Note

Lecture February 2015 Reading Food Labels

Healthy choices -choose whole grain and enriched grain products more often -choose lower fat dairy products, leaner meats and foods prepared with little or no fat -choosing foods containing less salt

Where does one look on a food label for information on the above items? -look on the ingredient list -all packaged foods must list the ingredients used in the product -ingredients are listed in the order of the amount used

Where does one look on a food label for information on the above items? -the amount of the ingredient is based on weight and not volume -for example in some cereals whole wheat is listed as the first ingredient -this means that of all the ingredients listed, whole wheat is present in the largest amount

Nutrition claims -a nutrition claim is used to highlight the key nutrition feature of the food -it is often put on front of the package in big bold type

Nutrition claims -there are federal government rules for use of nutrition claims using words like “source of” and “low” -for example with regard to fats and fibre the grams of each must be given on the package label. Details are usually given under nutrition information

A closer look at nutrition information -nutrients always listed in same order making it easier to compare among various food products -nutrition information always given for the product as sold-

Nutrition information components -serving size in weight (grams) and volume (millilitres or portion of cup eg ½ cup) -energy is the calories per serving (Cal vs cal) or kilojoules /serving

Nutrition information components -fat-total amount -may also include content of polyunsaturated fat, monounsaturated fat and saturated fat, trans fatty acids -for lower fat foods –look at total grams of fat -carbohydrate includes content of sugars, starch and fibre

Nutrition information components -sodium is the measure of the amount of salt in a food -percentage recommended daily intake – way in which vitamins and minerals are listed

Using food labels to choose foods for healthy eating To choose whole grains and enriched products more often -look at the ingredient listing -if whole wheat is not listed then one should look to see if the product is enriched

Using food labels to choose foods for healthy eating To choose whole grains and enriched products more often -enriched pasta is better than pasta that is not enriched -enriched means more vitamins and/or minerals

Using food labels to choose foods for healthy eating To choose whole grains and enriched products more often -pasta is enriched if it includes iron (listed as ferrous sulphate), niacin, riboflavin and thiamine -whether the label says so or not- REMEMBER-that all white flour and foods made from flour like bread, cookies and muffins are enriched products because all flour in Canada must be enriched

Using food labels to choose foods for healthy eating - To choose lower fat foods more often -fat is found in a variety of foods -butter, margarine, oils, milk products -meats, poultry and fish -snack foods and many convenience products

Using food labels to choose foods for healthy eating - To choose lower fat foods more often -the labels of many milk products help one choose lower fat products -many milk products are labelled with percentage butterfat(B.F.) -skim, 1 or 2 percent B.F. are best choices -compare labels and choose lower fat products including yoghurt and cheese more often

Using food labels to choose foods for healthy eating -To choose lower fat foods more often -also compare and choose lower fat mass (grams) per serving -healthy eating means one gets 30 % or less of calories from daily fat intake -this works out to consuming between 60 and 105 grams of fat per day

Using food labels to choose foods for healthy eating To choose lower fat foods more often Caution about fat claims -cholesterol free or no cholesterol does not mean that the food is low in fat -only foods that come from animals contain cholesterol -foods made from vegetable sources such as vegetable oil can be very high in fat but contain no cholesterol

Using food labels to choose foods for healthy eating To choose lower fat foods more often -caution about “light or lite” claims -read label to find out what is light about them -consumers often think the terms, light or lite, mean lower in calories or fat -not necessarily so- foods may be light in texture or taste and not reduced in calories or fat at all

Using food labels to choose foods for healthy eating -to choose lower salt foods more often -since salt is the major source of sodium in diet, one is advised to use less salt when preparing foods and to choose salty foods less often -check labels and compare brands to help lower the amount of salt one uses -crackers and canned soups are just some of the products now being made with less salt

Using food labels to choose foods for healthy eating -to choose lower salt foods more often - look for a nutrition claim telling you the product contains less salt -remember a product claim of 50 % less salt means the product is lower in salt compared to the original cracker but not necessarily low in salt- even a salt- reduced product can contain a lot of salt and be high source of sodium

Using food labels to choose foods for healthy eating -to choose lower salt foods more often -the explanation of what the claim means on the label- amount of sodium must be given-remember difference between salt and sodium -choosing a product that is lower in sodium than the original product is one of many steps to consuming less salt overall