While walking through a grocery store, you will most
likely be tempted to pick up a food product on the shelf. This can be a crate
of eggs or any other food product. On the product package, you will notice
several food labels with different certifications and terms. Common labels that
might catch your attention include 'All Natural!', 'Non-GMO!', 'Cage-Free!' and
'100% Organic.' But what is the meaning of all these certifications? Do they
offer consumers guarantees or are they marketing ploys that producers of food
products use these days?
It varies
There are many government-regulated and independent
certification stamps that decorate the food products that you find in the
modern grocery stores. However, it is possible for anybody to establish a
group, create a logo and place it on food packaging. Some of the labels on food
packaging have words without concrete legal meaning or definitions.
Important food labels
Food labels are quite tricky and confusing to some
consumers. In fact, most consumers do not spend time reading or trying to
figure out their meaning and uses. However, there are major labels that you should
be careful about when buying foods to ensure that you are purchasing healthy
foods.
·
Nutrition information panels
Nutrition information panels provide the easiest and
simplest ways of choosing foods that have less saturated salt, fat, added
kilojoules and sugars as well as more fiber. You can use this panel to
determine a single serve or how discretionary food will be and if it is worth
trying. This is particularly important when dealing with weight loss or weight
gain issues. For instance, if your goal is to lose weight, avoid discretionary
foods because they have few nutrients with a lot of kilojoules. However, you
can include them in your diet in small serves. Ideally, nutritional information
panel label should enable you to determine if a food is kilojoules worthy.
·
Health star rating system
Health star rating system is usually found in the
front-of-pack label of most foods. It provides relevant, easy to understand and
convenient nutritional information or/and guidance on the food packs. This information
should enable you to make an informed buying decision especially if you want to
choose healthier foods. HSR provides at-a-glance rating of healthiness of any
food product. It also provides specific energy and nutrient information. The more
the rating stars the healthier the food choice. Perhaps, the best way of using
HSR is to compare different food products. For instance, when buying breakfast
cereals, you can use HSR to compare them before you make a buying decision.
·
Ingredients list
Food labels must provide a list of the ingredients that
have been used in a food product. This list enables you to determine whether
the food product that you buy provides the nutrients that you want. The list
flags food products with unhealthy ingredients such as added sugars, salt and
saturated fat. You can also use this list for weight loss weight purposes. This
is because you should drink and eat fewer kilojoules than what your body uses
to lose weight. Kilojoules are from single sources or a combination of sugars,
fat, carbohydrates, alcohol and protein. When it comes to losing weight, the overall
kilojoules total is what matters and not a single source of kilojoules. Nevertheless,
if sugars or fat are high in the ingredients list, it is important that you
check their amount in your overall food composition or diet.
·
Nutrition claims
Some food labels come with nutrition claims such as ‘high
fiber’, ‘reduced salt’ or ‘low fat.’ These claims should be used only if a food
meets specific criteria. For instance, if a food claims to be a great calcium
source, it must have more than one calcium providing food.
·
Health claims
Health claims link a substance or a nutrient in a
food or the food itself to a specific health effect. Ideally, there can be two
health claims attached to a food. One, the producer can claim that a substance
or a nutrient in the food has a health function. Two, the producer can make a
high-level health claim. For instance, a producer can relate a substance or
nutrient in the food with a serious disease. They can also claim that the
substance or nutrient is a biomarker of a specific, serious disease.
·
Daily intake percentage
There are labels that list nutrients in single
serves of a food product. These food labels can be used in comparing nutrients
in single serves of foods with the needs of the consumer.
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