rating. A 30-sample foreign survey with no detects is not a Canadian occurrence figure.
No grams figure: the basis is WHO2005 and per g fat, and the limit is WHO2022. Context beside the 2014-2019 and EFSA rows. Min 0.0007, max 1.8689 pg WHO 2005 toxic equivalents/g fat in the report.
Better options
How we counted this
“Better” here always means better at something the row names: more of one nutrient, more nutrients per serving, or the goal you pick. It never means better in every way.
Every amount below is for the same weight, 10 g, the size of one serving of this food, so a swap compares like with like. A serving of another food can be bigger or smaller.
More nutrients per serving, counted together
The other butters, oils and dressings we’ve checked with more nutrients per serving than this one, counting at most 100 kcal. One score ranks them all, so the same few often lead.
Canola oil- More omega-3: ALA (914 mg vs 118 mg)
- More vitamin E (1.73 mg vs 0.23 mg)
- Soybean oil
- More omega-3: ALA (679 mg vs 118 mg)
- More vitamin K1 (18.4 µg vs 0.7 µg)
- Corn oilMore vitamin E (2.26 mg vs 0.23 mg)
Where the calcium card measured that less calcium gets in than from milk, calcium counts for less; everything else is as listed.
Your goal
Your goal changes only this list, not what the food gives you or what to watch.
Losing weight: fewer calories, and more nutrients, protein and fibre for each calorie.
- Canola oil
- More omega-3: ALA (914 mg vs 118 mg)
- More vitamin E (1.73 mg vs 0.23 mg)
- Soybean oil
- More omega-3: ALA (679 mg vs 118 mg)
- More vitamin K1 (18.4 µg vs 0.7 µg)
2 foods out of the 5 other butters, oils and dressings we’ve checked and could compare give clearly more nutrients, protein and fibre per calorie.
None of the 5 other butters, oils and dressings we could compare gives clearly more protein, and more calories, per 100 g.
Bring a tracker export or describe your usual week. The same rules check all of it.
The numbers
Open every value
Name in the database: Butter, unsalted
How the serving was set: 10 g (Health Canada TRA row H.1; label size '# tsp (10 g)')
Listed nutrients, per 100 g
For each nutrient, the value this page uses is marked “used”. A row marked “second database” is another database’s figure for a matching food, kept so you can see how far databases disagree (they can differ in the samples analysed, lab methods and rounding). Its own cells are worked out from it, but none of the page’s words or scores are.
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 calories | How | Source | Grade | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omega-3: ALA | 1.18 g | 0.12 g | 0.16 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Calcium | 24 mg | 2.4 mg | 3.35 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| 18 mg | 1.8 mg | 2.51 mg | second database · not used | UK food tables (CoFID 2021) #17-661 | C | |
| 24 mg | 2.4 mg | 3.35 mg | copy of USDA · not used | Canadian Nutrient File 2026 #92 | C | |
| Carbohydrate | 0.06 g | 0.01 g | 0.01 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Choline | 18.8 mg | 1.88 mg | 2.62 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Energy | 717 kcal | 71.7 kcal | – | FDC Energy (kcal) used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) | – |
| Omega-3: EPA + DHA | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Fat | 81.11 g | 8.11 g | 11.31 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| 82.2 g | 8.22 g | 11.46 g | second database · not used | UK food tables (CoFID 2021) #17-661 | C | |
| Cholesterol | 215 mg | 21.5 mg | 29.99 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Fatty acids, total saturated | 50.489 g | 5.05 g | 7.04 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Fibre | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | second database · not used | UK food tables (CoFID 2021) #17-661 | C | |
| Folate | 3 µg | 0.3 µg | 0.42 µg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Iron | 0.02 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Magnesium | 2 mg | 0.2 mg | 0.28 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| 2 mg | 0.2 mg | 0.28 mg | second database · not used | UK food tables (CoFID 2021) #17-661 | C | |
| Niacin (B3, niacin equivalents) | 0.242 mg | 0.02 mg | 0.03 mg | listed used | Canadian Nutrient File 2026 #92 | C |
| Phosphorus | 24 mg | 2.4 mg | 3.35 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| 23 mg | 2.3 mg | 3.21 mg | second database · not used | UK food tables (CoFID 2021) #17-661 | C | |
| Potassium | 24 mg | 2.4 mg | 3.35 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| 27 mg | 2.7 mg | 3.77 mg | second database · not used | UK food tables (CoFID 2021) #17-661 | C | |
| Protein | 0.85 g | 0.09 g | 0.12 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| 0.6 g | 0.06 g | 0.08 g | second database · not used | UK food tables (CoFID 2021) #17-661 | C | |
| Riboflavin (B2) | 0.034 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| 0.07 mg | 0.01 mg | 0.01 mg | second database · not used · 2.1× | UK food tables (CoFID 2021) #17-661 | C | |
| Selenium | 1 µg | 0.1 µg | 0.14 µg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Sodium | 11 mg | 1.1 mg | 1.53 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| 8 mg | 0.8 mg | 1.12 mg | second database · not used | UK food tables (CoFID 2021) #17-661 | C | |
| Sugars | 0.06 g | 0.01 g | 0.01 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| 0.6 g | 0.06 g | 0.08 g | second database · not used · 10× | UK food tables (CoFID 2021) #17-661 | C | |
| Thiamin (B1) | 0.005 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Vitamin A | 684 µg | 68.4 µg | 95.4 µg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.17 µg | 0.02 µg | 0.02 µg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| 0.3 µg | 0.03 µg | 0.04 µg | second database · not used | UK food tables (CoFID 2021) #17-661 | C | |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.003 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Vitamin C | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Vitamin D | 0 µg | 0 µg | 0 µg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| 0.9 µg | 0.09 µg | 0.13 µg | second database · not used | UK food tables (CoFID 2021) #17-661 | C | |
| Vitamin E | 2.32 mg | 0.23 mg | 0.32 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| 1.85 mg | 0.19 mg | 0.26 mg | second database · not used | UK food tables (CoFID 2021) #17-661 | C | |
| Vitamin K1 | 7 µg | 0.7 µg | 0.98 µg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| 7.4 µg | 0.74 µg | 1.03 µg | second database · not used | UK food tables (CoFID 2021) #17-661 | C | |
| Water | 16.17 g | 1.62 g | 2.26 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| 14.9 g | 1.49 g | 2.08 g | second database · not used | UK food tables (CoFID 2021) #17-661 | C | |
| Zinc | 0.09 mg | 0.01 mg | 0.01 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| 0.1 mg | 0.01 mg | 0.01 mg | second database · not used | UK food tables (CoFID 2021) #17-661 | C |
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per serving | Per 100 calories | How | Source | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beta-carotene | 158 µg | 15.8 µg | 22.04 µg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| 614 µg | 61.4 µg | 85.63 µg | second database · not used · 3.9× | UK food tables (CoFID 2021) #17-661 | C | |
| Copper | 0.016 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| 0.01 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | second database · not used | UK food tables (CoFID 2021) #17-661 | C | |
| Ash | 0.09 g | 0.01 g | 0.01 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Alcohol, ethyl | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Caffeine | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Theobromine | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Energy | 2,999 kj | 299.9 kj | 418.27 kj | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Fluoride, F | 2.8 µg | 0.28 µg | 0.39 µg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Vitamin A, IU | 2,499 iu | 249.9 iu | 348.54 iu | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Carotene, alpha | 0 µg | 0 µg | 0 µg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Vitamin D (D2 + D3), International Units | 0 iu | 0 iu | 0 iu | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) | 0 µg | 0 µg | 0 µg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) | 0 µg | 0 µg | 0 µg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Cryptoxanthin, beta | 0 µg | 0 µg | 0 µg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Lycopene | 0 µg | 0 µg | 0 µg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Tocopherol, beta | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Tocopherol, gamma | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Tocopherol, delta | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Tocotrienol, alpha | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Tocotrienol, beta | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Tocotrienol, gamma | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Tocotrienol, delta | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Folic acid | 0 µg | 0 µg | 0 µg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Folate, food | 3 µg | 0.3 µg | 0.42 µg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Folate, DFE | 3 µg | 0.3 µg | 0.42 µg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Tryptophan | 0.012 g | 0 g | 0 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Threonine | 0.038 g | 0 g | 0.01 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Isoleucine | 0.051 g | 0.01 g | 0.01 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Leucine | 0.083 g | 0.01 g | 0.01 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Lysine | 0.067 g | 0.01 g | 0.01 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Methionine | 0.021 g | 0 g | 0 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Cystine | 0.008 g | 0 g | 0 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Phenylalanine | 0.041 g | 0 g | 0.01 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Tyrosine | 0.041 g | 0 g | 0.01 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Valine | 0.057 g | 0.01 g | 0.01 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Arginine | 0.031 g | 0 g | 0 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Histidine | 0.023 g | 0 g | 0 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Alanine | 0.029 g | 0 g | 0 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Aspartic acid | 0.064 g | 0.01 g | 0.01 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Glutamic acid | 0.178 g | 0.02 g | 0.02 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Glycine | 0.018 g | 0 g | 0 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Proline | 0.082 g | 0.01 g | 0.01 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Serine | 0.046 g | 0 g | 0.01 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Vitamin E, added | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Vitamin B-12, added | 0 µg | 0 µg | 0 µg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| SFA 4:0 | 3.226 g | 0.32 g | 0.45 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| SFA 6:0 | 2.007 g | 0.2 g | 0.28 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| SFA 8:0 | 1.19 g | 0.12 g | 0.17 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| SFA 10:0 | 2.529 g | 0.25 g | 0.35 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| SFA 12:0 | 2.587 g | 0.26 g | 0.36 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| SFA 14:0 | 7.436 g | 0.74 g | 1.04 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| SFA 16:0 | 21.697 g | 2.17 g | 3.03 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| SFA 18:0 | 9.999 g | 1 g | 1.39 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| SFA 20:0 | 0.138 g | 0.01 g | 0.02 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| MUFA 18:1 | 20.4 g | 2.04 g | 2.85 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| PUFA 18:2 | 1.83 g | 0.18 g | 0.26 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| PUFA 18:3 | 1.18 g | 0.12 g | 0.16 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| PUFA 20:4 | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| PUFA 22:6 n-3 (DHA) | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| MUFA 16:1 | 1.82 g | 0.18 g | 0.25 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| PUFA 18:4 | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| MUFA 20:1 | 0.1 g | 0.01 g | 0.01 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| PUFA 20:5 n-3 (EPA) | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| MUFA 22:1 | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| PUFA 22:5 n-3 (DPA) | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Stigmasterol | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Campesterol | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Beta-sitosterol | 4 mg | 0.4 mg | 0.56 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Fatty acids, total monounsaturated | 23.43 g | 2.34 g | 3.27 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated | 3.01 g | 0.3 g | 0.42 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| SFA 17:0 | 0.56 g | 0.06 g | 0.08 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| TFA 18:1 t | 2.982 g | 0.3 g | 0.42 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| PUFA 18:2 i | 0.296 g | 0.03 g | 0.04 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| PUFA 18:2 CLAs | 0.267 g | 0.03 g | 0.04 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| MUFA 16:1 c | 0.961 g | 0.1 g | 0.13 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| MUFA 18:1 c | 16.978 g | 1.7 g | 2.37 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| PUFA 18:2 n-6 c,c | 2.166 g | 0.22 g | 0.3 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| PUFA 18:3 n-3 c,c,c (ALA) | 0.315 g | 0.03 g | 0.04 g | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Lutein + zeaxanthin | 0 µg | 0 µg | 0 µg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Manganese | 0.004 mg | 0 mg | 0 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Niacin (B3, preformed) | 0.042 mg | 0 mg | 0.01 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| Pantothenic acid (B5) | 0.11 mg | 0.01 mg | 0.02 mg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| 0.05 mg | 0.01 mg | 0.01 mg | second database · not used · 2.2× | UK food tables (CoFID 2021) #17-661 | C | |
| Retinol | 671 µg | 67.1 µg | 93.58 µg | listed used | US food database (USDA SR Legacy) #173430 | C |
| 958 µg | 95.8 µg | 133.61 µg | second database · not used | UK food tables (CoFID 2021) #17-661 | C |
Change the amount to rescale the first column. Nutrients a database doesn't list are missing, not zero.
Hazard rows as the dataset rates them
- Aflatoxin M1 · Context · Context only (aflatoxin M1 is shown as context): no grams figure, no rating. A 30-sample foreign survey with no detects is not a Canadian occurrence figure. · PubMed 21873812 · B
- Cadmium · Nothing to watch: under the limit · A daily serving adds 0.028% to an average adult's cadmium intake (EFSA 2012 adult median, 1.77 µg/kg body weight/week; Canadian adults in 2007: 1.2-1.75), far from doubling it, so no cap. · Health Canada Total Diet Study, trace elements · A
- Dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs · Worth knowing · Flagged for women who are or may become pregnant and for breastfeeding women; no cap for other adults. EFSA's 2026 tolerable weekly intake for dioxins and PCBs is 0.6 pg/kg body weight/week, 42 pg for 70 kg. On the lower-bound mean of CFIA's 89 Canadian butter samples (0.0619 pg/g; 74% of congener results were below detection), about 678.5 g of butter a week eaten alone would reach it. Non-detects count as zero here, so the true amount could be lower. A daily 10 g serving is 10.3% of the weekly limit and adds 1.1% to 3.3% to the average adult's weekly exposure, far from doubling it. The salted figure is used; no unsalted data exist. · CFIA dioxins survey (2014–2019) · A
- Dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs · Worth knowing · Flagged for women who are or may become pregnant and for breastfeeding women; no cap for other adults. EFSA's 2026 tolerable weekly intake for dioxins and PCBs is 0.6 pg/kg body weight/week, 42 pg for 70 kg. On the upper-bound mean of CFIA's 89 Canadian butter samples (0.1822 pg/g, non-detects counted at the detection limit), about 230.5 g of butter a week eaten alone would reach it, roughly 33 g a day. A daily 10 g serving is 30.4% of the weekly limit and adds 3.2% to 9.6% to the average adult's weekly exposure, far from doubling it. The salted figure is used; no unsalted data exist. · CFIA dioxins survey (2014–2019) · A
- Dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs · Worth knowing · Flagged for women who are or may become pregnant and for breastfeeding women; no cap for other adults. EFSA's 2026 tolerable weekly intake for dioxins and PCBs is 0.6 pg/kg body weight/week, 42 pg for 70 kg. EFSA's European butter data, not Canadian: a lower-bound mean of 0.20 pg/g of fat (0.1622 pg/g butter). About 258.9 g a week eaten alone would reach the limit. A daily 10 g serving is 27.0% of it and adds 2.9% to 8.6% to the average adult's weekly exposure, far from doubling it. The salted figure is used; no unsalted data exist. · EFSA 2026 · A
- Dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs · Worth knowing · Flagged for women who are or may become pregnant and for breastfeeding women; no cap for other adults. EFSA's 2026 tolerable weekly intake for dioxins and PCBs is 0.6 pg/kg body weight/week, 42 pg for 70 kg. On EFSA's European butter data, the upper-bound mean of 0.23 pg/g of fat is 0.1866 pg/g of butter, and about 225.1 g a week eaten alone would reach the limit. A daily 10 g serving is 31.1% of it and adds 3.3% to 9.9% to the average adult's weekly exposure, far from doubling it. At the 95th percentile (0.3812 pg/g), 110.2 g a week would reach it and a daily serving is 63.5% of it. The salted figure is used; no unsalted data exist. · EFSA 2026 · A
- Dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs · Context · No grams figure: the basis is WHO2005 and per g fat, and the limit is WHO2022. Context beside the 2014-2019 and EFSA rows. Min 0.0007, max 1.8689 pg WHO 2005 toxic equivalents/g fat in the report. · CFIA 2012–2014 · B
- Lead · Nothing to watch: doesn’t double average intake · No cap: a 10.0 g serving adds 0.025 µg, 0.07% of the average adult's lead intake of 35 µg/day (EFSA), far from doubling it. No safe threshold is set for lead. Measured on salted butter; no unsalted measurement exists. · Health Canada Total Diet Study, trace elements · A
- Milk allergy · Worth knowing · Flagged for people with a cow's milk allergy: butter is a named milk source, and milk is a Health Canada priority allergen. No threshold dose found. Of 30 children with IgE-mediated milk allergy tested with butter (Miceli Sopo 2025, abstract only), 15 were cleared to introduce normal butter, 1 was allergic and 14 were uncertain. That does not relax the flag. · Health Canada 2017 · A
- Preformed vitamin A (retinol) · Nothing to watch: under the limit · No cap: the tolerable upper intake level for preformed vitamin A is 3000 µg RE/day for adults (EFSA 2024). A 10.0 g serving carries 67.1 µg retinol (a listed value), 2.2% of it. No adult average intake is recorded, so only the serving's share is shown. · US food database (USDA SR Legacy) · C
Oxalate, phytate and gut-tolerance measurements
- lactose: 688 and 685 mg/100 g (two retail butters; Table 1 dates both August 2011; country not stated) g/100 g · as sold, per 100 g butter · two retail butters, purchased from retail outlets between 2011 and 2014 (both dated August 2011); country, salted or unsalted, brand and fat level not stated (authors: butter 'contains approximately 80% fat') · grade A · PubMed 28649541
- lactose: 0.6 g/100 g (CoFID Butter, salted and unsalted) g/100 g · as listed, per 100 g · CoFID 17-685 'Butter, salted' and 17-661 'Butter, unsalted' (identical values) · grade B · UK food tables (CoFID 2021)
Sources
- CFIA, Dioxins and Dioxin-Like Compounds in Selected Foods - April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2014 (Food chemistry, targeted surveys, final report; page modified 2019-04-17)
cfia-dioxins-2012-2014· full text read · not checked (CFIA page); the open-data resource is OGL-Canada - CFIA, Food Safety Action Plan Targeted Survey: Dioxins and Dioxin-like Compounds in Selected Foods 2014-2019 (data and 2-page overview PDF; report page inspection.canada.ca)
cfia-dioxins-2014-2019· dataset · Open Government Licence – Canada 2.0 - Health Canada, Canadian Nutrient File 2026 (14th edition)
cnf-2026· dataset · Open Government Licence – Canada 2.0 - Public Health England, Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID) 2021
cofid-2021· dataset · Open Government Licence v3.0 - EFSA CONTAM Panel (2026). Update of the risk assessment on dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in feed and food. EFSA Journal 2026;24(6):10103. · doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2026.10103
efsa-2026-dioxins· full text read · CC BY-ND - USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy, 2018-04
fdc-sr-legacy-2018-04· dataset · CC0 1.0 (public domain) - Health Canada, Milk - A priority food allergen (page details 2017-09-05)
hc-milk-allergen-2017· page · Government of Canada terms (Crown copyright; not OGL) - Health Canada, Canadian Total Diet Study – Trace Elements (2005–2018 composites)
hc-tds-trace-elements· dataset · Open Government Licence – Canada 2.0 - Sakuma H, Kamata Y, Sugita-Konishi Y, Kawakami H. Method for determination of aflatoxin M1 in cheese and butter by HPLC using an immunoaffinity column. Shokuhin Eiseigaku Zasshi 2011 · PMID 21873812
pmid:21873812· abstract only · licence not recorded - Portnoi PA, MacDonald A. The lactose and galactose content of milk fats and suitability for galactosaemia. Mol Genet Metab Rep 2015;5:42-43 · doi:10.1016/j.ymgmr.2015.10.001 · PMID 28649541
pmid:28649541· full text read · CC BY-NC-ND
Body map 2026-10-25.1: each nutrient’s job comes from an agency fact sheet, linked beside it under Good for.
The plain words: “a lot” means one serving (100 g when the food has no serving size) gives at least 20% of the daily amount (the reference intake), “some” at least 10%, “a little” at least 2% (the cut-offs are ours, one set for every page: 20% and 10% are borrowed from the US labelling terms “high” and “good source” and applied to Health Canada’s daily amount, whereas Health Canada’s own shopper rule says 15%; provisional: they may change in a later method version). The daily amount is Health Canada’s Dietary Reference Intake for adults 19–30; where men and women need different amounts we use the higher one (protein: 56 g for men, 46 g for women). The percentage printed under each nutrient is the printed amount as a share of that daily amount, rounded to the nearest whole number, and the word is read from that percentage, so the amount, the percentage and the word always agree. Calcium with a measured absorption is scaled by how well it gets in compared with milk.
The scale: “Nothing to watch” means a serving a day stays under the limit at ordinary amounts; “Go easy” means a serving a day can push past the limit for adults who already take in the most, or fewer than 2 servings reach it; “Limit it” means once a week or less. The dataset’s own rating is under “How we got this”. Provisional: the scale may change in a later method version.
Measured absorption under Good for: grade-A studies in adults that tested this preparation of this food, as a share of the listed amount (the share digested, for protein), quoted once each source has passed our evidence check; animal studies and other variants stay in the table above. Provisional: this screen may change in a later method version.