March 19, 2009
The facts on food - Cover story
Decoding food labels
Food labels carry many nutritional claims but not all is as perceived. Still, the ingredient list can provide useful clues to help you make a healthier choice
By Poon Chian Hui
Low-fat. Sugar-free. Zero trans-fats. No additives. Made with whole grains.
Sounds promising - but do not put that food product in your shopping cart just yet.
Turn over the box and take a closer look at the ingredient list. You just might get a surprise or two.
With the growing number of products making impressive health and nutritional claims, the shopper's job has become increasingly tricky.
What you can do to spot misleading claims is to learn how to read and decipher ingredient lists.
'The ingredient list can be used to identify hidden ingredients,' said Ms Natalie Goh, a consultant dietitian at Peaches & Pear Nutrition Consultancy.
Start by looking out for a few keywords, she said. For example, words like 'hydrogenated' or 'partially hydrogenated' means that the product contains trans-fat which is an unsaturated fat made by the chemical process of hydrogenation (liquid oil is turned into solid fat by the addition of hydrogen).
Studies have shown that trans-fat is linked to a higher risk of heart disease as it increases bad cholesterol in the bloodstream.
'Sodium' is another important word to look out for.
'Ingredients with the chemical name 'sodium' contribute to the overall salt content of the product,' said Ms Goh.
As for hidden sugar, the giveaway words are those ending with the letters -ose.
Sucrose, fructose, glucose, dextrose and maltose are all sugar.
Always check the ingredient list to determine if the sugar is natural or added, said Ms Jeannie Tay, a dietitian at Alexandra Hospital.
For example, a cereal that contains dried fruit is likely to contain more natural sugar than one without added fruit, said Ms Tay.
If both have the same sugar content, the one with fruit may be a healthier choice as it probably has less added sugar.
Sounds simple enough - but there is more to know.
Ingredients may be disguised under alternative names, said Ms Nehal Kamdar, a dietitian at Raffles Hospital.
For instance, fat may be listed as shortening, milk solids, nuts or chocolate, she said.
Innocuous-sounding names like yeast extracts, hydrolised proteins and baking powder actually indicate hidden salt.
Sugar too can be masked by descriptions such as modified carbohydrate, polysaccharides, molasses, sorbitol, syrup, icing and fruit juice concentrate.
Said Ms Kamdar: 'If you see some of these names in the first three items in the ingredient list, the product may contain unhealthy levels of fat, salt or sugar.'
Also, do not be fooled into thinking that if an ingredient is not listed, it is completely absent from the food, warned Ms Kamdar.
This is because the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an international food regulatory body, allows food manufacturers to exclude ingredients that are present in very small amounts.
Local food regulations set by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) and the Health Promotion Board (HPB) follow FDA standards very closely.
For instance, trans-fat does not have to be listed if the total fat content of the food product is less than 0.5g per serving, and it does not claim to be free of fat, fatty acids or cholesterol.
However, there is a way to detect such products that do not list trans-fat but contain traces of it, said Ms Kamdar.
'If trans-fat is not listed, a footnote will be added stating that the food is 'not a significant source of trans-fat',' she said.
There are times when nutritional values cannot be verified. Items are required to only carry a nutritional information panel when there are nutritional claims made.
Hence, the only clues you can get are from the ingredient list.
Take a bread product made with 70 per cent wholegrains. If the first item listed has the word 'whole', it is likely that the bread is indeed mostly wholegrain. This is because ingredients are listed in order of decreasing weight.
'But if there are several grain ingredients and the first ingredient is not a wholegrain, the situation gets more complex,' said MsKamdar.
For example, the ingredient list may read: enriched white flour, wholewheat, whole oat flour and whole cornmeal.
'From this list, you won't be able to tell if the product is 70 per cent or 7 per cent wholegrain,' she said.
The ingredient list can be used to identify hidden ingredients.
Ms Natalie Goh, a consultant dietitian at Peaches & Pear Nutrition Consultancy
Hidden calories
Food shopping is not as easy or clear-cut as you might think.
Often, nutrient claims like 'calorie-free' do not mean that the product contains zero calories - trace amounts may still be present but are considered minimal enough to allow for such a claim.
Also, fat-free food may not necessarily be healthy as it may contain lots of sugar instead.
Here are the important facts and figures that you should know about.
Sugar-free
No more than 0.5g of sugar per serving.
Note, however, that some sugar-free foods may contain substantial amounts of fat, said MsNehal Kamdar, a dietitian at Raffles Hospital.
No added sugar/salt
Even though sugar or compounds with sodium were not added, the food may still contain its own natural sugar or salt.
Some examples are honey and fruit juice which have naturally-occurring sugar.
Hence, do look under the carbohydrate content or energy levels in the nutrition information panel for more details.
Carbohydrate-modified
Usually, this means that sugar alternatives such as sorbitol or mannitol are used, said Ms Kamdar.
'These are best avoided as they may have the same energy as sugar,' she added.
Fat-free
No more than 0.5g of fat per serving. For liquids, less than 0.15g of fat per 100ml.
As for low-fat food, these should contain no more than 3g of fat per serving.
Ms Kamdar warned that some fat-free or low-fat food may have large amounts of sugar instead, to substitute for flavour or texture.
Trans-fat free
Less than 0.5g of trans-fat per serving.
According to Ms Jeannie Tay, a dietitian at Alexandra Hospital, food manufacturers do not have to report the amount of trans-fat if they occur naturally - such as in some meat and dairy products.
There is currently no evidence stating that this type of trans-fat is linked to heart diseases, she added.
The Health Promotion Board says Singaporeans should limit their daily intake of trans-fat to no more than 2g per day.
Cholesterol-free
Less than 5mg of cholesterol and less than 1.5g of saturated fat per 100g. This is because cholesterol is believed to be found only in foods of animal origin.
However, products that are labelled cholesterol-free may still be high in total or saturated fat, Ms Kamdar said.
Calorie-free
This label refers to food that is fewer than five calories perserving or no more than one calorie per 100g.
'Low-calorie' food should contain no more than 40 calories per serving.
High-fibre
At least 4g of fibre per serving, or at least 6g per 100g.
Wholegrains
Wholegrains contain all three components of the natural grain - bran, germ and endosperm.
When grains are refined or processed, one or more of these parts may be removed, said Ms Tay.
Food made of more than 50percent wholegrain are considered good sources of wholegrains.
Usually, you can identify wholegrain food easily as flecks of grains are visible in the food, she added.
Who's reading food labels?
Most of us are not in the habit of checking food labels regularly.
Only one in five Singaporeans checks the food labels when buying packaged food, an AC Nielsen survey found last September.
Many others read labels only in specific situations - for example, when dieting or buying something for the first time or for their children.
'I check the label when I'm buying foodstuff for my children,' said Mr Wong Kum Sing, 37, a product development engineer.
'I will look out for things like artificial colouring, as it is unhealthy.'
Age makes a difference too.
Young adults, in particular, are increasingly guilty of careless shopping.
Label checking by young adults is lower today than in the past decade, a report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) last year said.
According to the report, in 2005, 52 per cent of young Americans aged 20 to 29 years old read food labels, a 10 per cent drop from 1995.
However, shoppers who read food labels tend to have something in common - they look out for fat and trans-fat.
'I only check for trans-fat,' said Ms Serene Ho, 25, a materials engineer. She feels that trans-fat is a 'killer' ingredient that poses many health risks.
Similarly, tutor Rosemary Ng, 53, checks if foods contain palm oil, as its high saturated fat content makes it unhealthy.
'I won't buy the product if I see that it contains palm oil,' she said.
However, she does not just check for the nutritional content.
'Another thing I always check is the expiry date,' she added.
LABEL GUIDE TO CUT AND KEEP
Not sure if a food product has too much sugar, salt or fat? Here is a simple guide to help you choose healthier food.
Products that fulfil the requirements listed are healthier choices.
Sugar
Less than 10g per 100g serving.
Drinks: Less than 2.5g per 100ml serving.
Dietary fibre
More than 6g per 100g serving.
Sodium (salt)
Excellent choice: Less than 120mg per 100g serving.
Good choice: Less than 450mg per 100g serving.
Total fat - Less than 10g per 100g serving. Exceptions: Less than 2g per 100g serving for milk and yogurt.
Less than 5g per 100g serving for ice cream.
Saturated fat - Less than 1.5g per 100g serving.
Trans-fat - Less than 0.05g per serving.
Information provided by Alexandra Hospital
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