Reading Labels

With so much information about food and nutrition sometimes it can be hard to identify what healthy eating really is.

Learn to read food labels

The parts of the label that provide the most useful information for making healthy food choices are the ingredient list and nutrition information panel.

Ingredient list

This provides basic information. Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight. If an ingredient is listed in the first three the product is likely to be high in that particular ingredient.

Nutritional information panel

This gives more detailed information. It usually has two columns: the recommended serving size and per 100g or 100ml. This serving size is determined by the manufacturer and may not match your own. Adjust the nutrition information given to suit the amount you usually eat.

Nutrition claims

Some you might see include:

 Low Fat (product must not contain more than 3g of fat per 100g or 1.5g of fat per 100ml of liquid food)

 Low Salt (must have less than 120mg of sodium per 100g)

 High Fibre (must have greater than 3g of fibre per serve)

Nutrition symbols

Some symbols you may see on packets are the Heart Foundation Tick and the GI (Glycaemic Index) symbol. Manufacturers must meet certain criteria to be able to use these symbols.

Some other things to be aware of

Cholesterol free: cholesterol only comes from animal foods and does not mean fat free. So olive oil can be 100% fat but contain no cholesterol.

Fat reduced: even though fat is reduced the product may still be very high in fat. E.g. cheese – 35% fat and reduced fat is 25% fat

No added sugar: this does not mean it is low in sugar – it could still raise blood glucose levels

Lite: check to see what it is light in. The ‘lite’ could simply mean light in colour

Label reading summary

 First – fat – good choices for meals are less than 10g per 100g

 Second – saturated fat – should be less than 20% of the total fat

 Third – fibre – where possible try to choose high fibre

 Fourth – salt – try to choose low sodium products whenever possible

 When comparing products use the 100g column for both

 Don’t forget to check whether the serving size is the same as what you will have

 If you have diabetes, don’t forget to consider the carbohydrate content

Extracted from article by Katie Stevens

Diabetes Australia NSW