FOOD LABELS —TELLING THE TRUTHFUL FROM THE TRICKY
Reading the front of food packages, you’d believe that nearly all their contents are healthy. Labels with claims such as “low-fat,” “no-additives,” “fresh,” and “natural” are more often than not misleading. That’s because these trick terms are unregulated and are used by many food manufacturers to convince people to purchase highly processed and unhealthy products.
The more reliable information can be found on the back of the package in the nutrition facts box and the ingredients listing. Ingredients are listed by quantity, from highest to lowest. Healthier products will have whole foods listed as the first few ingredients. More suspicious are foods with long lists of ingredients.
You already know that you should look for foods with labels that list no added sugars, low sodium and low saturated fat. Of course, some of the healthiest foods have no labels at all—the unpackaged fruits and vegetables found in the produce aisle.
Lately, I’m seeing newer food terms that I’m not so sure about. Heidi Godman, Executive Editor of Harvard Health Letter explains some of these in her August 2017 article Easy hacks to understand new terms on food labels. Here are excerpts:
Quick hacks
Definitions of food terms vary depending on the farm, manufacturer, and federal or state rules. Generally speaking, however, here’s what the terminology means.
Natural. The FDA doesn’t have a definition for “natural,” although it doesn’t object to the term if a food does not contain added color, artificial flavors, or synthetic substances.
Organic. For food to be certified “organic,” the USDA has strict requirements:
- Plant food must be produced according to strict farming and production standards, without genetic engineering, radiation, sewage sludge, or synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.
- Animals raised on organic farms receive no antibiotics or growth hormones, are given feed that has been grown organically, and are able to roam around outside.
Free-range chickens. The USDA defines free-range chickens only as poultry allowed access to the outdoors. Some third-party organizations will certify poultry as free-range if the birds are allotted about two square feet per bird on the farms where they’re raised and are fed corn- or soy-based feed.
Pasture-raised chicken. This certification comes from third parties, not the government. These chickens are given at least 108 square feet each (1,000 birds per 2.5 acres), and they consume feed as well as grass and bugs they find outdoors.
Grass-fed meat. Only third-party organizations provide certifications for grass-fed meat. The term means that animals (such as cows) were allowed to graze in pastures. Grass is higher in healthful nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids and B vitamins than the corn- or soy-based feed that animals are typically fed.
Wild-caught salmon. This indicates that the salmon was caught in the wild, such as the ocean, and not obtained from a fish farm. If it’s certified, it’s by a third-party organization. All Alaskan salmon is wild-caught.
Non-GMO foods. These foods contain no genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are created when scientists alter plant DNA. This can make crops resistant to bugs or fungi. Common GMOs include corn, soybeans, and sugar beets. GMOs are in many products, but labeling is only voluntary. (Italics mine)
Gluten-free foods. These foods are free of the protein gluten, which is found in grains such as wheat, rye, and barley. In order for a food to be labeled “gluten-free,” the FDA says that the food can contain no more than 20 parts per million of gluten. Foods made with non-gluten grains, such as millet, may also carry the gluten-free label.
Better for health?
Organic foods don’t appear to have a nutritional advantage over conventionally grown food. And it’s unclear if the pesticides used in organic farming are safer than pesticides used in conventional farming.
We don’t know yet know if the lack of hormones and antibiotics in organic animal products makes them healthier than conventional animal products, but it’s a reasonable possibility.
Vasanti Malik, a nutrition researcher at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, offers these insights: “Pasture-raised chicken contains more healthy omega-3 fatty acids and other vitamins because of the more natural diet. Grass-fed beef is leaner. Wild-caught salmon tends to have lower levels of toxins such as mercury. It’s heavily debated whether using GMOs alters the nutritional quality of food or poses a threat to health.”
What you should do
Knowing that many of these terms are still debated makes food buying even more challenging. So does the fact that many of these foods cost more than conventionally produced foods.
“Choose an abundance of fruits and vegetables to best fit your budget — a combination of organic, conventional, and frozen. If you can, go with wild-caught fish and pasture-raised chickens and their eggs, where available,” recommends Malik.
______________________________
And, hopefully, this post helps you tell the truthful from the tricky in food labeling.