Misleading Food label claims

Food manufacturers claims on food packages and labels can be misleading for consumers. Both claim and use of words on the food products might attract consumers to believe that food is good for their health and to buy the product.

There are several such claims and wordings that present on food label could be confusing. Such claims often we see on packages are Made with, Low in, Added fiber, Low in cholesterol, No trans fat, Free from, No sugar, Lightly sweetened, Multigrain etc. Even the serving size that you see on the packages can be confusing. A Pepsi bottle might say 12 oz, 150 calories, 30 mg sodium, 41 gram carbs but what you probably will be drinking is a 20 oz bottle, approximately 300 calories, 60 mg sodium, 82 gram carbs. This is because in past two decades our intake of drinks has increased, and FDA has switched the previous standard serving size for soda from 8 to 12 oz. A single serving package like 20 oz bottle that weigh just under twice the standard serving size will be considered just one serving!

Similarly, if you eat a 2 oz granola bar you might ending up eating lot of sugar because not all granola bar made equally. They may contain whole grains and yogurt but with added sugars in the form of natural honey, maple syrup! Natural sugars also add calories to our body.

Such claims are many and as consumers we must understand the meaning of manufacturers claims that could cost us on our health. Here are few examples of such confusing claims.

Image credit: https://www.needpix.com/photo/439924/snacks-tags-tag-label-kitchen-chalkboard-eat-delicious-seed

Reference:

https://www.eatthis.com/

https://wholegrainscouncil.org/

healhtylife.werindia.com

https://www.health.harvard.edu/

Serving size in nutrition facts label

Omega-3 claim on food label

Organic claim on food package

Low claim on food label

Made with real fruit claim on label

All natural food label claim

Multigrain claim on the label

General guidance to remember terms and claims on food label