Deciphering Consumer Food Label Information
Locating Good/Bad Ingredients, Additives, Preservatives & Allergens
Oct 3, 2009
Food labeling must list all ingredients, as well as the amounts of calories, fats, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, fiber, sugars, protein, vitamins, and minerals per serving, as well as the serving size, and number of servings per container.
Former FDA commissioner Dr. David Kessler says "The food industry, the nutrition community, and the federal government are not helping the consumer because over the decades we've changed what they should be looking for... maybe we need to start with the question, 'Is it real?'"
Food Label Terms and Definitions
Calories/Calories From Fat - Indicates the number of calories per serving and how many come from fat.
Ingredients - Items are listed top down in the order of their amounts in the product, showing their percentage of the total. For quality, the fewer ingredients the better.
Nutrients by Weight and %DV - Nutrients are listed by the amount of each nutrient per serving by weight in grams and by percentage of daily value (%DV). The %DV is essentially the same as the RDA / recommended daily allowance, based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Proteins and sugars are not considered nutrients. Fats include total fat, saturated fat, and trans fat.
Minerals and Vitamins - Minerals and vitamins are listed only by (%DV) and are often synthetic.
Serving Size - Determined by the manufacturer, it has no bearing on consumer opinion. Boxes may pack four small cookies together, four packets to a box. The label may indicate one packet equals a serving, and one serving is 400 calories. Anyone might easily eat all four small packets at once, giving a buyer pause about the price and number of calories.
Meat and Poultry Labeling
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and state regulations have varying standards for food dating (except for infant formula and baby food). Labels on fresh food products list words like fresh, organically raised, or raised without hormones. Others are the Sell By, Best if sold by, and Best if used by dates. These dates refer only to the quality of food with regard to aging that might affect taste, color, and nutrient content. Manufacturers use the following USDA definitions:
Sell By date - Manufacturers recommend a product not be sold after its Sell By date, but instead of a safety date, it indicates the product should no longer be considered fresh thereafter.
Best If Used By (or before) date - Indicates the last date for peak flavor, according to the manufacturer.
Deciphering Food Labels
Deciphering supermarket labels can be a challenge. The following label terms may be either actual information or merely advertising adjectives. Here’s what they really mean:
Fortified, Enriched, Added, Extra, and Plus - Generally referring to bread, cookies, crackers, and packaged substances, these mean that processing removed some items and added others (synthetic vitamins, minerals, fiber, etc.). Highest quality foods state 100% of the product is in it, such as 100% whole-wheat bread.
Fruit drink - Normally indicates little/no real fruit contents, unlike products labeled "100% Fruit Juice".
Made with Wheat, Rye, or Multigrain - May indicate little whole grain, as opposed to “100% whole-grain” labeling.
Natural - Indicates the product came from a natural source. Once processed, there are no guarantees. Only "100% All Natural" labeling and "No Preservatives" are trustworthy.
Organically Grown, Pesticide-free, or No Artificial Ingredients - As a legally regulated term, “organic” is controlled by the Agricultural Marketing Service at USDA. “Natural” is not regulated and can be used indiscriminately. “Organic produce” must be from animals or produce grown on unsprayed fields and unexposed to synthetic or sewer-sludge fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, irradiation, biotechnology (genetic modification), food processing chemicals, petrochemicals, antibiotics, hormones, or medicated feed.
According to The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2008. Encyclopedia.com. September 25, 2009, ingredients at least 95% organic by weight may be labeled "USDA Organic" or "Certified Organically Grown”, but only organic ingredients are permitted in products with the “100% Organic” label. Government-approved inspectors must certify farms that grow organic produce to USDA organic standards.
Sugar-free or Fat-free - Means processed to replace sugar, often with unhealthy ingredients that still may have no fewer calories than the original.
Allergy Labeling
January 2006 FDA requirements for food manufacturers state they must clearly label any possible consumer allergens in products. These include milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, or soybeans. Some large store chains are rolling out their own arbitrary food rating systems which may or may not be trustworthy.
The Nutritional Labeling and Education Act
The Nutritional Labeling and Education Act was put in place over a decade ago, yet obesity rates continue to rise. Studies continue to investigate how consumers make healthy food choices using the current implementation of nutrition labels, or if indeed the information they are depending on is actually insufficient to encourage healthier lifestyles.
Items labeled no trans fat or low calorie significantly increase sales, while items labeled low fat now decrease sales. Multiple claims in a single label generally reduce the effectiveness of the label. To best use the Nutrition Facts panel, a consumer should:
- Read the weight of the package and the portion size and decide if pricing is acceptable.
- Understand products with added sugars are more likely to cause weight gain than dietary fat will. Low-fat labeling usually indicates a product with bland flavoring and added sugars.
- Know ingredients list must include additives, preservatives, and allergenic substances.
Nielsen surveys indicate approximately 26 percent of shoppers worldwide say they examine nutrition labeling that they perceive as being unhealthy, but they do not examine foods they assume to be healthy the same way.
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