Protein efficiency ratio

A measure of protein quality.

A biological assay of the quality of a particular protein, measured as the gain in weight of an animal per gram of the protein eaten. The ratio is not used so much now, but until 1991 the PER was the legally required way of expressing protein quality for nutrition labelling in the USA.

A calculation designed to assess an individual protein’s ability to sustain growth.

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Protein efficiency ratio (PER) is based on the weight gain of a test subject divided by its intake of a particular food protein during the test period.

From 1919 until very recently, the PER had been a widely used method for evaluating the quality of protein in food.

In the United States, the food industry had long used the PER as the standard for evaluating the protein quality of food proteins. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration used the PER as the basis for the percent of the U.S. recommended daily allowance (USRDA) for protein shown on food labels.

See also

• Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS)
• Net protein utilization
• Protein : Amino Acids
• Whey protein
• Soy protein
• Casein
• Biological value

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