Lying Lables

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Have you ever bought a product in a supermarket thinking it was healthy for you, because it said so on the packaging? If so, you are not alone! Food companies have realized that many of us now care about our health and what kind of food we are feeding ourselves and our families, so instead of actually improving the food, they have gone the more cost-effective route by simply improving the packaging. How, you ask?  By adding cute healthy-sounding words that will make us think the box of cookies we  have just picked up is chock full of nutrients needed to "maintain a healthy lifestyle". In addition, these products will tout themselves as being low in Fat/Carbs/Cholesterol/Road Tar etc... Don't believe it? Just look at the following products:

Lying Label #1: Fig Newtons: 
Kraft foods has a new program called 'Sensible Solution', which they claim it's "our way of letting you find our better-for-you food products". What they are essentially doing is they are "making our lives easier" by putting on the Sensible Solution logo on foods that they consider healthy, so that we could easily buy these products without actually looking closely at what they contain. Of course that's what Kraft wants-people buying more of their products because they have the healthy logo! This can be VERY misleading, as in the case of the above mentioned Fig Newtons. The list of ingredients contain enriched flour, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, partially hydrogenated cotton seed oil, artificial flavour, and many other ingredients. It is filled with sugar, fat, and preservatives. Not very sensible at all!






Lying Label #2: Cool Whip:

Another product with the Sensible Solution logo. Not sure how this product can be considered healthy, especially when it contains corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oil (coconut and palm kernel oils), natural and artificial flavors, beta carotene (color), and more. Its only redeeming qualities is that it is low in fat and sugar (but it contains lot of artificial sweeteners, so I can't even include that in the redeeming qualities list with a clear conscience).






Lying Label #3: Carnation® Breakfast Essentials: While browsing the Nestle website, I noticed that they have a tab under products called "healthcare nutrition". This aroused my attention so I clicked on it. I was redirected to the Carnation® Breakfast Essentials! Good nutrition from the startTM. Sounds promising, right? Wrong! In one bottle (325 mL, just over a cup) of the breakfast essential, it contains 31g of sugar! Since it doesn't have any real ingredients (just added vitamins and minerals, and protein), you are essentially drinking a multivitamin in a form of a milkshake with lots of sugar! If you are in a hurry and have no time for a real breakfast (the product prides itself as a breakfast replacement for busy people), pick up a banana and a whole wheat toast with peanut butter. It only takes 3 minutes to make and is far better for you and will give you the energy to start your busy day.


And the list goes on and on!


Although some products can be considered somewhat healthy, it is very difficult for the average consumer to discern between the good products and the bad ones. Most packaging are made so cleverly as to confuse us and to make sure we look at the different health claims on the front of the package, as opposed to the ingredients list (which is usually really long and contains unidentifiable ingredients) or the nutrition label. 
To help with your shopping next time, here is a list of tips adapted from the CBC Marketplace TV series website (for more information, click here)


1. Ignore the front of the box: skip to the Nutrition Facts Panel to really evaluate how healthy your food is.
2. Beware of buzzwords: terms like "antioxidant," "super fruit," and "prebiotic" may be more about marketing than science.
3. Read the ingredient list. It's in order by weight, so you can compare good ingredients — like whole grains — with less healthy ones, like refined flour.
4. Be careful of ingredient list tricks. Glucose/fructose, rice syrup, cane syrup and concentrated pear or grape juice are all, basically, sugar.
5. Disregard healthy logos invented by the company, they do not need to meet any specific, objective criteria.
6. Be skeptical of vague language that doesn't specifically tell you the benefits of eating a food: these claims don't need approval.
7. If you find a misleading label, file a complaint with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency: it's responsible for enforcing labelling laws.


Lastly, if at all possible, try to buy foods that are as natural as possible and have very few ingredients in them, like fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains (quinoa, rice, wheat, barley, couscous, etc) lean protein, fish, beans, seeds, etc.


What bizarre health claims have you seen recently? Comment below!