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Can you trust Nutrition Claims on Food Packaging?
Have you ever seen claims made on food packages and unsure what they mean? It is important to understand these to ensure that you don’t fall into the trap of clever marketing that may not be so beneficial to your health.
The ingredient list is in order of most to least by weight. According to the Baker Institute, if it is a source of fat, sugar or salt listed in the first 3 ingredients, there may be a better choice available.
Below are some common words used in the ingredient list that mean the same thing as these 3 ingredients:
Fat – Cocoa Butter, margarine, milk solids, full cream milk powder, shortening, vegetable, palm or coconut oil, cream, butter or beef tallow.
Sugar – Barley or rice malt, rice syrup, cane or brown sugar, glucose, golden, corn or rice syrup, concentrated fruit juice, dextrose, fructose, maltose, maltodextrin, sucrose or blackstrap molasses.
Salt – Sodium bicarbonate, MSG, rock salt, sodium, glutamate, mineral salts, celery/garlic salt or baking powder.
It is important to note that many claims made on food packages can be very misleading and with the knowledge of knowing what may be misleading vs. what may assist you choosing the healthier option is vital when shopping.
Would you find the below Health Claims misleading? Let’s have a look to see how they stack up.
Health Claim | Suitable? | Comment | Example |
97% Fat Free | Yes – Good choice | Contains ≤3g fat per 100g. Low fat choice, but still need to check sugar and salt levels. | 97% fat free mayonnaise. |
Cholesterol Free | Misleading | Only animal products contain cholesterol. May still be high in fat/energy. | Cholesterol free vegetable oil. |
Natural/Organic | Misleading | May have the same amount of sugar/fat/energy as regular varieties. | Organic chocolate. |
Reduced Fat | Misleading | May still be high in fat, just a lower amount than the original product. | 25% reduced fat cheese. |
Low Fat | Yes, good choice | Contains ≤3g fat per 100g and lower in fat than the original product. Low fat choice, but still need to check sugar and salt levels. | Low fat yoghurt |
Toasted or Baked | Misleading | Usually cooked with fat (instead of in it) – check the fat content | Toasted muesli, savoury biscuits |
Lite or Light | Misleading | May refer to taste, texture or colour – check the Nutrition Information Panel (NIP) | Light olive oil |
No added sugar | Potentially misleading | No added white sugar, but other sugars might be used. E.g. Fructose. Check the NIP | Fruit juice |
Diet | Yes, good choice | Low in kilojoules, often sweetened with artificial sweeteners. | Diet soft drink, cordial, jelly |
% Daily Intake | Potentially misleading | % DI is based on the amounts of nutrients needed for an average adult. You may need more or less than the %DI and this will vary based on your age, weight and gender. | Breads, cereals, muesli bars, confectionary |
 | Usually a good choice | This product meets standards for saturated and trans-fat and salt. Total sugar may be high. Check the NIP. | Cereals, biscuits, spreads |
 | Usually a good choice | Health star ratings are based on lower energy, saturated fat, salt and sugar content and may reflect high fibre, protein, fruit, vegetable, legume and nut content. This does not take sugar or the Glycaemic Index into account – May be misleading. | Nutrigrain, Milo. |
 | Yes, good choice | Products have been tested for Glycaemic Index (GI). There may be suitable choices that do not have the symbol. (E.g. Home brand foods). | Home brand multigrain bread |
