Food labels

What are food labels?#

Food labels carry useful information to help you make informed choices about what you and your family eat and drink. Most packaged foods are required to have a label, although the information required depends on the food type. A label may tell you many things, including the ingredients, nutrition information, any allergens, storage and date information, and any nutrition or health claims.

Some unlabelled foods (for example, fresh fruit and vegetables, or foods bought where they are made such as bread at a bakery) may still provide this information on display with the food, or when you ask for it.

Date marking#

Foods with a short shelf life usually carry a best-before or use-by date. These terms mean different things.

• Best-before date refers to food quality. Food stored as recommended will remain of good quality until that date. After the best-before date, the food may still be safe to eat but may have lost some quality and nutritional value. Such products can often still be sold after the date, provided they remain fit to eat.
• Use-by date is about safety. Foods that should not be eaten after a certain date for health and safety reasons carry a use-by date, and should not be sold after that date. You will find use-by dates on perishables such as meat, fish and dairy products.

Bread is sometimes an exception and may carry a “baked on” or “baked for” date when its shelf life is very short, so you can tell how fresh it is.

The best way to tell whether food is safe is to check the use-by or best-before date when shopping, and keep an eye on the dates of food in your cupboards, refrigerator and freezer. Never eat any food that is past its use-by date, even if it looks and smells fine.

The ingredient list#

All ingredients must be listed in descending order by weight, including added water. So the first ingredient listed is present in the largest amount by weight, and the last is present in the smallest. The ingredient list is a great place to start when choosing healthier foods.

Compound ingredients#

Some ingredients are “compound ingredients”, made from a mixture of other ingredients - for example chocolate (cocoa, cocoa butter, sugar) or pasta (flour, egg, water). The ingredient list must generally include the ingredients that make up compound ingredients. For example, chocolate chip ice-cream lists the ingredients of the ice-cream, and because it also contains chocolate, the ingredients that make up the chocolate are listed too.

As a general rule, if an ingredient makes up only a small proportion of the food (less than about 5%), a compound ingredient may be named simply (for example “chocolate”) rather than broken down into all its parts. This rule does not apply to any additive or allergen - these must always be declared, no matter how small the amount.

Percentage labelling#

Many packaged foods show the percentage of the main (characterising) ingredient or component. For example, one jar of peanut butter might say 85% peanuts while another says 100% peanuts, which is useful when comparing products. The cocoa solids in chocolate are another example of a characterising component. Some foods, such as cheese or white bread, have no single characterising ingredient.

When reading the list, remember that manufacturers can use many different ingredients that add fats, sugars and salt. Terms such as “oven fried”, “baked” or “toasted” can imply that fat has been used in preparation.

Food additives#

Food additives can be used to improve the quality, flavour or appearance of a food, and must be used in the smallest amount needed to do their job. They are usually listed by their class (for example, anti-caking agent), followed by a name or number. Enzymes and most flavourings only need to list their class name (for example, emulsifier). Unpackaged foods and very small packages may not be required to carry an ingredient list, and so may not list additives - but any additive that is also an allergen must still be declared.

Nutrition information#

Nutrition information tells you the quantity of various nutrients a food contains, usually per serve and per 100 g (or 100 ml for liquids). It commonly includes energy, protein, total fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugars and sodium, and may list other nutrients such as fibre, potassium, calcium and iron. A nutrient is often added to the panel if a related claim is made - for example, if a food is described as a “good source of calcium”, the amount of calcium must be shown.

Serving sizes are set by the manufacturer and vary between products. They may not reflect the amount typically eaten in one sitting, which can make a product appear healthier than it is. For this reason, it is best to compare products using the “per 100 g” or “per 100 ml” value rather than the per-serve value.

Understanding nutrition and health claims#

Terms used by manufacturers can be misleading, so it helps to check the nutrition information rather than rely on the wording. For example:

• “Light” or “lite” may refer to texture, colour or taste rather than fat or energy content. The characteristic that makes the food “light” should be stated on the label.
• “No cholesterol”, “low cholesterol” or “cholesterol free” on plant foods (such as margarine and oil) means little, because plant foods naturally contain virtually no cholesterol - and some can still be high in fat.
• “Fat free” claims can be misleading: a food that is “93% fat free” still contains 7% fat.
• “Baked not fried” may still contain just as much fat - check the nutrition information to be sure.
• “Fresh” means the product has not been preserved by freezing, canning, high-temperature or chemical treatment, though it may have been refrigerated and transported.

Manufacturers must meet set guidelines before making certain claims. For example, a “no added sugar” product must contain no added sugars but may contain natural sugars, and a “good source” of a vitamin or mineral must contain a meaningful proportion of the recommended dietary intake (RDI) for that nutrient.

Health claims relate a nutrient or substance in a food to an effect on health - for example, “calcium is good for bones”. General-level claims describe an effect on a body function, while higher-level claims link a food or nutrient to a serious disease or health condition and are more tightly controlled.

Voluntary front-of-pack symbols#

Some manufacturers voluntarily display additional symbols or ratings summarising the nutrition content of a product. These can be helpful when choosing foods, but it is best to use them alongside the ingredient list and nutrition information, because there may be healthier alternatives that do not carry such symbols. Where a symbol is based on serving size, remember that serving sizes vary between manufacturers, so the “per 100 g” or “per 100 ml” value remains the most reliable way to compare products. Such systems are also generally designed to compare similar products (for example, two brands of yoghurt) rather than very different foods.

Allergens#

Food labels are important for people with food allergies or intolerance. The main foods or ingredients that can cause severe reactions must be declared on the label, no matter how small the amount. Common foods that may cause allergies include:

• peanuts and other nuts
• fish and shellfish
• milk
• eggs
• wheat and other gluten-containing cereals (such as barley, oats and spelt)
• sesame seeds
• soy

Gluten-containing cereals also need to be declared for people with conditions such as coeliac disease and gluten sensitivity, and manufacturers must meet strict requirements before labelling products “gluten free” or “low gluten”. Sulphites above a set level must also be declared. Labels may also need to warn of a possible health risk from some ingredients, such as aspartame, quinine, caffeine, guarana, royal jelly, or unpasteurised milk or egg.

Some ingredients derived from allergenic sources but assessed as safe for sensitive people (such as glucose syrup made from wheat starch, or some soy derivatives) may not need to be declared. Some labels also state “may contain”, which is a voluntary warning that traces of an allergen could be present unintentionally - for example, food processed on the same equipment as products containing nuts.

Country of origin and other symbols#

In many places, most packaged foods and drinks for retail sale must show country-of-origin information, indicating where the food was grown, produced, made or packaged. Labels may distinguish where the ingredients come from, where any processing happened, and where the product was manufactured. Imported foods generally must also include a statement about their origin. Foods sold in cafes, restaurants, schools, takeaway shops and by caterers are often exempt.

You may also see other symbols on products, some standardised and some simply designed to catch your eye - for example, “GMO free”, “free range”, organic or glycaemic index (GI) labelling. These may or may not be independently regulated.

Choosing healthier foods#

General dietary advice is to limit foods containing saturated fat, added salt, added sugars and alcohol. When reading labels, watch for ingredients that add these:

• Saturated and other added fats - for example beef fat, butter, shortening, coconut and coconut or palm oil, copha, cream, dripping, lard, mayonnaise, sour cream, vegetable oils and fats, hydrogenated oils, full-cream milk powder, egg, and mono-, di- or triglycerides.
• Sugars (often ending in “-ose” or “-tol”) - for example brown sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, glucose, golden syrup, honey, lactose, malt, maltose, mannitol, maple syrup, molasses, raw sugar, sorbitol, sucrose and xylitol.
• Salt - for example baking powder, celery or garlic salt, sodium compounds, meat or yeast extract, monosodium glutamate (MSG), rock or sea salt, seasoning, sodium bicarbonate, stock cubes and similar.

Key points#

• “Fresh” means the product has not been preserved by freezing, canning, high-temperature or chemical treatment.
• Health claims can link a nutrient, such as calcium, to a health benefit, such as supporting healthy bones.
• It can be hard to compare products by serving size, because serving sizes are set by manufacturers, so use the “per 100 g” or “per 100 ml” value instead.

Where to get help#