Misleading Food Labels

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By Jackie Watanabe

Summary

You might buy some foods because the label makes them seem healthy. But those labels might be misleading. Consumer reports shows how to separate the health from hype.

Story Published: Dec 2, 2009 at 7:06 PM PST

Misleading Food Labels
When you're looking for healthy foods, you might be drawn to labels like one with the Smart Choices check mark, or "Whole Grain Guaranteed," or the Heart Healthy logo. But Consumer Reports ShopSmart says be careful. What's on the front of the package might not necessarily be a good guide to what's inside.

"Some seals of approval are made up by the companies themselves, and they may pay for other seals that are devised by outside organizations," says Lisa Lee Freeman of Consumer Reports. "The end result is very misleading for consumers."

For example, the Froot Loops box has the Smart Choices check mark, but it's 41% sugar by weight. And as for the "Whole Grain Guaranteed" claim, Trix cereal does have whole-grain corn, but don't think that means it's high in fiber.

"You've got to carefully read the nutrition facts on the package," Freeman says. "As you'll see with Trix, it has only one gram of fiber per serving. An excellent source has at least five grams."

Also be aware that claims like "Good source of calcium" means the product only has to supply 10% of your daily needs - that's the same as just a third of a cup of milk.

A can of Hormel Chili says it has "less sodium," but it still has a lot. Just one cup has 30% of the recommended daily amount of sodium.

"A shortcut to help you judge for yourself is to look at the daily values of things that aren't so good for you like sodium and saturated fat," says Freeman. "You want to make sure that they're 5% or less per serving."

So to make sure you're getting more of the good stuff and less of the bad, make sure to carefully check the nutrition facts label.