Food Labels:What's in & on the packet

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Hey Guys,

Today each one of you want to stay healthy and loose those extra kilos by regular exercise and proper diet. Proper diet comes from healthy eating and thus you all are rushing to the supermarkets to buy those "natural products". 

But before buying , as a consumer you all should know, understand and check the food labels prescribed by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India(FSSAI). A potato chips packet having labelled "made of olive oil" may contain trans fats which is hidden somewhere at the back of the packet. A fruit juice pack labelled "Made with real fruit" may contain preservatives and no real fruit at all that may actually harm your immune system.

Food Manufacturers use words like "100%natural", "Made with Real Fruit", "Sugar Free", "Fat Free" to increase their sales of packaged foods. Don't get laid away by these buzz words and their advertisement and promotional strategies. Be an informative and educated consumer before consuming packaged food.

Here are few tips from Healthy Foodie to understand the Food Labels:


















1.  Fat Content (0 gram trans fat): Foods containing Trans Fats should totally be avoided as FDI has declared it unsafe. Mono and Poly Unsaturated Fatty acids and omega 3 Fatty acids are good for health. Pick a product containing these 3 fatty acids. For example Fish Liver Oil, Sea Foods are high in omega 3 fatty acids.  
But why this labeling"0 Gram Trans Fat" misleading? This is because FDI asks manufacturers to label it if it is greater than 0.5 grams per serving. Thus foods containing 0.4 grams are labelled "0 gram trans fat" on their packaging and sold in the market.

2. 100% Natural:  No packaged food can be 100% natural since packaging of food requires addition of preservatives. Most of the Fruit juices that claim to be 100 % natural are filled with little amount of fruit puree and large amounts of fructose and sugar syrup.

So beware! 100% natural is not an indicator of healthy food.

3. MSG or Monosodium Glutamate : MSG is a flavour enhancer found in ready to eat soups, canned chips. Avoid having foods that contain MSG as it has adverse health benefits and increases the chance of cancer.

4.Preservatives:  Preservatives generally Sodium nitrate and nitrite are used to prevent bacterial growth during storage. These are highly used in canned food products like canned chips, processed and packed meat products. See the label and then buy these food packages as Sodium Nitrate increases the risk of heart disease.

The fact that is misleading is nowhere in the label these packaged food products write about the preservatives they add.















This is it!! I hope that you got some information on Food Labels!
So people out there do check the labels in each package before buying to stay healthy!

Be a Healthy Foodie!! ☺

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