Interpreting food labels isn't always easy by Roxie Dinstel / Pinching Pennies Fairbanks Daily News Miner Mar 27, 2011
FAIRBANKS — Read the label. That is the advice from experts when grocery shopping. But what do you do when labels are confusing, confounding or misleading?
Grocery store shelves are stocked with items with different labels and claims. “natural,” “organic,” “local” and “free range” are a few labels seen on products, often with a higher price tag than its traditional counterpart. With all these terms, shopping can get confusing.
One-third of all new food and beverage products launched in 2009 made “natural” claims, according to the Mintel Global New Products Database. This increase in “natural” foods has people believing these products are health foods and even has some believing it has magical powers.
Though a product may look, sound and taste healthy, that does not mean it is. In fact, the term “natural” has no real definition. The USDA allows food to be labeled natural if it contains no artificial ingredients or added colors, and is minimally processed.
With this rule, many products can be labeled “natural.” For instance, products that contain high fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated oils could be labeled “natural.” Yet, many of us know added sugars and fats are not exactly healthy. It is important to note that natural does not mean organic.
If you are confused about the natural claims, be sure to read other food labels. Foods are labeled with ingredients and nutritional information. Learning how to interpret these labels will help you sort out unfamiliar terms.
Ingredients are listed in descending order of predominance by weight. The ingredient list can help you identify hidden ingredients, like added sugars, whole grains and transfats. Watch for different types of sugars, such as brown sugar, honey, corn sweetner and dextrose. Words that end in “ose” mean a sugar, such as dextrose, sucrose and lactose.
Whole grains are healthier, so watch for these words: whole wheat, brown rice, oatmeal and whole oats. Though trans fats are listed on the nutrition label as a percentage, watch for the words “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” in the ingredients.
The nutrition label lists the size of the serving, number of servings per container, total calories and calories from fat. The nutrition label is based on serving size. If there are two servings in the package and you eat the whole package, you need to double the calories and nutritional values listed.
Reading the nutrition label can help you increase the healthy nutrients you want your family to eat, like calcium and fiber, and limit nutrients that can be unhealthy, like fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium.
Reading food labels allows you to compare and choose foods that are healthier.
From the amount of calories, fiber and total fat grams to the food’s ingredients, the food label is your key to nutritional information of the foods you provide your family.
The best thing to do while shopping is read labels carefully. Look at the ingredients as well as nutritional information to help decide if the product is right for you. Ignore unsupported claims such as “natural” and “local.”
http://newsminer.com/bookmark/12524464-Interpreting-food-labels-isn-t-always-easy
FAIRBANKS — Read the label. That is the advice from experts when grocery shopping. But what do you do when labels are confusing, confounding or misleading?
Grocery store shelves are stocked with items with different labels and claims. “natural,” “organic,” “local” and “free range” are a few labels seen on products, often with a higher price tag than its traditional counterpart. With all these terms, shopping can get confusing.
One-third of all new food and beverage products launched in 2009 made “natural” claims, according to the Mintel Global New Products Database. This increase in “natural” foods has people believing these products are health foods and even has some believing it has magical powers.
Though a product may look, sound and taste healthy, that does not mean it is. In fact, the term “natural” has no real definition. The USDA allows food to be labeled natural if it contains no artificial ingredients or added colors, and is minimally processed.
With this rule, many products can be labeled “natural.” For instance, products that contain high fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated oils could be labeled “natural.” Yet, many of us know added sugars and fats are not exactly healthy. It is important to note that natural does not mean organic.
If you are confused about the natural claims, be sure to read other food labels. Foods are labeled with ingredients and nutritional information. Learning how to interpret these labels will help you sort out unfamiliar terms.
Ingredients are listed in descending order of predominance by weight. The ingredient list can help you identify hidden ingredients, like added sugars, whole grains and transfats. Watch for different types of sugars, such as brown sugar, honey, corn sweetner and dextrose. Words that end in “ose” mean a sugar, such as dextrose, sucrose and lactose.
Whole grains are healthier, so watch for these words: whole wheat, brown rice, oatmeal and whole oats. Though trans fats are listed on the nutrition label as a percentage, watch for the words “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” in the ingredients.
The nutrition label lists the size of the serving, number of servings per container, total calories and calories from fat. The nutrition label is based on serving size. If there are two servings in the package and you eat the whole package, you need to double the calories and nutritional values listed.
Reading the nutrition label can help you increase the healthy nutrients you want your family to eat, like calcium and fiber, and limit nutrients that can be unhealthy, like fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium.
Reading food labels allows you to compare and choose foods that are healthier.
From the amount of calories, fiber and total fat grams to the food’s ingredients, the food label is your key to nutritional information of the foods you provide your family.
The best thing to do while shopping is read labels carefully. Look at the ingredients as well as nutritional information to help decide if the product is right for you. Ignore unsupported claims such as “natural” and “local.”
http://newsminer.com/bookmark/12524464-Interpreting-food-labels-isn-t-always-easy