Yahoo Lifestyle What Your Food Label Really Means
By Catherine Saxelby
What it says: 97% fat free
What it means:
Contains 3% fat—saying it the other way around sounds better (similarly, 90% fat free sounds better than saying it contains 10% fat). Be aware that fat free often translates to added sugar. For a true measure of how healthy a food really is, check the ingredients panel. If sugar’s near the top, you’ll know it’s been shovelled in.
What it says: Baked, not fried
What it means:
The idea a product’s been baked implies it’s low in fat. It’s true of some snacks, such as pretzels with less than 3g of fat per 100g, but not for others, such as biscuits.
What it says: Lite or light
What it means:
A number of different things, but not necessarily that the product is light on kilojoules or fat. Check which part of the food has been ‘lightened’. For example: Light beer is simply lower in alcohol, not any lower in fat or sugar. Light ice-cream has less fat, but more sugar and more thickeners. Light olive oil has less flavour, but the same fat content as regular oil. Light potato chips are thinly sliced and lightly salted, but may still have the same fat content as regular crisps.
What it says: Cholesterol free
What it means:
Foods such as avocado, olive oil, margarine and nuts can be low in cholesterol, but are still high in fat. Forget cholesterol content and look out for saturated and trans fats. The less of these, the better.
What it says: Vegetable oil
What it means:
Including the word ‘vegetable’ doesn’t mean it’s healthy! It could be cooked in unsaturated vegie oils, such as canola, soybean, sunflower and cottonseed, or it may contain palm oil—a tropical oil with 50% sat fat (not ideal!). Check the ingredients list for clarification—if none of the unsaturated oils are referred to by name, you can assume it’s cooked in saturated oils.
What it says: No added sugar
What it means:
Although a product hasn’t had any artificial sugar added, it may still be high in natural sugar, such as fructose (found in fruit and honey), and therefore still high in kilojoules.
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