The package is becoming as important as the food it contains. The food industry spent $66.5 billion for packaging in 2005 in an attempt to get you to buy their product, according to Amber Waves, a website hosted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, exceeding the amount the industry spent on advertising. Most items in the grocery store are sold in packages bearing food labels. Careful inspection of food labels will yield a wide variety of beneficial information.
Types
Food labels can be located anywhere and everywhere you look on a package. Most foods have a nutrition label and ingredient list on the back of packages. Some products have logos representing the official recommendation from respected source, like the Heart-Check Mark which means the food meets standards set by the American Heart Association. Other logos may indicate a product is made in a certain area, like Rainforest Certified, or made in a particular way, such as USDA Organic or Cage-free.
Calorie Control
The first piece of information on a nutrition label is usually the common name of the item. The second, and possibly most important piece of information on the food label, is the serving size. Reading the food label before eating the product may save you from accidentally consuming too many portions and causing excess weight gain. If you do choose to eat an entire package instead of the recommended portion, be sure to multiply calories and fat from calories accordingly.
Quick Information
Individual companies use labels to encourage consumers to purchase their brand. A splashy logo on the front of the package advertises a product's attributes, like food that is low in fat or free of trans fats or glutens. Some manufacturers advertise health claims, suggesting their product decreases the risk or cures certain diseases. These claims are now standardized, which means logos asserting a product is calorie-free contains less than five calories. A fat-free product contains less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving, according to Colorado State University Extension.
Detailed Nutrition Facts
Scientists and health care professionals agree a nutritious diet is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. A diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol leads to heart disease; reading the food label helps you understand how much fat and cholesterol you are consuming when you eat that product. Vitamin and mineral contents are included in standard food labels so a consumer knows, for example, how much protein, carbohydrates or vitamin C a product contains. Measurements are listed in standard units, like grams or milligrams. The percentages of daily recommended values are included.
Ingredient List
Reading ingredient lists is beneficial to those with allergies or who prefer to avoid eating certain substances. Food labels list ingredients in descending order of predominance. In other words, a food label for tea would list water first, as tea is made mostly of water.
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