1. “Light” and “Low fat’ doesn’t mean healthy
There are a number of confusing terms on food labels. Here’s a rundown on what they mean.
- “Lite”, “Light” - This doesn’t necessarily mean the food is low in fat or kilojoules. It could relate to colour, texture, flavour or salt. Look for the characteristic that makes the food light.
- “Reduced Fat”, “Less Fat” and “Lower Fat” - The food has at least 25% less fat than regular foods in the same category. It must be reduced by more than 3 g per 100 g from the regular alternative. These foods can still be very high in fat.
- “Low Fat”, “Low in Fat” - The food must have no more than 3 g of fat per 100 g of food, or 1.5 g of fat per 100 ml of liquid food. It can still be high in sugar and kilojoules.
- “No Cholesterol”, “Cholesterol Free” - Contains no more than 3 mg of cholesterol per 100 g. Saturated fat content must be below 20% of the total fat content, while unsaturated fat must be above 40%. No plant food contains cholesterol, so the words “no cholesterol” on a coconut cream can or a peanut butter jar is meaningless. The food can still be high in fat and kilojoules.
- “Baked not fried” - It sounds healthier, but it can still be a high fat food.
2. Be cautious of health claims
As you can see above, food manufacturers are very good at manipulating information to suit themselves (and their bottom line). For example, a brand of chocolate puffed rice breakfast cereal with a series of impressive looking ticks on the front claims that it’s “high in iron”.
A closer look at the nutrition information panel reveals that it’s made up of nearly 50% sugar, and that it contains only slightly more fibre than a breath of air. Needless to say, the combination of cartoon characters and good nutrition are not ideal. Where you can, ignore the promotional material on food labels – it can often be misleading or full of half truths.
3. Use the nutrition information panel
Many packaged foods include a nutrition information panel, which is the most reliable indicator of a food’s nutritional quality. It provides information on several nutrients, including energy (kilojoules), protein, total fat, saturated fat, total carbohydrates, sugars and sodium. It may also provide information about other nutrients if the manufacturer makes a specific health claim about calcium, trans fats, cholesterol, iron or fibre.
If any product makes a nutritional claim on the packaging, it must include a nutrition information table. When comparing foods, use the per 100 g or per 100 ml column instead of the serving size.
Here are some helpful guidelines to use when looking at specific nutrients on a nutrition information panel.
- Energy (kilojoules) – Use this to compare similar foods to determine the best choice.
- Total fat – Use the 5-10 rule for dry foods like biscuits and breakfast cereals. Foods that have less than 5 g of fat per 100 g are low fat, foods between 5 g-10 g are ok, and anything above 10 g is a high fat food. For foods where the weight is made up of a large percentage of water (such as milk and yoghurt), compare the fat content to help make the best choice.
- Saturated fat – Check that the ratio of saturated fat to total fat content is low.
- Total carbohydrates – Check that the ratio of sugar to total carbohydrate content is low.
- Sugars – Includes added sugar and sugar present naturally in foods. Look for foods with less than 10 g of sugar per 100 g.
- Sodium (salt) – Look for salt less than 480 mg per 100 g, or preferably even less if you have a history of heart disease.
- Fibre – Look for foods with more than 3 g of dietary fibre per 100 g.
4. If you’re unsure, check the ingredients list
All packaged foods must include a list of ingredients in order of quantity, where the first ingredient is the largest, and the last ingredient is the smallest.
Water is an exception to this rule, and it can be listed last as 'water added', even though it may be the largest ingredient. Ingredients on the product label can help to gain some idea of how healthy a food is if it has no nutrition information table.
However, ingredient lists may use a variety of different names for fat, sugar and salt that can combine to make a food higher in these nasties than it seems. Some of these alternative names are listed below.
- Fat – Vegetable oil, monoglycerides, shortening, milk solids, copha, lard, butter, cream and full-cream milk powder.
- Sugar – Honey, sucrose, fructose, glucose, malt, corn syrup, maple syrup, molasses, treacle and lactose.
- Salt – Sodium bicarbonate , stock cubes, baking powder, yeast extract, monosodium glutamate and rock salt.
References available on request