THE SUPERMARKET LABEL LOWDOWN
The supermarket shelves are full of processed food, healthy ranges and organic foods are more costly, more and more people are now becoming more aware of what they eat and what is or could be hidden inside the food they eat. So imagine you are in a rush at lunch to get back to the office, there are two different sandwiches you fancy and you want the healthiest – so which one will pass the healthiest test at a quick glance?
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) believes that clear labelling is the best way to make an informed choice, allowing us to see the sugar, salt, fat and saturated fat content in an instand. There are two styles to look out for.
1: The Traffic Light Labeling: Using Green – Amber – Red, to indicate if there are low medium or high levels of each nutrient (sugar, salt, fat and saturated fat). Green is Low, Amber is Medium, Red is High.
2: GDA Percentages: This presents the nutritional information as a percentage of the GDA (Guideline Daily Amount) for each nutrient. Without colour code, as a rule aim low.
HELP!!!
- Some labels show now many calories are in food, others may give you contents per 100g or even 50g rather than the full pack.
- The higher up the list an ingredient comes, the more of it the food contains.
- Use the per 100g information to compare different brands of the same food.
- If you see a figure for sodium, multiply it by 2.5 to get a figure for salt in grams.
- Follow the use by dates on perishable foods such as meat, chicken and yoghurt. Eating a food after its use by date may give you food poisoning.
Category: Health News, Nutrition
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