Behind the Label: Decoding the food label
The food Label
Read more in our nutrient blogs:
Energy – Calories Digested
Fat – The Facts of Fat
Carbohydrate– The Case for Carbs
Sugar – The Sweet Truth
Fibre – The Unsung Hero of a Healthy Diet
Protein – The Power of Protein
Salt – Salt Unpacked
Ingredient decks
As well as back of pack nutrients, food labels also list the ingredients in the product. These lists enable the identification of allergens or dietary preference foods e.g. eggs, diary, meat, gluten etc. It also allows an understanding of the amount of each ingredient, health benefits/detriments and an idea of the taste of the food. For example foods with minimal ingredients and natural ingredients, that are commonly known, suggest a potentially ‘healthier’ food. Foods with additives, lots of ingredients and hard to pronounce words tend to be less ‘healthy’.
Allergens – Natasha’s Law: A regulation introduced in 2021 which requires all pre-packed foods to display a full ingredients list with the main 14 allergens highlighted for consumers to clearly see (4, 5). Therefore, when looking at ingredient labels is it now easier to identify these allergens. This is essential for the health and wellbeing of individuals who suffer from allergies to food items (5).
Dietary Preferences/Intolerances: these ingredients decks, and sometimes highlighted ingredients, are also helpful for consumers that have a dietary preference such as vegans, vegetarians or sometimes dietary intolerances e.g. dairy free. Although other marketing and labelling on packages also help, individuals are able to read the ingredients decks to identify if certain food items apply to their requirements.
The Traffic Lights
The traffic light front of pack label is used as an easier way for consumers to compare similar foods for health factors e.g. breakfast cereals where more green is shown than red (1). The system is based the contribution of the product to your daily intake of ‘unhealthy’ nutrients when consumed in large amounts – fat, saturates, total sugars and salt per 100g (or per portion for red category if portion is over 100g). See the table below for the buffers between the colours for each nutrient (2):
The system works in a colour format following the traffic light colour scheme :
- Green = product is low in the nutrient
- Amber = product is medium level (neither high or low) in the nutrient
- Red = product is high in that nutrient
Products with nutrients in green can be considered healthier and can be consumed more frequently than products with red labels.
Red labels do not mean you cannot eat the item but it suggests we should keep our intake of these items to a minimum percentage of our diets.
Common mistakes/myths
1.Misreading back of pack labels with per portion vs 100g nutrient information
Not all products are consumed in the same amounts, be careful to look at per portion and per 100g labels to fully understand the nutrients that will be consumed.
A nutritionist’s tip: if you want to compare between two similar products, use the per 100g nutrients to get an accurate comparison.
2. Daily recommended intakes
When considering nutrient intake, e.g. calories in a product, some people may make decisions based on the government daily recommendations. However it is important to be aware that daily recommendations are variable between every individual, and even on different days due to the complexity of requirements. For example your daily required intake in calories differs depending on your physical activity, goals, health conditions and many other factors.
A nutritionist’s tip: base your intake on your lifestyle, not just on the labels or government guidelines.
Need more information on specific nutrients? Read the rest of our blog series.
3. All nutrients in the food/drink item will be displayed on the food label
This is not true! Foods contain a wide range of nutrients; the main nutrients displayed on all back of pack labels are the minimum required and not fully reflective of the nutrients that are contained in the product.
The myfood24 databases contain a large range of variables showing an in-depth analysis of food items and their nutrient values. Our UK databases contain 140 nutrient variables and over 120k UK branded products which are mapped, allowing for a full nutrient profile beyond just the back of pack nutrients provided by the manufacturers.
4. Health Claims / Nutrition Claims are marketing and not regulated (3)
Packaging on foods is often used by manufacturers to market the product to the consumer. Despite this being true, there are regulations that must be upheld.
Health Claims: the claims cannot state a food can prevent, treat or cure disease or medical conditions but can state or suggest a relationship between the product and health
e.g. Calcium supports maintenance of normal bones
Nutrition Claims: these must relate to what products either contain or do not contain, with the government listing the claims permitted for use on packaging
e.g. Sugar free (must contain <0.5g sugar per 100g)
A nutritionist’s tip: don’t let your eyes deceive you, check the ingredients and fuel for your lifestyle
Myfood24
Many back of pack labels provide surface level information for the food products we consume. Dive into deeper than food labels and gain a complete nutritional understanding of the food we eat using myfood24. Our databases are developed by nutritionists, working to provide a more comprehensive overview of dietary intake alongside a validated nutritional analysis tool. The nutritional depth we offer at myfood24 can be applied in healthcare, research, teaching and for commercial purposes.
Get in touch with our team and try a demo!
Referecnes
- British Nutrition Foundation. Understanding Food Labels. Available via: https://www.nutrition.org.uk/creating-a-healthy-diet/food-labelling/
- National Health Service (2022). Food Labels. Available via: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/food-guidelines-and-food-labels/how-to-read-food-labels/
- British Dietetic Association. Food Labelling: Nutrition Information. Available via: https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/food-labelling-nutrition-information.html
- Food Standards Agency (2020). Allergen guidance for food businesses. Available via: https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/allergen-guidance-for-food-businesses
- Natasha Allergy Research Foundation. What is Natasha’s Law? Available via: https://www.narf.org.uk/what-is-natashas-law
Author: Lucy Clarkson, SENr Nutritionist & Jessica Eardley-Thompson, ANutr Nutritionist
Editor: Grace Williams, ANutr