Understanding and Reading Food Labels

May 31, 2024 chelmwell 0 Comments

Do you struggle to understand food labels? Being able to read and understand these labels is crucial for making informed dietary choices that can positively impact your health and overall wellness. Food labels are packed with important information that helps consumers know exactly what they are buying and consuming.

In the United Kingdom, food labelling regulations specify the essential details that must be included on food labels. There are also strict rules about what claims can and cannot be made on food labels. Any nutrition and health claims suggesting that a food can prevent, treat, or cure a disease or medical condition is prohibited.

By understanding these details, you can avoid deceptive advertising and strategies, ensuring that the food you buy meets your dietary needs and preferences. Let’s examine the various sections of a food label and interpret how each one affects you.

The Basics of a Food Label

Food labels contain important sections: the Nutrition panel, the ingredients list, and nutrient or health claims. While back-of-pack nutrition labelling is mandatory, front-of-pack labelling is voluntary.

Mandatory Nutrients: The mandatory nutrients that must be displayed on the back-of-pack nutrition panel include:

Energy value in both kilojoules (kJ) and kilocalories (kcal) per 100g or 100ml.
Amounts of fat, saturated fats, carbohydrates, sugars, protein, and salt.

Voluntary Nutrients: Voluntary nutrients that can be displayed include:

Fibre
Vitamins and minerals
Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats
Starch
Percentage of reference intake

Ingredients List: The ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, with the highest ingredient listed first. Allergens in the ingredients list are highlighted in bold font.

Nutritional Information: The nutritional information shows the values for energy, fat, carbohydrate, fibre, protein, and salt per 100g.

Traffic Light Labelling System: Used by food manufacturers on packaging to help consumers quickly understand the levels of key nutrients in a product:

Green: Low levels of the key nutrient, e.g., low in sugar, fat, or salt.
Amber: Medium levels of the nutrient, meaning the food can be consumed in moderation as part of a balanced diet.
Red: High levels of the nutrient, meaning the food should be consumed infrequently.

High consumption of fat, saturated fat, sugar, and salt can result in chronic health conditions.

Nutrition Claims: A claim that suggests that a food has beneficial nutritional properties:

No added salt: No added salt claim can only be made where the product does not contain any added sodium/salt and contains no more than 0.12 g sodium, or the equivalent value for salt, per 100 g.
No added sugar: A claim stating that sugars have not been added to a food may only be made where the product does not contain any added mono- or disaccharides or any other food used for its sweetening properties.
High in fibre: A claim that a food is high in fibre may only be made where the product contains at least 6 g of fibre per 100 g or at least 3 g of fibre per 100 kcal.
Fat free: A fat-free claim can only be made when the food contains no more than 0.5 g of fat per 100 g or 100 ml.
Low in fat: A low-fat claim can only be made when a product contains less than 3 g of fat per 100 g for solids or 1.5 g of fat per 100 ml for liquids.

Health Claims: A health claim is any claim that suggests that health benefits can result from consuming a given food. For example, a label might state, “Proven to lower cholesterol.”

Best Before Date: Indicates that the product remains safe to eat after this date but may not be at its best quality.

Use by Date: Indicates that the product may cause harm if consumed after this date.

Practical Example: Tesco Swiss Style Muesli Label

Let’s look at a practical example to better understand how to read food labels.

Here’s the Tesco Swiss Style Muesli label breakdown:

High in Fibre: The muesli contains 8.5 g of fibre per 100 g, which meets the criteria for a high fibre claim.
No Added Sugars: This product contains naturally occurring sugars of 6.7 g per 50 g, 7% of the reference intake, which is Amber (medium) on the traffic light labelling system. This suggests that the muesli is neither high nor low in sugar, meaning it can be eaten in moderation as part of a balanced diet.
Fat: The fat content is 2.1 g per 50 g, 3% of the reference intake, which is Amber (medium) on the traffic light labelling system. This suggests that the muesli is neither high nor low in fat, meaning it can be eaten in moderation as part of a balanced diet.
Saturates: Saturated fat content is 0.4 g per 50 g, 2% of the reference intake, and is Green (low) on the traffic light labelling system. This suggests that the muesli has low amounts of saturated fats, making it a healthier choice.
No Added Salt: The salt content for the muesli is 0.01 g per 50 g, less than 1% of the reference intake. This indicates that the muesli has low amounts of salt, making it a healthier choice.

The label shows that this product is high in fibre and low in salt, but it contains moderate amounts of natural sugars and fat. High consumption of foods high in sugar and fat can lead to an increased risk of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

Conclusion

In conclusion, understanding the information on food labels can empower you to take control of your nutrition and make decisions that support your overall health and wellbeing, as well as that of your family.

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Nutrition

Understanding and Reading Food Labels

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