Food labels
Smart, healthy shopping involves checking costs, portions, and food labels. Food labels can guide you to the foods you want by checking the ingredient list, health claims, and the nutritional content.
The numbers in the nutritional content section of the label should be based on one portion (serving). One portion may mean one cup of yoghurt, half a cup of ice cream or fourteen crackers. It is important to be aware of the portion size that has been analysed on the label so you know how many portions you are consuming.
Nutrient values
This information should help you to assess whether a food is high, low, or moderate in fat, cholesterol, vitamins, and other nutrients. The amounts of all ingredients (except vitamins and minerals) should be expressed in grams (g).
· %RDA: The amounts of vitamins, minerals and trace elements should be listed as a percentage of the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) or the newer Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs). These values are updated periodically as scientific studies provide more information regarding nutrient requirements and health.
· Serving size: would vary according to the item and does not always represent the typical amount consumed.
· Kilojoules/Calories: would indicate the kilojoules/calories contained in one portion or serving.
· Total fat: would represent the fat, saturated and unsaturated, contained in one portion or serving.
· Kilojoules/Calories from fat: would represent the grams of fat, multiplied by a number for kilojoules/calories to give you the total kilojoules/calories from fat in one portion or serving.
· Saturated fat: would represent the amount of total fat that is saturated.
· Cholesterol: would represent the total cholesterol in one portion or serving, expressed in grams (g).
· Sodium: would represent the total sodium in one portion or serving, expressed in milligrams (mg).
· Total Carbohydrates: would represent the total carbohydrates in the single portion or serving, expressed in grams (g).
· Dietary fibre: would be expressed in grams (g).
· Sugars: would be added together for a total count in grams (g).
· Protein: would be expressed in grams (g).
· Vitamins: would be expressed as the percent of RDA or DRI.
· Minerals: would be expressed as the percent of RDA or DRI.
Health claims on food labels
Health claims should have clear definitions that ensure you are getting the nutrition the manufacturer claims. The FDA regulates health claims for food and vitamins on food labels to protect consumers from unproven claims and food manufacturers and producers must go through a complex process to get approval of a health claim. Claims must be accompanied by legitimate scientific studies.
Health claims are based on a standard portion (serving) size, so it is important to check if the portion (serving) is what you are eating. If your portion is different, the nutrients listed on the food label will also be different.
Food labels and legislation
Food labels should have defined nutrition terms so that consumers can rely on consistent meanings. By checking food labels, you should be able to confidently choose products. In general, food labels should have the following meanings:
· Low fat means 3 grams of fat or less fat content
· Low saturated fat means 1 gram or less saturated fat content
· Low cholesterol means 20 milligrams or less cholesterol content
· Free means negligible, but not none
· Fat free means less than 0.5 grams of fat
· Cholesterol free means less than 2 mg of cholesterol
· Sodium free means less than 5 mg of sodium
· Sugar free means less than 0.5 grams of sugar
Sources:
Understanding Nutrition (Rolfes & Whitney)
Food, Nutrition & Diet therapy (Mahan & Arlin)
American Dietetic Association
(Reworked from article by Discovery)
How to read food labels (Find on Health24.com)
Step 1: Serving info
Pay attention to the serving size and the servings per container. This info is often contained in a separate box or line on the label, or it can be seen in the "Nutritional Information" block, right next to the nutrients listed.
You can expect to see a column stating the nutritional value of the food per serving size, e.g. "PER 50 g SERVING".
To find out how many servings the container contains (i.e. how many times you'll be able to eat a full serving), simply divide the mass of the product, e.g. 500 g, by the serving size, e.g. 50 g. That gives you 10 servings.
Some labels – especially those that are wrapped around packaged convenience foods – will give you an indication of the number of servings per container, e.g. "4 SERVINGS".
Step 2: Energy and macronutrients
Energy is measured in either kilojoules or calories. In South Africa, kilojoules are mostly used.
Most labels list total kilojoules in a serving size of the product, as well as per 100 g. This makes it easy to compare different products. If you're trying to maintain a healthy weight, choose the product with the lowest kilojoule value per 100 g.
The macronutrients refer to the nutrients that provide energy (in kilojoules) to the body. There are three groups: proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
Check the "Nutritional information" block for info regarding macronutrient content. For example, compare products for saturated fat and trans fatty acid content and choose the one with the lowest count if you're health-conscious. Or choose the product with the highest complex carbohydrate content if you want to maintain a healthy weight.
Step 3: Vitamins and minerals
Most product labels will also give an indication of the vitamin and mineral content of the food.
If this info is omitted, it's probably because the product doesn't contain a significant amount of any of these important nutrients (definitely a sign that the product isn't very nutritious!). This means that you'll have to get your daily dose of vitamins and minerals from other foods in your diet.
As iron and calcium are often deficient in the western diet, it might be useful to check for products that contain higher amounts of these two minerals.
Step 4: Suggested daily requirements
Take a closer look at the columns in the "Nutritional Information" box.
You'll most probably find two columns that will give you an indication of the % RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) values for each nutrient present in the food product – firstly per serving, and secondly as a percentage.
The RDA refers to the amount of a nutrient needed to meet the daily nutrient requirements of nearly all (97% to 98%) of the healthy population.
So, if the label states that the food product provides 33% of the RDA for vitamin A, for example, you need to get the other 67% from other foods in your diet.
