The Food and Drug administration (FDA) are in-charge of defining food labels, and now-a-days it seems like every food label is designed to make you think its contents are healthy (or at-least not all that bad), so for this purpose manufactures are constantly coming up with new labels that aren't regulated, don't have any real definition, but are very eye catching for the customers. And the one's that have been defined by the FDA are rarely explained on food packing - so the chances of you know what it means is slim- says Nicolette Pace, founder of NutriSource in Great Neck, New York.
Walking through a grocery store, we took a look at some of the most common labels you'll find on foods and broke down what they typically mean, when it matters, if the claims are regulated, and most importantly, if the labels are worth paying more for.
1. "Made with.." :
What we think: It's a good source of whatever ingredients they labeled under "made with"
What it actually means : It contains at-least a bit of these ingredients, but since this label is not defined by FDA, we can only guess the actual amount of the ingredient present.
Possible Solution: You can get an idea of the amount of ingredient the food contains, by looking into where it stands on the ingredient list, the closer it is to the beginning of the list the more of it the food contains.
What we think: It's a good source of whatever ingredients they labeled under "made with"
What it actually means : It contains at-least a bit of these ingredients, but since this label is not defined by FDA, we can only guess the actual amount of the ingredient present.
Possible Solution: You can get an idea of the amount of ingredient the food contains, by looking into where it stands on the ingredient list, the closer it is to the beginning of the list the more of it the food contains.
2."Natural" :
What we think : It's not processed and doesn't contain any synthetic or artificial ingredients.
What it actually means : It probably doesn't contain any added colors, synthetic or artificial ingredients, but FDA hasn't been able to agree on a proper definition of "natural ingredients", so they have set some standards according to which they look for the food that has these ingredients less than natural ingredients, so it's hard to define a product as natural, as it might be processed and might not be truly natural.
Possible Solution: Check how long the ingredient list is, generally less ingredients indicate that the food is less processed.
Possible Solution: Check how long the ingredient list is, generally less ingredients indicate that the food is less processed.
3."lightly sweetened" :
What we think: It has very little sugar.
What it actually means : Since FDA doesn't regulate this label, so it can possible mean that the product can still have a lot of sugar or artificial sweeteners.
What it actually means : Since FDA doesn't regulate this label, so it can possible mean that the product can still have a lot of sugar or artificial sweeteners.
Possible Solution: Watch out for the ingredient containing the ending "-ose", they indicate that it contains some or the other form of sugar.
4. "Low Fat ,Fat Free or Reduced Fat" :
What we think: It is free from fat or has very less grams of fat.
What we think: It is free from fat or has very less grams of fat.
What it actually means: According to FDA To be considered low fat, foods must have three or less grams per Reference Amount Customarily Consumed (RACC aka serving size). For Fat Free, the food must be completely free of fat. However, the companies are allowed to use the term "reduced" if they have 25% less than the original product or other similar products, but it should be kept in mind that the other 75% still there. Also, when companies remove fat or salts form their products they might add extra sugar or additives to still keep the product tasty.
Possible Solution: Before buying the product, it is recommended to compare the nutritional labels of "Low" , "Reduced" and "Fat Free" products with the original product, this will get you an idea of the type of fat which is less and also the amount of calories. This is important to know specially when you're trying to lose weight or being health conscious.
Possible Solution: Before buying the product, it is recommended to compare the nutritional labels of "Low" , "Reduced" and "Fat Free" products with the original product, this will get you an idea of the type of fat which is less and also the amount of calories. This is important to know specially when you're trying to lose weight or being health conscious.
5. "High in Fiber" :
What we think: The product is loaded with natural fibers.
What it actually means : For a food to be labeled as high in fiber, it should provide more than 5 grams of fiber per serving. However, that doesn't mean that the fiber can be all natural, it can be additive too.
Possible Solution: Look for whole grain label, if it is present in the top three ingredients, there is a high chance of most the the fiber to be natural.
