Last Updated on November 7, 2024 by Brenda

To Hear How the Information on a Label Can Help You Meet Nutritional Needs and Restrictions Listen to Decoding Food Labels

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the seemingly endless information on food labels? It’s easy to get lost in the maze of numbers, percentages, and ingredient lists. During our latest podcast we broke down the key components of food labels and provide expert tips for making informed choices about the food you eat.

Understanding what’s in the foods and beverages we may consume can help us make healthier decisions and insure that what we are serving during the Holidays will be appropriate for those with food allergies or have dietary restrictions.  All packaged food in the United States is required to  include nutrition and ingredient information on their labels. However, sometimes these labels can be misleading and difficult to decipher.

Let’s start with understanding product dating.  This is confusing for many.  We should check each package we purchase for dates and be sure to rotate products in the pantry or freezer to make sure you are using your older products before they become outdated.  There are three types of product dates commonly printed on packaged foods and beverages. None of these dates tell you when an item is no longer safe to eat or drink.

• “Sell by” tells how long the manufacturer suggests that a store should sell items such as meat, poultry, eggs, or milk products. Make sure you buy by this date.  Items are still safe to use for a few days after the sell by date.
• “Use by” tells how long items will be at peak quality. If you buy or use the product after that date, some might be stale or less tasty.
• “Best if used by” (or “best if used before”) tells how long the item will have the best flavor or quality. 

Companies do a lot of research to design the package to entice you to buy the product.  The front is where most of the deceptive advertising occurs.  There is the brand name, a picture of the product, and the name of the ingredient.  Usually on the numbers on bottom of the front of the package will tell you how much product is in the container, so you can price compare with other brands.  Recently we have seen a lot of product shrinkage in an effort for the manufacturer to give the illusion that we are getting the same amount for a similar price as last few years.   How many times have you opened a box to see that it is only 1/2 full?

Sometimes, food and beverage packaging include terms that may try to convince the consumer the food is healthy. To help avoid confusion, the FDA sets specific rules for what food manufacturers can call “light,” “low,” “reduced,” “free,” and other terms. This type of labeling may have little to do with how nutritious the food is. Here are some examples and what they mean:

• Light. Light products are processed to reduce either calories or fat. This may sound healthy, but some “light” products are simply watered down. Check carefully to see if anything has been added to make up for the reduced calories and fat, such as sugar.
• Low-fat, low-calorie, low-carb. These foods have a legal limit to how many calories, grams of fat, or carbohydrates (carbs) they can contain per serving. However, if a serving size is very small, you may end up eating multiple servings in one sitting, ultimately consuming the same amount of fat, calories, and carbs as the regular version of the food.
• Less or Reduced fat, reduced calorie, reduced sodium. This term is used when a food has been altered to take out at least 25% of a certain component – like fat, salt, or calories.
• Free. This means that a product does not have any of that nutrient, or so little that it’s unlikely to make any difference to your body. For example, “calorie-free” means less than 5 calories per serving. “Sugar-free” and “fat-free” both mean less than 0.5 g (grams) per serving.
• Multigrain. This sounds healthy but only means that a product contains more than one type of grain. Unless the product is marked as whole grain, it is possible the grains are all refined grains, which have likely lost important nutrients during processing.
• Organic. Products declared organic must be produced without conventional pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, biotechnology, or ionizing radiation. Organic animals must be fed organic feed and not be injected with hormones or antibiotics. Remember, organic foods may still have the same number of calories, fats, proteins, and carbs as a nonorganic food.

The largest picture on a label is usually the Nutrition Facts label.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires a Nutrition Facts label on most packaged foods and beverages. At the top of the Nutrition Facts label, you will find the total number of servings in the container and the food or beverage’s serving size. The serving size on the label is based on the amount of food that people may typically eat at one time and is not a recommendation of how much to eat.  If you are going to eat twice as much as the serving size, be sure to multiply the rest of the information on the label by two.  Fresh foods like vegetables and fruits, do not have labels, but there are online resources that can give you the same information or you can visit the USDA website.

Labels show us the exact amount of the main nutrients in a product and the right column shows the percent daily value (%DV).  The percent Daily Value (% DV) tells how much a nutrient in a serving of the food or beverage contributes to a total daily 2,000-calorie diet. Although the average person needs 2,000 calories a day to maintain their weight, for many individuals this is too many calories.  The amount of calories you need vary on your lifestyle, build and age.  If you are eating fewer calories per day and eat one serving, your % DV will be higher than what you see on the label. Some nutrients on the Nutrition Facts label do not have a % DV, but consumers can still use the number of grams to compare and choose products.

If a food has 5% DV or less of a nutrient per serving, it is considered low in that nutrient. If it has 20% DV or more of a nutrient per serving, it is considered high in that nutrient. Low or high can be either good or bad — it depends on whether you need more of a nutrient (like dietary fiber) or less (like saturated fat).

The ingredients in packaged food and beverage items are listed separately from (and often below) the Nutrition Facts label. This information lists each ingredient in the product by its common or usual name, and in descending order by weight. That is, the ingredient that weighs the most is listed first, and the ingredient that weighs the least is listed last.  Be on the lookout for terms that indicate added sugar, such as brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, and high-fructose corn syrup. Artificial sweeteners such as sucralose, saccharin, aspartame, and acesulfame should also be consumed in moderation. 

Also included near the ingredients list is whether or not the package might contain one of 8 common allergens.  This will help you if you are serving someone with an allergen.  Wheat is listed a common allergy, but gluten is also in products without wheat, so if you are serving someone who cannot have gluten, be sure to review lists of common gluten foods or look for gluten free on a label.

If a product is labeled gluten free it cannot contain any type of wheat, rye, barley, or crossbreeds of these grains or any ingredient derived from these grains that contain more than 20 ppm of gluten.

By understanding how to read food labels effectively, you can make more informed decisions about the food you consume. Remember, small changes in your dietary habits can have a significant impact on your overall health and well-being.