Nutrition Labels
Despite recent changes, packaging is still a masterclass in manipulation. The fewer ingredients listed on the package, the better - Markham Heid
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The Number to Avoid on the New Nutrition Labels
...most everywhere we look, there will be a giant number on our food. The change will affect hundreds of thousands of edible products, and, so, hundreds of millions of people. It will affect the way we think about food for decades. (This update is the first in more than 20 years—so long ago that the FDA earnestly describes its current label design as “iconic.”)
... As Michelle Obama said... “Very soon, you will no longer need a microscope, a calculator, or a degree in nutrition to figure out whether the food you’re buying is actually good for our kids.”
The first two are jokes, but the new labels won’t obviate the need for a nutrition degree. Learning to read them, and to contextualize…
Resources
The Terms on a Food Label to Ignore, and the Ones to Watch For
Food labels are meant to be easy to read, but some terms on those labels are marketing lingo or mean something different than you may think. Here’s what to pay attention to and what to ignore entirely.
How to Read a Food Label
Food labels can seem perplexing, and people often read them with an eye toward different things. Whether you are looking to limit your sugar, cut calories or increase your fiber intake, this guide will help you make sense of the numbers, ingredients and nutritional information packed onto that tiny box.
If nutrition labels looked like this, your attempts to quit sugar might actually work
Yes, nutrition information is right there on the label. But those grams are hard to conceptualize, and food marketers can easily take advantage of that confusion.
The FDA’s updated nutrition labels could improve your health—if you know how to read them
In 2016, the FDA finally came to their senses and decided that food labels must match with the quantities that Americans actually consume. No more hiding the true sugar content of that Coke with a smaller serving size.
How Food Labels Lie to You
Despite recent changes, packaging is still a masterclass in manipulation. The fewer ingredients listed on the package, the better.
How to Read Food Labels Without Being Tricked
Reading labels can be tricky. Consumers are more health-conscious than ever, so some food manufacturers use misleading tricks to convince people to buy highly processed and unhealthy products.
The Basics of the Nutrition Facts Label
Foods with more than one ingredient must have an ingredient list on the label. Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight. Those in the largest amounts are listed first. This information is particularly helpful to individuals with food sensitivities, those who wish to avoid pork or shellfish, limit added sugars or people who prefer vegetarian eating.
How to Read Nutrition Labels
If you’re trying to eat healthfully, the nutrition label is a must-use tool for making better food choices. Once you learn to quickly scan the Nutrition Facts label for essential information, you’ll be able to shop faster, eat better, and, if it's your goal, to lose weight with greater ease.
The Nutrition Facts Label: Its History, Purpose and Updates
Although we take its existence for granted today, the Nutrition Facts label was not always required to be on food packages. In November 1990, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) was signed into law, marking the culmination of a groundbreaking effort to provide information on food labels to help consumers make better choices and encourage food companies to produce healthier food.
All-natural labels on food are meaningless. Let's get rid of them.
The Food and Drug Administration has no official definition of "natural food" — in part, they say, because a great many foods in the grocery store have usually been processed or altered in some way and so it's difficult to draw a clear line.
Are you being fooled by food labels?
We tend to think of food as healthy or unhealthy, good for you or bad. Companies use this to their advantage in their branding and packaging, to give foods health haloes that suggest they are healthy, when the reality may be more complicated than that. Seducing claims such as 'natural' and 'low fat' lead many of us to overestimate how healthy a food is. It can also discourage us from reading the nutritional details on the back label.
Do food and menu nutrition labels influence consumer or industry behavior?
Although labels have graced food packaging for decades, it’s not entirely clear if they influence consumer choices or food industry practices.
Front-of-pack nutrition labels: why are certain agro-industrial firms resisting?
After nearly four years of effort, France recently adopted a food-labelling system that will allow consumers to see and compare at a glance the nutritional value of packaged food products. The government approved the “NutriScore” label, and it was signed into law in October. But some of the biggest global agro-industrial conglomerates are refusing to adopt it.
How to Improve Nutrition Labeling on Food
The FDA plans changes to make the information more useful for consumers. But some groups want to go even further.
The FDA just made the most significant changes to the nutrition label in years
Trying to understand how healthy your food is by reading the nutrition labels on packaging is like trying to complete an advanced math equation: It's possible, but requires a lot of effort. Now, deciphering the labels will finally get easier. The US Food and Drug Administration just announced their final ruling on a long-anticipated overhaul of calorie labels on packaged foods. The new Nutrition Facts labels will appear on millions of food packages within two years, finally telling you more about what you really need to know about your food for health — especially how much sugar has been added.
The Number to Avoid on the New Nutrition Labels
It’s the enormous one: calories. People ask me what my ideal nutrition label would look like. I think the most important thing is the list of ingredients. If anything deserves to be larger, it’s that. I’d also look at sugars and fiber, and try to regard the giant calorie stamp as nothing more than just another number. Ultimately, the best advice is to prioritize foods that don’t come with nutrition labels.
CDC
Larger, darker letters make calories the easiest item to see on the new label. When it comes to health outcomes, the type of fat you eat matters more than the overall amount of fat. For this reason, the label will no longer show the percentage of “calories from fat,” but will show percentages from the unhealthy saturated and trans fats.
Differences between EU and US nutrition labels go far beyond ounces and grams
When you’re trying to stay healthy, food labels can help. Here’s how to navigate the thorny, heavily regulated and sometimes willfully obtuse labelling in the US and EU.
FDA
The following label-reading skills are intended to make it easier for you to use the Nutrition Facts labels to make quick, informed food decisions to help you choose a healthy diet.
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