Food Packaging Claims and How to Decode Them
Food Packaging Claims and How to Decode Them
30,000+. That's the estimated number of decisions we make every day. With a barrage of information coming at us, we tend to catch the highlights, make a decision, then move on to the next set of choices.
Many of those moments happen while grocery shopping. If you wish to choose healthfully, it's important to pause, look beyond a product's highlights and dig in for the meaningful details. Further review is suggested when you see these buzzwords on a label:
"No Added Sugar"
The sweet nature of a product has to come from somewhere, and that somewhere tends to be fruit juice concentrates or purées, sugar alcohols or low- to no-calorie artificial sweeteners, such as sucralose, acesulfame potassium or aspartame. Some sugar alcohols can negatively affect gut health, depending on how much you consume. No artificial sweeteners are good for health.
Label Review Tips:
- Check the ingredient list for words ending in "-ol." These tend to be sugar alcohols.
- Look at the "Added Sugar" value on the Nutrition Facts panel. Four grams is the equivalent of 1 teaspoon of sugar. Experts recommend no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar per day for women and children over age 2, and 9 teaspoons or less per day for men.
- Seek out products that use either real, whole fruit to sweeten foods (rather than fruit concentrates) or measured amounts of less-processed sugar in the form of honey, maple syrup, etc.
"Made With..."
Insert whatever ideal ingredient might catch your eye. Whether the claim is "real fruit," "vegetables" or "omega-3 fats," the phrase "Made With" is often just a manufacturer's attempt to gain health favor. It's nearly impossible to determine what percentage of the desired ingredient is actually in the product (it's potentially very small).
Label Review Tip:
Determine the source and form of the enticing ingredient. For example:
- If a product shows berries, mangoes or other cool fruits on the package and proclaims it's "Made with Real Fruit," you should question which fruit is being referred to. Often the "real fruit" is a secondary ingredient like apples or pears, which don't offer much nutritionally.
- Is it a fruit concentrate or purée? That's just another word for sugar. Is it a powder? That's über-processed with negligible nutrition. Fruits and vegetables should be real and whole.
- "Contains Omega-3 Fats" usually refers to plant forms of omega-3s. The fish form is much more potent and best for helping heart health, brain health and inflammation.
Did You Know?
The term "plant-based" is on a growing number of food labels, but it doesn't ensure the healthfulness of a product. Many plant-based meats or dairy substitutes are highly processed. They may have an extensive number of ingredients and/or be nutritionally weak. Less processing is almost always better for your health.
"High Fiber"
Fiber promotes gut health, which is a big deal these days. Manufacturers are tuned in and adding fiber in plenty of places, but often it's in the form of inulin, chicory root or maltodextrin. These ingredients offer bulk and fiber, but they may make you feel bloated, gassy and uncomfortable.
Label Review Tip:
Choose ingredient lists that feature whole grains, beans, whole fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds as sources of fiber.
"Natural"
The FDA is working on updating their definition of "natural." To date, they define it as a food to which "nothing artificial or synthetic (including all color additives, regardless of source) has been included in, or has been added to a food that would not normally be expected in that food." However, there is little policing of the term. Food production methods, such as the use of pesticides, and food processing or manufacturing methods do not factor in to their explanation of "natural."
Label Review Tips:
Read the ingredient list to see if what's on it makes sense to you. Be sure to take note of "natural flavors." According to the FDA, natural flavors must come from a spice, fruit, vegetable, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products or anything fermented from those foods. Often these flavors are created from a high level of processing, sometimes with the use of chemicals. The science of them is fascinating. For example, molecules in the leaves of an African violet plant mimic the taste of watermelon. There isn't necessarily anything unsafe about "natural flavors," but they may not be what you expect.
