Navigating food packaging can feel overwhelming. Tiny numbers, confusing ingredient names, and bold claims that don’t always tell the full story. But learning how to read a nutrition label can make a big difference to your health and help you choose products that align with your goals. Here’s a simple guide to understanding what to look for on food labels.
Start with the Nutrition Information Panel
Focus on the “per 100g” column, this helps you compare similar products easily (like two types of yoghurt or crackers). Use the “per serve” column to check energy (kilojoules/calories) and sugar per serve, especially if the serve size is realistic for how much you’ll actually eat.
Key things to look for:
- Energy: For snacks, aim for <600kJ per serve.
- Total Fat: Aim for <10g/100g. Small amounts of healthy fats (like from nuts or olive oil) are fine.
- Saturated Fat: Choose <2g/100g. Limit for heart health exceptions include cheese and nuts.
- Sugar: <10g/100g is ideal. For foods with fruit listed early in the ingredients, up to 20g/100g is fine.
- Fibre: Aim for 7.5g/100g or more, especially in cereals, breads, and crackers.
- Sodium (Salt): Aim for <120mg/100g (low salt) or <400mg/100g (moderate).
Check the Ingredients List
Ingredients are listed by weight, from most to least. If sugar, salt, or a fat source is in the first 3 ingredients, it may not be the healthiest choice.
Watch out for sneaky names:
- Sugar can appear as dextrose, corn syrup, maltose, rice syrup, and more.
- Salt might be listed as sodium, MSG, mineral salts, or baking powder.
- Fats include palm oil, milk solids, cream, cocoa butter, or shortening.
Artificial Sweeteners
Artificial sweeteners (like aspartame or sorbitol) may be lower in calories, but their long-term health effects are still debated so it makes sense to limit them.
Nutrition Claims: Be Label-Savvy
- Health Star Rating: Helps compare similar products, but doesn’t mean a food is healthy overall.
- Low GI: If certified, this means the product is less likely to spike blood sugar.
Final Tip: Don’t Stress About Perfection!
You don’t need to analyse every label every time. But having a few go-to guidelines makes it easier to make more informed, balanced choices at the supermarket.