Decoding Food and Drink Labels

 

When it comes to food and drink labels and packaging, we all understand the basics pretty well – calories, fat, sodium, sugar, protein, serving sizes, etc. But do you know the difference between Unsweetened and No Sugar Added? What about Low Fat and Fat Free? And what does “Reduced” really mean? Many food labels can be misleading or confusing, so here is a breakdown of different food labels and what they really mean. 

 

No Sugar Added

 

These both means that a product contains sugar, but it is sugar that is naturally already in the food. Fruit, vegetables and dairy are some foods that naturally contain some sugar. So when you see a product that says “No Sugar Added” that means it contains ingredients that already have sugar, and that they didn’t add any more to the product. Per the FDA, “No Sugar Added” foods cannot be sweetened with sugar containing ingredients, but they can be made with artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols. Artificial sweeteners are synthetic sugar substitutes, although they may be derived from naturally occurring substances such as herbs or even sugar itself. Sugar alcohols come from plant products – the carbohydrate in something like berries or other fruit is altered through a chemical process. Artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols can be beneficial because they can help with weight loss, but they have been known to have negative effects when consumed in excess and have a bad reputation for being part of processed foods. 

 

Unsweetened 

 

Here is where it gets confusing. According to the FDA, foods and beverages labeled as “Unsweetened” can contain naturally occurring sugars and sugar alcohols, but they cannot contain artificial sweeteners. For example, orange juice can be labeled as “Unsweetened” but it will still contain sugar because sugar is naturally found in oranges. So, similar to “No Sugar Added” foods, they may already have sugar in them, but the difference here is that “Unsweetened” foods and beverages cannot have artificial sweeteners. 

 

Sugar Free

 

As you can probably guess, this means that there is no naturally occurring sugar in this product, but it can contain artificial sweetener. That is how products like pudding and gum can be called “Sugar Free” but still have a sweet taste. 

 

Fat Free

 

This means that a food or beverage has little to no fat in it, specifically less than 0.5 grams per serving. The terms “zero”, “without”, “no” and “skim” have also been used on labels to describe fat free foods and drinks. 

 

Light or Low Fat or Sodium or Cholesterol 

 

Anything that says it is low in fat, sodium, saturated fat and cholesterol means that it is reduced. Specifically, if it has 3 grams or less per serving of fat, 1 gram or less per serving of saturated fat, 140 mg or less per serving of sodium, and 20 mg or less or 2 g or less than saturated fat to be considered low cholesterol. It is similar for “Light” or “Lite” labels but conditions are a little more complicated for these labels, but they mean that a product contains lower fat or sodium or other component.  

 

 

Reduced Fat or Sodium or Cholesterol

 

Don’t be fooled by these labels. They are not the same as “Low” fat, cholesterol or sodium. Reduced means that something has been altered to take out at least 25% of the fat, cholesterol, sodium, etc. in a certain product. So, if a product contains 1,000 mg of sodium per serving, then reducing it by 25% doesn’t do much. That doesn’t mean that all “Reduced” labels should be avoided – just know what the contents really are.

 

Organic

 

Any label that reads “100% Organic” contains ingredients that are grown or produced without using chemicals, with no genetically modified organisms and have had no exposure to irradiation. No other additives are permitted. “Organic” labels are products that contain 95% or more organically produced ingredients. Any other ingredients must consist of non-agricultural substances as regulated by the USDA. Anything that says that it is “Made with Organic Ingredients” is something that is processed but made with at least 70% organic ingredients. 

 

Gluten Free

 

This means that the product does not contain any detectable gluten or oats or related products or gluten containing ingredients. Gluten is a general name for the proteins found in wheat, rye, barley, and triticale. Some people eat gluten free because they or a loved one has celiac disease, while some people choose to avoid gluten for other health reasons or weight loss reasons. 

 

Lean

 

The term refers to how much fat is in meat, poultry, seafood and game meats. “Lean” means that a product contains less than 10 g total fat, 4.5 or less saturated fat and less than 95 mg of sodium per serving and per 100 g. 

 

Good Source

 

Anything that says it is a good source of vitamins, fiber, minerals, etc. contains 10% to 19% of the Daily Value.

 

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

 

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