Understanding Label Reading
Labels can be confusing and also have lots of misleading information This resource has been made to teach the skill of reading food labels so you can make sense of them in the future when shopping for food.
Step One: Identify the column labeled ‘Per 100g’ Step Two: Look at total fat content. Choose foods with less than 10g of fat per 100 g. Energy Choose foods low in saturated fat (<3g per (kJ) 100g) Aim to eat less than 40-50g of fat per Protein day. Fat Step Three: Choose foods that have <10g of ‘sugars’ per 100g. Total Saturated Ideal Nutrition Panel Per Serve ** ** ** ** ** ** ** <10g Per 100g ** 12g <10g <3g
CarboStep Four: Choose foods that are low in so- hydrate Total dium (salt). Beware that foods low in sodium Sugars can still be high in sugar. Fibre
Step Five: Identify the ingredient label (often Sodium ** minimal seen underneath the nutrition panel). It lists the ingredients in order of quantity from most INGREDIENTS: whole wheat, flour, to least amount present in the food. sugar, salt, egg , cocoa, glucose Beware of language used here. syrup, fructose, milk solids, corn oil, gelatin, emulsifiers (123, 567) Other names for Fat: -Monounsaturated (good fat) - canola oil, peanut oil, Avocado oil -Polyunsaturated (best fat) -soybean oil, safflower oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, grape seed oil -Saturated (bad fats) Animal fat/oil, kremelta, butter fat, hydrogenated fat, lard, coconut oil, milk solids, palm oil, dripping, cream, coconut oil, coconut milk/cream, cocoa butter, chocolate Other names for sugar: Glucose, fructose, maltose, lactose, honey, syrups.
Nutrition Claims -What are some of the nutrient claims that we see on food packaging? -What do they mean? ⇒ No Added Sugar May still contain a lot of natural sugar – check the carbohydrate content on the ingredient label and the nutrition panel. Important if you are controlling blood sugar levels. ⇒ Lite or Light May mean less energy, fat or sugar - It could even refer to the colour of the foodcheck the label or even still could refer to the weight of the food for e.g. potato chips labelled ‘lite’ or ‘light’ can sometimes mean the potato chips are thinner than original ones. Check fat content on nutrition panel – especially if you have diabetes or are maintaining or losing weight. ⇒ Low fat or reduced fat Good choice, worth looking out for. Lower in fat and energy than the original product. Consider the type of fat and how much of the food you eat. Important if you are maintaining or losing weight. ⇒ Cholesterol Free Can still have a high fat especially saturated fat and high energy content - check the nutrition content ⇒ No added salt/ reduced salt Worth looking for because a low salt diet can help manage high blood pressure. ⇒ Pick the Tick These foods have met the National Heart Foundations criteria for lower fat or preferred fat choices. Check the nutrition information panel. ⇒ All Natural This is meaningless. Cane toads, oil, butter, cream, sugar and nuts are natural and not necessarily good for us to eat.-read labels carefully ⇒ Oven baked Usually means fried. Would you buy fried muesli? Check labels for fats and oils.
Serving Size Recommendations
Eat at least 2x serving/day Eat at least 1x servings/day Eat at least 3x servings/day Eat at least 2x servings/day Eat at least 6x servings/day