Food Labels

Since this is my first post I want to make sure I introduce myself (you can also read about me on the "About" tab) and welcome you to my site. With that said, it's time to start covering our first topic, Food Labels and Marketing Strategies. I find this to be a very enlightening subject as I have been (and I'm pretty sure a lot of people have) victim of these claims on the foods we buy. Turns out statements on food labels can be very deceiving. Manufacturers have found creative and sneaky ways to make things more appealing to the buyer promoting products as healthier without actually getting in trouble with the FDA for lying. Here are a couple of examples of these claims you will want to start keeping an eye out for:

• "Made with Organic Ingredients" - This doesn't really mean the product is organic, in fact, for an item to have this on its labels only 70% of the ingredients need to be organic. This also does not mean that it doesn't contain additives.
• "High in..." or "Rich in..." - Example: "Rich in calcium". This means the item only needs to contain 20% of the recommended dietary allowance per serving.
• "Zero Trans Fats" - This product can still contain up to 0.5 grams of artificial trans fats per serving. Of course, if you eat more that one serving, the trans fats add up.
• "More", "Fortified" or "Enriched" - For these claims, the product only needs to contain 10% of the recommended dietary allowance  per serving or simply have more than a similar product contains. Many of the fortified foods have only some of the nutrients manufacturers remove during processing added back but the amount added back is nowhere close to 100% of what was removed in the first place.
• "Natural" - This means the ingredients in the item are not synthetic but it can still contain fats, sodium and sugars.
• "Made With Whole Wheat" - This product only needs to contain a tiny amount of whole wheat in order to use this on its label, the rest can be refined grain. 

These are only a few of the banners you see nowadays on packaged foods. Going grocery shopping will look completely different now that you know exactly what you are buying and can make a more informed decision. 
And remember, always read your labels and choose wisely!
                                                                       Source: Eating Clean for dummies by  Wright Larsen
                                                                             21 CFR 101.9(c) FDA Nutrition Labeling Chapter