Nutrition and Dietary AdviceNutrition and dietary advice from a professional

Just walking through the aisles of the local supermarket can present a huge array of confusing information. What really annoys me is the vague, pseudo-scientific labels, which seem to lack any set standards or validated studies to substantiate their claims. Claims such as, “helps digestion”, “good for your bones”, and “90% fat-free” abound.

I particularly dislike the “fat free” labeling. They prey on our fear of “fat,” and you would be forgiven for thinking that you must be making a healthier choice if the item has a “fat free” claim!

The health advice of the last few years appears to have over emphasised the “low fat” issue. It is true to say that we do need a moderate intake of fat in our diet. However, it is also important to remember that fat free does not necessarily mean the food is healthier.

Often when a food label makes a claim of being “fat free”, the food is laden with sugar to compensate for the taste difference. Claims are also made, such as, “low sugar,” however these foods are often high in salt or fat.

The result of such confusing nutritional claims? We are becoming increasingly more confused by the claims from the manufacturing companies. As a result, consumers are forced to base their decisions on incomplete information, or on a misunderstanding of the information given. This is completely unacceptable!

The European consumer group BEUC have called on food manufacturers to come up with an easy to understand system of labeling for all EU member states. Ideally this will help consumers understand nutritional labeling and be able to judge quickly the nutritional quality of food. Most of us try to do our grocery shopping as quickly as we can, and therefore, it is important that we make decisions about the nutritional content of our food as easily as possible. Nutritional labeling should enable us to do this.

The Food Standards Agency carried out a study to gain a deeper understanding of the information consumers want to see on food labeling. They found that consumers wanted labeling to show:

• Related information grouped together
• Standardising where groups of information are found (such as on the front, back or inside of packs) and how it is displayed (such as consistent use of icons, or a “Contains” box)
• Best practice design principles (such as use of boxes and colour coding for differentiating different information)

There ought to be very tight regulations on the claims made about products. The most important issue is that labels and food claims are clear, simple and unambiguous. It is the duty of our Governments to force manufacturers to comply with what we, as consumers, demand.

For more information on understanding and reading nutritional labels click here.

Did you enjoy this article? Please be kind enough to share it -

You may also like to read the following:

• Fitness Challenge for my Readers!
• 6 Top Tips for Increasing your Physical Activity
• “Super” News on Food Labeling!