When was the last time you looked at the back of a packaged product before buying it? Maybe we’ll glance at the ingredients once in a while, but reading the label is quite rare. And where would we even start? Schools don’t teach us anything about nutrition. It’s left up to us to self-educate ourselves. In this blog, we’ll do just that. We’ll break down every element of the nutrition label to help you read them like a pro.
The invention of the nutrition label
Did you know that drinking milk in the 19th century could kill you? Before the Industrial Revolution, food was sold unpacked and in bulk. With the rise of industrial chemistry, food manufacturers started selling heavily adulterated packaged products. Milk often contained formaldehyde, a chemical used to embalm corpses. Meat was preserved with salicylic acid and borax, a cleaning agent. In New York City alone, thousands of children were killed by adulterated milk every year. This led to a massive public uproar. Activists, scientists and journalists fought for change and the ingredient label was born.
(You can read all about the fascinating story in Deborah Blum’s book ‘The Poison Squad’)
It has been centuries since then. We now have organizations like the FDA and FSSAI that regulate all packaged foods. But the nutrition label remains a less understood resource. Let’s change that
Understand the basics- key components of a nutrition label
Almost all healthy food has a “low fat”, “no sugar”, and “high protein” claim on the front of the packet. These claims are usually in big and bold font to attract health-conscious customers. But how accurate do you think these are? Turns out, not very. The only accurate way of knowing if a food is healthy is to read the nutrition label and the ingredient list.
FSSAI guidelines ensure that the packet of all packaged food in India contains these elements
- Serving size
- Calories
- Nutrient breakdown
- Macronutrients- carbs, fats, protein
- Micronutrients- vitamins and minerals
- Daily percentage value (%DV)
- Ingredient list
Let’s dig into them one by one.
Serving Size
The serving size tells you what one serving of the product looks like and how many total servings are in the product. One of the common mistakes people make is assuming that an entire packet of a packaged food is one, single serving. But that’s usually never the case. So the next time you open a bag of chips, compare the recommended serving size with what you usually eat. We promise you’ll be in for a shock!
(Not so) Fun Fact- a lot of companies reduce the amount per serving to reduce calories per serving.
For example, your 100-calorie chocolate bar may not be 100 calories. If the whole bar contains 200 calories, the brand may claim that the serving size is ½ the bar, which makes calories per serving 100. Infuriating, right?
This is a widespread marketing gimmick that you should be careful of.
Calories
Calories tell you how much energy you will get from the food. There are two ways in which calories are mentioned in a packaged item
- Calories per serving, and
- Calories per 100 grams
Why are calories important?
Paying attention to calories will help you track your daily calorie intake. This is especially important if you’re trying to lose or gain weight. But keep in mind that the number of calories you need per day will depend on your gender, age, weight, and physical activity levels.
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Nutrient breakdown
There are two kinds of nutrients that are listed on a food label- macronutrients and micronutrients.
- Macronutrients include carbohydrates, protein, and fats
Our bodies require these nutrients in a large quantity (that’s why they’re labeled macro). FSSAI forces brands to list the RDA and number of grams per serving of carbohydrates, protein, and fats on the nutrition label.
This is important so that you can stay within the recommended daily intake of these macronutrients.
According to the National Library of Medicine, adults should consume 45% to 65% of their total calories from carbohydrates, 20% to 35% from fat, and 10% to 35% from protein.
On the other hand,
- Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals
Our body needs them in smaller quantities as compared to the macronutrients. Micronutrients are important for optimal health since they support a variety of bodily functions. This includes boosting energy levels, maintaining bone health, and improving skin texture.
Generally, sodium, Vit D, iron, calcium, and potassium are the only micronutrients that are mentioned on the food label. FSSAI has strict norms on the permissible levels of these micronutrients. These quantities are mentioned in micrograms (mg) per serving size and as percentage of daily recommended intake.
Daily percentage value (%DV)
Daily percentage value (or %DV) tells you how much a serving of a packaged food contributes to your daily recommended intake for each nutrient. Sounds confusing?
Let’s look at this Kikibix cookie to understand.
One serving of this cookie is 42 calories and 2% of your daily recommended calorie intake. So if you eat one serving, you’ve consumed 2% of our recommended daily calories.
However, it’s important to note that %DV is always calculated on a 2000 calorie a day diet. Your calorie intake may or may not be near 2000 depending on your height, weight, gender, and activity level.
Reading the ingredient list
The ingredient list is a lot less daunting compared to the nutrition label. It gives you a detailed look into what is in the food. As per FSSAI norms, the ingredients are always listed in descending order by weight. This means the most abundant ingredient is listed first, followed by the second most abundant ingredient, and so on.
If you have any allergies or dietary restrictions, you must read the ingredients list carefully to ensure that the food is fit for consumption.
Generally, an unusually large list with many coded terms and unpronounceable names means that the food is highly processed. Such foods should be eaten in moderation to maintain a healthy diet.
Tip- A good rule of thumb is to scan the first three ingredients to know what your food is mostly made up of.
Tips to read the food label -
Now that we’ve explained the nutrition label, here are a few quick tips you can implement on your next trip to the grocery store.
- Start with the ingredient list
Always check the ingredient list to understand what’s inside your food. A good rule of thumb is to scan the first three ingredients. They form the largest part of what you’ll be eating.
- Check the serving size
If the ingredients look okay, then check the serving size to understand how much you should be eating
- Check calories per serving
Check how many calories each serving contains so that you can maintain a healthy lifestyle.
- Know what to limit- saturated fats, sodium, added sugars
Check if the food is high in saturated fats, sodium, and added sugar. If that’s the case, be mindful since excessive consumption of these can contribute to many health issues.
- Know what to look for- fiber and essential nutrients
Choose foods that are higher in fiber, vitamins, and minerals over their counterparts. These are great for overall health and well-being.
- Watch out for common additives like artificial colors and hidden sugars like maltodextrin. These are often lurking in your favorite packaged foods.
Don’t let the health claims fool you
A majority of packaged food contains health claims like “low sugar”, “low fat”, “high protein”, and more. But do they deliver on those claims?
Not really. A lot of times, foods claiming to be “low fat” can have very high amounts of added sugar. Or foods claiming to have “no added sugar” can have multiple artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, etc.
In fact, a study of breakfast cereals found that 83% of children’s cereals that had health claims like “low sugar”, “high fibre” turned out to be unhealthy or nutritionally poor.
In India, FSSAI provides strict guidelines on what constitutes “low” or “high”. However, companies often use technicalities and typography tricks to bypass these guidelines.
How codes hide common food additives ?
Since a lot of food additives have long names, they’re often represented by codes. Here are some hidden codes you’ll find in common Indian foods.
- Hidden sugars
Most hidden sugars have names that end with ‘ol’ and ‘ose’. For example, dextrose, fructose, sucrose, sucralose, maltitol, and sorbitol, Erythytol, Xylitol are all forms of sugars.
Syrups such as corn syrup, and maple sugar, rice syrup, invert syrup are also sugar. So watch out for them in your next trip to the grocery store.
- Oils
Palm oil has come under a lot of fire for their health repercussions lately. It’s bad for your health and bad for the environment. But since it’s very cheap, it’s a favorite of food manufacturers who are always trying to reduce costs. This is why ‘palm oil’ is shown as palm olein, refined oil, hydrogenated vegetable fat, Palmitate, etc to fool the consumers.
- Colors and emulsifiers - The E numbers
If you’ve ever read an ingredient label, chances are you’ve seen these E codes towards the end of the ingredient list. These are often colours, emulsifiers, and preservatives. Generally
- E100s- are food colours
- E200s- are preservatives
- E400s- are emulsifiers and thickeners
- E600s- are artificial flavour enhancers, and
- E900s, are sweeteners and gases
Unfortunately, most packaged food contains some of these numbers. The common ones are-
- Bread bread- contains E150, a caramel colour that gives it a brown appearance
- Indian sweets like ladoos- contain E160s, an orange colour that gives it a distinct orange appearance
- Chocolates and chips- contain E322, lecithin's which is widely used as an emulsifier
Nutritional labels are your BFFs
We now know that the flashy health claims on the front of packaged food are inaccurate. Then what should a savvy shopper do? The answer- get comfortable reading the nutrition label and ingredient list. Do we shun all foods? And stop eating packaged food all together?
ABSOLUTELY NOT. The idea is to be aware of the ingredients & manage your portion size and frequency accordingly.
We get it, the idea of checking the label of every single food can feel overwhelming and time-consuming. But let’s start small, shall we? No one can become a nutrition guru overnight. Just focus on the basics: serving size, and calories per serving, and maybe peek at the first three ingredients. Once you get the hang of it, it’ll become second nature to you. The bottom line? You have to take charge of your and your family’s health. And it all starts with that first little step.
We’re always cheering you on your health journey. If you have any questions or suggestions, please write to us. You can reach us at ……………
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