Reading Labels
lynnescountrykitchen.net

Reading labels is one thing, but what do all the different claims on the front of the package mean? Don't leave for your next grocery trip without this quick common food terms guide!

FRESH - The food is raw, has never been frozen, has never been heated, and contains no preservatives.

FORTIFIED OR ENRICHED - The food has a nutrient added to it so that at least 10% of the RDI for that nutrient is present. For example, if a food is fortified with iron, then 10% of the iron you need in your daily intake is in one serving of this food.

HEALTHY - This term is not always used appropriately. It means that the food is low in fat and saturated fat, and that a serving does not contain more than 480 milligrams of sodium or more than 60 milligrams of cholesterol.

LEAN AND EXTRA LEAN - These terms refer to the fat content of meat, fish and chicken. Lean food has fewer than 10 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, and 95 milligrams of cholesterol per 100 gram serving. Extra-lean food contains fewer than 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, and 85 milligrams of cholesterol.

NATURAL OR ORGANIC - These terms are also used loosely. When applied to meat or poultry and used accurately, they refer to food that is minimally processed and free of artificial ingredients. For other foods, these terms have no legal definition. Fruits and vegetables bearing these designations have been grown with virtually no pesticides or chemicals.

100% PURE FRUIT JUICE - Fruit juice labelling can be misleading. To be 100% fruit juice, juice must contain nothing but fruit. Juice labelled "pure fruit juice" can have only 10% to 34% fruit content. The rest is made up of water, sugar, color and flavoring. Fruit-flavored drinks have only 10% real fruit juice or none at all. Read the labels carefully.

FAT - This can be listed as butter, lard, vegetable shortening, hydrogenated vegetable oil, or partially hydrogenated oil. "All Vegetable Oil" on the label does not mean that the food contains no cholesterol or is low in fat. The fat could be hydrogenated or saturated, for instance, as in the case of palm or coconut oil.

SUGAR - This can be listed as sucrose, glucose, dextrose, fructose, maltose, lactose, honey, corn syrup, or molasses. If a label says "no added sugar," the product may still be high in natural sugar, for example, from fruit.

SODIUM - This can be listed as salt, onion salt, celery salt, garlic salt, monosodium glutamate (MSG), baking powder, baking soda, benzoate, sodium citrate or sodium phosphate. MSG is also known as hydrolyzed vegetable protein. Note that a food such as bouillon is high in sodium.

FLOUR PRODUCTS - This listing can cause confusion. We know that the best flour for us is whole-wheat flour, but often the terms on the labels are misleading. For instance, if just "wheat flour" is listed, it means that the white flour is mixed with some whole wheat flour.