Deceptive Food Labels Suck
By
Staten Island, NY Posted: 8/14/2017 1:00:00 AM
Beware of deceptive food labels!
One of my pet peeves is deceptive food labels designed to trick people into thinking unhealthful foods are actually good for you. The trouble is, they're everywhere, so it can be hard to read between the lines and choose the right things to eat.
The funny thing is, just about every food with a label is somewhat unhealthful, so it's not surprising that so many labels are deceptive. If you want to avoid deceptive labelling entirely, you're best bet is to eat as much food from the fresh produce section in the supermarket. Fresh fruits and vegetables don't usually have labels, mainly because you already know what you're getting. For everything else in the store, you're going to have to learn to read between the lines to find out what's good for you.
The biggest deceptions have to do with the words "Natural" and "Organic", which is their way of telling you that there's no chemicals in the product, but the truth of the matter is there are a lot of unhealthful foods that are both natural and organic. Dog poop is natural and organic, but that doesn't mean it's good for you.
Olive Oil is a perfect example of this. You see tons of "organic", and "pure" bottles of Olive Oil in the supermarket, but only a few bottles of (EVOO) "Extra Virgin Olive Oil". While many people can't tell the difference, there's a huge difference between the two. Real EVOO is not only more healthful than bottles that simply say "Pure", "Organic", or "Natural", by real EVOO simply tastes better.
Another big deception is the use of 100% in big letters on the front of the package. Companies will use 100% as a way to draw your attention to one small feature of their product, so you don't bother looking at the rest of the ingredients. For example, a lot of foods that are loaded with sugar say "100% daily supply of vitamin C", which distracts you from noticing that sugar is the main ingredient.
The real key is looking past the front label, and focusing on the full list of ingredients. As a rule of thumb, the fewer the ingredients, the better the food. When in doubt, stick to the produce section. At least you know exactly what you're getting... without any label.
Joe Crescenzi, Founder
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