"Food labels are inadequate, confusing and dangerously misleading sources of dietary information," Mindell gives us some food for thought to ponder. "In fact, at present, the only labeling requirements for all foods are that they must: a) tell what the product is and display its name on the main part of the label; b) show the net weight or volume of the product; c) give the name of the food manufacturer, packer or distributor; and d) list ingredients in descending order by weight."
The author complains, "This doesn’t give you much to go on if you’re counting calories, concerned about your protein intake, trying to avoid saturated fats, or sensitive to vegetable derivatives, spices, preservatives, and numerous other substances that need not appear on labels."
He further notes, "Nutrition information is essentially voluntary and is required only if a manufacturer makes a nutrition claim (for example, "high protein" or "low cholesterol"), or has added vitamins or minerals to fortify a product. Fortunately, if any nutritional information is given, all legally required information must appear on the product. Unfortunately, a lot of information is not legally required."
What we don’t know can hurt us. For instance, product labels do not list the sulfites (preservative chemicals) which are life-threatening. Not all the additives are listed, as well as the specific artificial coloring used in the product unless it has been proven to be hazardous to health.
Only safe ingredients are permitted for generalized categorization, says Mindell, but as the saying goes, what’s food for one person could be poision for another. More, what’s considered safe today might be proven otherwise tomorrow.
So it pays to read between the lines (or labels). Read these guidelines from Mindell’s very absorbing book:
• Diet or dietetic: Simply means that the product contains no more than 40 calories per serving. It does not necessarily mean it is low in sugar, sucrose, sodium or even fat. That is, unless the label clearly states that the product is intended for use in a specific type of restricted diet.
Consumer alert: Could be bad for asthmatics, allergic individuals, hyperactive children.
• Light or lite: Means it’s got one-third fewer calories than the regular product (which could have a lot more than you thought) or that it doesn’t contain more than 40 calories per serving (which could be a lot less than you thought). It could also mean lighter in syrup density, color or salt content.
Consumer alert: Dieters, hypertensives.
• Light or lean: When used on meat or poultry, it means a calorie reduction of 25 percent from the regular product. But if you’re concerned about fat intake (which should be no more than 20 percent of your daily calories), you still get about 70 percent of the calories from fat even if you’re eating lean sausages.
Consumer alert: Dieters, those with cardiovascular or gastrointestinal problems.
• Light beer or wine: A light beer has one-third fewer calories than its regular counterpart – usually but not always. Light could also refer to some factors like the beer’s taste, color or body. Basically, the same is true for wine. A light wine contains no more than 14 percent alcohol.
Consumer alert: Dieters.
• Low calories: Means product has no more than 40 calories per serving. But then again, manufacturers can always change the serving sizes – what may have been a single serving before could now be two.
Consumer alert: Dieters.
• Low fat: On meat and poultry, this means a product must have at least 25 percent less fat than a similar product. But since there are no standards to define "low fat," manufacturers can use the term as loosely as they please.
Consumer alert: Dieters, those with cardiovascular or gastrointestinal problems.
• Low sodium: Means the product has no more than 140 mg of salt per serving. But this can mislead consumers who are not aware that former serving sizes may have been nearly half their present ones, as in many popular soups.
Consumer alert: Pregnant women, those with cardiovascular or high blood pressure problems.
• No artificial flavors: No such thing. Products labeled as natural or free of all additives can still contain artificial colors and preservatives.
Consumer alert: Allergic individuals, pregnant and lactating women, hyperactive children.
• Reduced calorie: The product has one-third fewer calories per serving than its standard form. Quite deceptive because the product can still have a higher caloric content than foods that are naturally low in calories.
Consumer alert: Dieters.
• No preservatives: Product can still contain them (they may be in the ingredients used to make the product) plus artificial colors and other additives.
Consumer alert: Allergic individuals, pregnant and breast-feeding women, hyperactive children.
• No cholesterol: Does not mean anything when used on foods of plant origin like peanut butter or margarine (because only foods of animal origin have cholesterol). And no cholesterol does not mean no fat (cholesterol is just one type of fat).
Consumer alert: Cost-conscious shoppers, dieters.
• Natural or all-natural: On meat and poultry, it means the product doesn’t contain any artificial ingredients or chemical preservatives. But on other products, it has no legal definition and is simply used by manufacturers to fool people into thinking the product is totally free of additives and chemicals.
Consumer alert: Dieters, children.
• Sodium free: Does not mean the product is free of sodium but that a serving has fewer than 5 mg.
Consumer alert: Those with high blood pressure or cardiovascular problems, pregnant women.
• Unsalted, salt free and no salt added: Even if no salt was added during processing, such products can still contain substantial amounts of sodium.
Consumer alert: Those with high blood pressure or cardiovascular problems, pregnant women.
• Sugarless or sugar free: Means free of sugar or sucrose, but not other sweeteners like fructose or sorbitol, for instance. Thus, they contain as many calories as those with sugar.
Consumer alert: Dieters, those with gastrointestinal problems.
• Wheat bread, crackers or cereal: Sometimes presented as "natural wheat" or "stone ground wheat." The whole truth is, unless "whole wheat" is first on the ingredient list, you’re not getting whole wheat.
Consumer alert: Diabetics, dieters, those with gastrointestinal problems.