What You Should Know About Food Labels
By
Mohit M Jain
In centuries past there were no labels on foods. When you
purchased food you either knew what you were buying or took the seller's
word as to what you were getting. In time that all changed when in 1924
the Supreme Court made a ruling that all packages of foods had to be
labeled as to what ingredients were in the package. There were to be no
more untrue claims about the food you were buying. This is when food
labels began to be used. In 1990, the Food and Drug Administration began
to require that the food labels also list the nutritional value of what
was in the food. Even though all food today whether it comes in cans,
boxes, packages, etc has food labels on them telling you what is in the
foods many people are still unsure just how to read the food labels.
The United States food labeling system that the Food and Drug Administration designed was intended to educate everyone about the nutritional values of the foods they were eating. With the healthy eating kick the labels were also giving consumers the ability to track just how much they were eating on a daily in regards to calories, sugars, nutrients, carbohydrates, fats, and more. The manufactures put all this information on to what they considered an easy chart to read and called it a food label. Anyone who has tried to read these "easy food charts" can tell you that they may be easy to read but at times it is hard to understand them.
When you look at a food label you will see that it has four basic areas. At the very top you will see just how many servings are in the food you are purchasing along with how many total servings are in the package. In this same area you will also find the number of calories that you get per serving and how many calories you are getting from the fat that is in the package. The serving size is a very important part of the label because many food items you purchase have more than one size.
The next part of the food label will list the ingredients that you should limit yourself to having on a daily basis such as cholesterol, sugars, sodium, and fat. On another part of the label you will find all the nutrients that are good for you such as minerals and vitamins. They are listed as a percentage of the daily value that a serving of the food gives you. The fourth area uses an average two thousand calorie diet to give you a general idea of the foods facts for that many calories.
As you can see it takes practice and time learning how to read food labels but it is important to know how to read them and what valuable information is on them. At first it will seem too time consuming to read all the information but as time goes on you will soon have the ability to skim over food labels and know if it is nutritious for you or not.
The United States food labeling system that the Food and Drug Administration designed was intended to educate everyone about the nutritional values of the foods they were eating. With the healthy eating kick the labels were also giving consumers the ability to track just how much they were eating on a daily in regards to calories, sugars, nutrients, carbohydrates, fats, and more. The manufactures put all this information on to what they considered an easy chart to read and called it a food label. Anyone who has tried to read these "easy food charts" can tell you that they may be easy to read but at times it is hard to understand them.
When you look at a food label you will see that it has four basic areas. At the very top you will see just how many servings are in the food you are purchasing along with how many total servings are in the package. In this same area you will also find the number of calories that you get per serving and how many calories you are getting from the fat that is in the package. The serving size is a very important part of the label because many food items you purchase have more than one size.
The next part of the food label will list the ingredients that you should limit yourself to having on a daily basis such as cholesterol, sugars, sodium, and fat. On another part of the label you will find all the nutrients that are good for you such as minerals and vitamins. They are listed as a percentage of the daily value that a serving of the food gives you. The fourth area uses an average two thousand calorie diet to give you a general idea of the foods facts for that many calories.
As you can see it takes practice and time learning how to read food labels but it is important to know how to read them and what valuable information is on them. At first it will seem too time consuming to read all the information but as time goes on you will soon have the ability to skim over food labels and know if it is nutritious for you or not.
The author of this article writes for SixB Labels Corporation.
SixB Labels Corporation has been in the business of printing custom
labels, UL Labels and Bar Code Products for over 30 years. Your business
too can benefit from their expertise.
For any of your laser labels or pressure sensitive labels requirements you can visit our website Sixb.com to place an order.
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For any of your laser labels or pressure sensitive labels requirements you can visit our website Sixb.com to place an order.
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