How can you use food labeling to make healthier food choices?

Keep it straightforward by including the following details: - Allergens - Organic status - Ingredients with measurements - Protein and carbohydrate content - Calories - Storage temperature - Serving temperature

Food labeling rules differ across jurisdictions and the serving size is one of them. In the European Union, you need to indicate the number of calories per 100g or 100ml of the product including carbohydrates, fat, protein and salt at the very least, while mentioning the serving size remains optional. In the US, that's the opposite, you must provide these pieces of information per serving size. Moreover, consumers must be aware that the serving size indicated on the packaging may not correspond to their needs as the serving size is decided by the manufacturer and based on the calorie needs of an average person, 2,000 kcal per day per person.

Best Before, Manufacturing Date, Allergens & Fat Content ,Ingredients, Protein, Carbs & Calories, Suitable for Children, Storage temperature, Serving temperature.

In senior Living we take portion control seriously. Its all about the health of our members. Knowing all that goes into a portion keeps the kitchen on their toes and the members healthy. We keep a dossier on every members needs especially if that person has salt, sugar issues that needs to be addressed.

Food labeling is a crucial for making informed choices. It allows me to compare products and choose the ones with better nutritional value. I pay attention to things like calories, sugar, and fat content to make healthier choices.

Mentioning the calories and nutrients of a given food is a legal requirement and these pieces of information are also displayed in percentage, meaning for instance the percentage of protein that the food provides within the daily percentage an average person should consume. Calories and nutrients are precious information for people looking for specific intakes that match their dietary requirements such as low in fat or high in protein. Lastly, when it comes to health claims, such as "supports bone health" manufacturers can only display them if they comply with the requirement of the said claim. Displaying this type of claim lawfully provides clarity to consumers to make a fully informed purchase decision meeting their needs.

A rotulagem tem papel fundamental na proteção da integridade do produto, mas sobretudo em informar o consumidor sobre o que será consumido. A fim de auxiliar os consumidores, novas normas de rotulagem de alimentos foram liberadas pela agência de vigilância sanitária brasileira, onde informações como "alto em gorduras", "alto em açúcar adicionado" e "alto em sódio" devem estar escritas em branco com fundo preto ao lado de uma lupa. É importante educar a população sobre boas escolhas de alimentos (buscar alimentos mais nutritivos, com mais fibras, alimentos frescos, etc.), mas é mais importante ainda quando órgãos regulamentadores trabalham para melhorar a saúde da população trazendo mais transparência sobre o que é ofertado.

Thats a big help. Not only there are legal guidelines that make this a requirement, but it is also responsive to current market and lifestyle trends . People in dietary reatrcitiins have the right to jnow what are the food elements in their orders

The ingredient list is one of the most important pieces of information in food labeling for a variety of reasons. First, it displays the mandatory allergens in bold enabling consumers to check if the food won't cause them a harmful reaction. Second, the ingredient list can indicate the level of processing the food has gone through by looking at the presence of additives, colorings or flavorings. Lastly, the ingredient list provides further description when it comes to the source of an ingredient, whether it is of animal origin or non-animal origin like lecithin. This is crucial for people not only interested in the ingredients in themselves but also to make sure it matches their ethical or religious beliefs (halal, kosher, or vegan).

Food labeling is an important tool that can help you make healthier food choices.It will allow us to make comparisons between products that are high, medium or low in fat, saturated, salt and sugar.

In my opinion, checking how much a product has been processed and the added flavor and aroma enhancers, can help us make healthier choices by avoiding most of this substances that are dangerous for our health. We then can compare and choose products that haven't been that much processed and have less enhancers

Totally agree. For instance, the claim "gluten free" is sometimes used as an attraction assuming that the product is healthier due to the removal of gluten. However, many products in the supermarket shelves with this claim are nothing but the opposite: in their ingredient list you can read a mixture of water, starch, syrups, thickeners and vegetable oils to obtain something similar to the gluten structure. Texture is one of the main technological limitation when manufacturing gluten free bread or pastry. Hence, health and nutritional claims should always be taken with a pinch of salt as their main purpose is to make the product more attractive and increase sales.

As alegações nutricionais estão devidamente legisladas, de forma a proteger de alguma forma o consumidor de meras estratégias de marketing. A alegação se utilizada de forma "consciente" acaba por destacar uma característica particular de um produto. É no entanto necessário olhar para o alimento como um todo e perceber se o consumo de um determinado alimento traz efetivamente um determinado benefício, sendo importante estar atento à lista de ingredientes (aditivos e alergénios) e à tabela de informação nutricional (teores de gorduras saturadas e açúcares, por exemplo).

Regulated claims can only be used if they meet the requirements listed in legal texts and then concern a specific nutrient rather than the product as a whole. For instance, low in fat means that the product contains a small amount of fat but it does not exclude high contents of other nutrients like protein or carbohydrates. On the other hand, unregulated claims like "good for the planet" are not legally defined and it is up to the manufacturer to describe its meaning. But in any case, it should not mislead consumers when it comes to the true impact of the product. The same applies to labels. Those granted by state or third party entities are conditioned to a list of requirements that the product has to meet.

We must also try to decipher the health claims, some of which, even if true, are completely useless from a nutritional point of view. There are mineral waters with a claim such as "low sodium" because they have less than 20 mg of sodium per liter of water, but 20 mg of sodium are contained in 2 grams of French fries, so to drink low sodium water is irrelevant to your health, it matters much more the sodium (salt) contained in the rest of your diet.

No food can check all the nutritional needs of the whole population. Food labeling is a crucial tool in empowering consumers to make the best decisions for their eating habits. When comparing food products, consumers must do so within the same category. It is not useful to compare cheese with vegetables for instance. Scoring labels like NutriScore are tools that can facilitate consumer education when choosing products that best fit their nutritional needs.

Sem dúvidas, fazer a comparação de rótulos de produtos alimentícios beneficia o consumidor quando se trata de ler, entender e evitar ingredientes indesejados. Além da comparação dos produtos poder ser feita colocando um produto ao lado do outro, na atualidade já vemos aplicativos com milhares de produtos, cadastrados através do seu código de barras, onde os seus rótulos são melhor explicados por profissionais de alimentos quanto aos seus aditivos artificais, calorias, altos teores de sódio, açúcares, gorduras, etc. Um bom exemplo desse aplicativo é o "Desrotulando" que é utilizado no Brasil.

This is why some sectors of industry, some companies (and some governments) oppose the introduction of Nutriscore, fearing that consumers will choose products with the green light (less fat, sugars and salt). Some sectors/companies/governments are putting quarterly cash results before consumer health (overweight, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, some cancers).The mantra by many health authorities is "eat a bit of everything", but this is just one way to ensure that the consumer BUYS a bit of everything, contributing to the well-being of a wide range of companies: if we want to contribute to the well-being of consumers, instead, we need to orient choices towards a diet low in fat, salt and sugar, richer in fibre, etc.

European legislation establishes that baby food must not contain pesticide residues above 0.01 ppm, because they are harmful to children's health. From official data, over 70% of the fruit sold in Italy (and the same happens elsewhere) contains residues to a higher extent (it goes better with vegetables, "only" a third is contaminated). So don't feed your children fresh fruit, but choose only processed baby food (it is checked to be compliant) or, better yet, choose fresh or processed fruit and vegetables with organic certification. Don't trust unregulated claims such as "sustainable", they mean nothing.

We have to consider health dictated dietary requirements, food labelling is a factor that helps a lot in this area. Another this is the religious food restriction followed by certain faith.