Beware of Misleading Foods label

Are you sure that the food you eat is healthy and of your choice? Sometimes, it happens that you went at grocery store for purchasing some products and get confused to select between two similar products; which one to buy? For healthier choice or to pick up the right product, you may investigate the food labeling. Just because a labeling of product claims to have healthier ingredients, it is not necessary that the product is a healthier choice.

Nowadays, food manufacturers are very clever; they compelled us to think that processed food has same health benefits as unprocessed food, or that a product is “All Natural” though it contained high fructose corn syrup. As a health conscious consumer, you should be aware about the misleading foods label. Misleading food labels attract the consumers with eye catching pictures, keywords and bold statements. All these attracting features claims to fulfill the dietary requirement of people but they are not true all the time.

Food manufacturers mislead the people in variety of ways with their labels. Plenty of products are labeled with “fat free” or prepared with “real fruit,” but what about the other ingredients or nutritional facts? Previous to purchasing any product, people have to ensure that there are no artificial preservatives, no trans fats or not too much added sugar. If you want the healthiest food, then go for the organic products as much as possible that are just filled with nutrients and vitamins.

“No MSG”

MSG stands for Monosodium glutamate. Many people think that items without MSG don’t contain sodium or salt from other sources. But, it’s not true like preservatives such as sodium nitrate, a substance that is mostly present in processed meats. Such substances often produce carcinogenic substances in the body. So, ensure that your product doesn’t contain such harmful substances.

“All natural”

This stamp is the most common food label used by food manufacturers to mislead the people. Nowadays, many products are available in the market with such kind of label. Hunt’s Tomato Sauce and “All Natural” Snapple Tea are the examples of such products. Many of these contain high-fructose corn syrup, citric acid and other unnatural additives. However, still be marked with positive label. Unfortunately, the FDA and USDA allow such products to be claimed as “All Natural”. Investigate the ingredients list of product very carefully to find out such ingredients.

“Zero grams trans fat”

At the present time, many companies have reduced trans fat content from their products because in today’s diet, people are crazy about the trans fat free products. To influence the marketing move, many companies are highlighting their products with “0 grams trans fat”. However, they don’t include the content of product’s level of saturated and total fat. Many of such products are very high in saturated fat and thereby they mislead the consumer into believing they are purchasing a healthy product.

“Made With Whole Grains”

You may have seen many products with label “Made with Whole Grains”, a misleading name which indicates that product provides all the health benefits of whole grains. However, reality is different; many of such products are actually prepared with refined wheat flour and contain only a small amount of whole grains. Also, check out other ingredients listed on label.

“Fiber”

Many of food products are labeled as fiber rich, without discriminating from where the fiber is coming. Fiber helps to regulate the digestive system and reduce blood sugar. Shoppers might find many products labeled with “contains fiber” but in fact, they contain isolated fibers, such as maltodextrin, gum, inulin, pectin, and other purified powders that are added to increase the not-so-fibrous foods and that do not offer the same health benefits as traditional intact fibers.

“Made With Real Fruit”

Many beverages available in market display the eye-catching images of a variety of fruits to claim that they are made with real fruits. Unfortunately, such fruits are not found anywhere in their ingredients. For example, Betty Crocker’s Strawberry Splash Fruit Gushers claims to be prepared of real strawberries but include no strawberries at all.

“Low sugar”

As per the recommendations from the USDA, people should limit their sugar consumption up to 10 teaspoons (40g) per day (On the basis of 2,000 calorie diet). Manufacturers write phrases on labels, like “no sugar added”, “lightly sweetened”, or “contains sugar”. However, you have to be sure that how much sugar is present in each serving. Labeled as “lightly sweetened,” Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats contain 20% sugar by weight (12g per serving).

“Heart healthy”

As heart diseases are believed as fatal disease today, many consumers opt for products labeling “heart healthy”. Other most notorious offender statements are “supports the immune system”, “helps maintain a healthy heart,” etc. Consumers think that they will improve the health of their heart by consuming this particular food. But, these kinds of “heart healthy” labels mislead the people.

Misleading Serving Sizes

The label positioned on the sides of food packaging bears nutritional values only for one serving size, which means that it is not total estimate of how much an individual would eat in one sitting. Many people consume larger portion sizes than they did. For example, ½ cup and 1 cup is the standard serving size for ice cream and soup respectively, but most people consume much more than that in a single serving. Furthermore, many products which are usually eaten in a single serving, for example single packaged vending machine items (fruit snacks, bottles of soda, and packages of nuts), are labeled as containing multiple servings, and provide misleading nutritional information to people.

Great Source of Nutrient/Vitamin Or A Replacement for Your Regular Multivitamins and Fruits/Veggies

Many products show off that they are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals required by the body, without mentioning the sources of these nutrients. Essential nutrients found in many processed products are derived from the isolated compounds. Have you ever heard about the product claiming that it has ‘an amount of potassium comparable to two bananas’ or ‘as much calcium as a glass of milk?’ Nutrients from the natural sources are processed better in the body compared to other processed products.

Other misleading foods label include Fresh, Light oil, extra light olive oil, Low fat, Free range, No MSG, Low/No carb, Supports healthy immune system, free range/grass fed, Unknown Caffeine Content, etc.

10 ways food labels are misleading you.. video from Youtube:

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