I am reading labels. Now what?

bad-mes-e1355807709305You are saying: I am reading labels. Now what? Right?

I know how you feel. I can watch out of the words I can’t pronounce, watch out for msg, high sugar and salt content, high cholesterol products, but there’s way more to the game. And every day I learn the details of something new and share.

Aren’t you glad you read this blog?

YES CHEF!

Glad to hear that. Anyway I was reading an article that quoted the FDA regulations. And sometimes when they say something is ‘a good source of’, I’m not quite sure what that means. If you take a moment to read what FDA puts out, (below) you will see if their labeling meets your standards.

Happy Eating,

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These labels must meet specific FDA regulations in order to appear on a food product:

“High in” or “Excellent source of”: Must have 20 percent or more of the recommended daily value of the given nutrient per serving.

“Good source of” or “Contains”: Must have 10-to-19 percent of the recommended daily value of the given nutrient per serving.

“Fortified” or “Enriched”: Can only apply to vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and potassium. Must contain 10 percent or more of the recommended daily value than a comparable food.

“Antioxidant”: To qualify as an antioxidant, a food must have a recommended daily intake, scientific evidence of antioxidant properties, and enough of the nutrient per serving to qualify as a “good source of” the antioxidant.

“Healthy”: These foods must meet a long list of requirements including being low in fat, sodium, cholesterol, and contain at least 10 percent of the recommended daily value for important nutrients like vitamin C or calcium.

“No added sugars”: While a product may contain sugar, no sweeteners were added during processing.

“Light”: Food must be low-calorie, low-fat, and have sodium content reduced by 50 percent compared to similar products.

“Low-fat”: Food must have three grams or less of fat per serving.

“Low-calorie”: Food must have 40 calories or less per serving.