Study time! Know your food label lingo
Is that food really organic? What's fair trade? Phil Lempert breaks down the meanings of some common food label claims
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You are not alone.
What shoppers want on their labels is top of mind these days both in Washington, D.C., and in most food company boardrooms. We polled nearly 2,600 of our readers on SupermarketGuru.com about the effectiveness of the nutrition labels on the nation's food products, and 90 percent of our users said that the labels as they exist today “are helpful” but also “confusing.”
When asked which information would be the “most useful” in selecting which foods to buy, the number one response was the listing of trans fats, so let’s start there!
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Fats: Trans Fats/Saturated Fats
Trans fats were developed during the backlash against saturated fat — the artery-clogging animal fats found in butter, cream and meats. Food manufacturers then realized that trans fats actually had another benefit — they lasted longer than butter without going rancid. The result: Until very recently, trans fats were found in about 40 percent of the products on our supermarket shelves. According to the USDA, technically, trans fat is worse than saturated fat because saturated fat raises both the good (HDL) and the bad (LDL) cholesterol — while trans fat only raises the bad.
The four things you need to know about trans fats:
- Scientific evidence shows that consumption of saturated fat, trans fat and dietary cholesterol raises low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad” cholesterol levels, which increases the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Some researchers suspect that trans fats also increase blood levels of two other artery-clogging compounds — a fat-protein particle called lipoprotein and blood fats called triglycerides. Equally worrisome, population studies indicate that trans fats may raise the risk of diabetes. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston suggest that replacing trans fats in the diet with polyunsaturated fats (such as vegetable oils, salmon, etc.) can reduce diabetes risk by as much as 40 percent.
- In 2006, the FDA will require manufacturers to list separately the amount of trans fat that their products contain. Many companies have already started to reformulate and remove trans fats from their products based on studies that show that trans fats (as well as saturated fats) increase a person’s risk of heart disease.
- You have to check the ingredients label for “hydrogenated,” “partially hydrogenated” or “shortening,” all of which are clues that trans fats or saturated fats are present.
- Trans fat can be found most commonly in vegetable shortenings, some margarines, crackers, cookies, snack foods, and other foods made with or fried in partially hydrogenated oils. Unlike other fats, the majority of trans fat is formed when food manufacturers turn liquid oils into solid fats like shortening and hard margarine.
Biggest fallacy regarding trans fats Food Editor Phil Lempert brings you the latest news and advice about shopping and cooking.
It would be fair to think a label claiming “0 trans fats” means what it says. However, companies are allowed to make this claim — not only on the front of the package but on the nutritional label — if there is less than half a gram (0.5g) of trans fats in a product. This will continue even in 2006, after trans fats are required to be listed. The danger here is that people will look at the label and think “this is fine, it has no trans fats,” not realizing that the average person eats about four times the serving size that is “recommended” — added to the fact that there will probably be trans fats in many other items they eat that day. All in all, they may have consumed several grams of trans fats from products that all claim to contain none. This is why checking the ingredient list is so important.
Organic Foods
There was a time when organic foods were hard to find or just too expensive to consider. But times are changing, and organic foods continue to grow more and more popular. In fact, 75 percent of Americans feel that organic foods are better for their health, according to the latest study released by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and Prevention magazine. Today, according to ACNielsen LabelTrends Organic Foods report, sales of organic food and non-alcoholic beverages exceed $3 billion.
Last year, organic product sales grew more than 12.5 percent, which is eight times faster than total food and beverage products, which grew at just 1.5 percent.
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