Posted By Discussion Topic: food labeling   JamesL 04-13-2011 @ 11:54 AM                           reply Member Joined: Apr 2008 I was browsing around in the web, and I found some interesting information about food labeling that I thought it would be good to shared it with all of you. I’m pretty sure that just like me, a lot more people struggle with food label reading. Apparently, a lot of the information in the food labels is not real. Also a lot of people look for the fat % and ended eating double of the portions.  A lot of people also thinking that they are in taking less calories by buying organic food. I had no idea it would be soo complicated to stay healthy! WhittleAway 07-26-2011 @ 9:46 PM                           reply Member Joined: Jan 2010 But surely they can't lie on labels can they? That would go against the food standards agency? I think they do their best to mislead people. Low Fat, definitely doesn't mean Low Calorie for example. But offten they say what the fat % is in 100g - they should just tell you how much fat the product that you are holding in your hand has in it. Surely that would be simpler? I never believed organic was less calories, its more about the way its ingredients are grown - without pesticides etc? Do people really believe that organic products are lower calorie? That's must be because they are often describes as 'healthy' only because of the lack of chemicals.. WA WhittleAway 08-03-2011 @ 4:00 PM                           reply Member Joined: Jan 2010 I just read an article today about food labelling, bemoaning serving sizes as I did above! Food labels are very misleading.. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based consumer advocacy, recently sent a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration urging for new regulations that would require food companies to use serving sizes that better reflect the amount of food consumers are likely to eat. The organization singled out canned soup, ice cream, coffee creamer and aerosol non-stick cooking sprays as some of the worst offenders when it comes to understating the calories, saturated fat and sodium consumers are likely to consume. For instance, the group highlights the label on Campbell’s Chunky Classic Chicken Noodle soup, which says there are 790 milligrams of sodium in a one-cup serving, which is just less than half of a can. But in a telephone survey commissioned by the CSPI, nearly two-thirds of consumers said they would eat the whole can in one sitting, which would amount to 1,840 milligrams of sodium – more than the recommended daily amount for adults, which is 1,500 milligrams. So a can of soup should be considered one serving OR they should give you the total calories in the package you are holding and if you eat half, then you subtract half... Sasha@ 08-03-2011 @ 4:42 PM                           reply Member Joined: Jul 2011 Yes, it makes me laugh out load reading serving sizes! Especially on packets of crisps when you know youre going to eat the whole bag! I'd like calories per 100g or 100ml for every product (perhaps per 10 for seasonings). That way I can easily compare any two products and calculate the calories based on the serving size I choose. You'll never find a serving size that fits everyone.        WhittleAway 08-03-2011 @ 5:25 PM                           reply Member Joined: Jan 2010 It's the sneaky manufacturers! They would hardly want it to be easier for a consumer to see a competitor was providing a healthier product. Labelling should reflect the entire contents of the package. This would be easier for consumers to visualize and portion out for themselves. It would also be easier for comparing two similar size packages, but that's what some manufactures dont want to happen. Loopholes to mislead and cheat! pod17 08-03-2011 @ 7:51 PM                           reply Member Joined: Jan 2010 This is especially true with some sport drinks. It loudly claims on the bottle how many calories "per serving" but if you read the label closely, it says "Servings Per Container = 2" Who buys one of these and only drinks half? They promote these drinks as being healthy but often they are calorie loaded, not good for those who are exercising purely to lose weight.