How to be a Food Label Detective – Make informed decisions about what you eat!

Lite, All Natural, 93% Fat Free, these are just some of the common nutritional claims made by food manufacturers that are meant to be eye-catching and entice you to select their product over another variety.

Investigation Step 1: Always proceed with caution as nutritional claims can be misleading and it is important to read the whole label.

• Lite/Light – Does not always refer to fat content and can simply be a description of the colour, taste or texture.
• All Natural – Usually this product has no added colourings, flavourings or preservatives. Don’t assume something natural is always healthy. For example, cream is all natural but only healthy in moderation.
• 93% Fat Free – It is still 7% fat! Depending on the type of food and how much you eat it may or may not be a good choice.
• Reduced Fat– Indicates the fat content is 25% less than the original product though it may still be a high fat product. Remember that a ‘low fat’ product must have less than 3g fat per 100g and ‘fat free’ product must have less than 0.15g fat per 100g.
• Cholesterol Free – Does not mean the product is low in fat.

Investigation Step 2: Collect quality nutritional evidence from the Nutrition Information Panel. Download your Pocket Guide to Healthy Food.

• Energy – First look at the total energy and the amount of fat in the food. If the energy is high whilst the fat content is low, you can assume the majority of the energy would be coming from carbohydrate or sugar.
• Carbohydrate – Products with less than 10g of sugar per 100g are a good choice. If the product contains fruit (e.g. Yoghurt) allow for 25g of sugar per 100g.
• Fat – Products with less than 10g per 100g but consider the product type and serving size. Minimal saturated and trans fats are the most desirable.
• Fibre – Select high fibre products (greater than 10g per 100g).
• Salt – Try select ‘low/reduced salt’ products with less than 120mg of salt per 100g.

Remember: Use the ‘per 100g’ section of the nutrition panel to compare calories and fat between products. Check that the serving size stated is the same as yours and adjust accordingly (e.g. If a serving size of yoghurt is 100g, you may need to double it!)

Investigation Step 3: Interrogate the ingredients list, these are always listed from greatest to smallest by how much they weigh. Also, be wary of disguised names for sugar and fat including:

• Sugar – Sucrose, maltose extract, high fructose corn syrup
• Fat – Milk solids, shortening, vegetable oil

Now use your detective skills to compare products to find the guilty food criminals - the less desirable products. Try to select a product that contains less fat, sugar and overall energy and you can reduce your overall calorie intake without eating smaller portions!