To help you make healthier choices when shopping for packaged foods, make use of the information provided on the packaging by looking for the following:
Nutrition information panel
To compare nutrient content in products, look at the per 100g column in the nutrition information panel on the food packaging. Serve size is not as useful because the manufacturer determines this size and it can therefore vary across products.
Choose healthier products where possible. As a general guide, look for foods that contain the following:
| Total Fat |
less than 3g of total fat per 100g |
| Saturated fat |
less than 1.5g of saturated fat per 100g |
| Sugar |
less than 10g of sugar per 100g |
| Sodium |
less than 120mg sodium per 100g, or look for ‘no added salt’ varieties |
| Fibre |
more than 3g fibre per serve (note: this is the only nutrient that is more appropriate to compare per serve). |
To download a label reading card 1 per page click here
To download a label reading card 6 per page click here
For more information on reading food labels click here
Ingredients list
Ingredients are listed in order from most to least amounts, so the main ingredients by weight will be listed first. If the first few ingredients in the ingredients list are high in fat or sugar, then the food or drink is likely to be high in energy (kilojoules).
Fat and sugar can sometimes be called other names, such as those below:
| Fat |
Sugar |
| Vegetable oil, shortening, palm oil, milk solids, tallow, copha, coconut oil |
Glucose, sucrose, maltose, dextrose, malt extract, disaccharides, glucose syrup, corn syrup, honey |
Claims
Be cautious when reading claims on food packaging. For example:
- ‘Light' and 'Lite’ - does not always mean low fat, but can mean light in colour, flavour, texture or weight.
- ‘Low fat’ - means the product must contain less than 3g of fat per 100g of the product. Be aware, these products may be high in sugar or salt so look at all the information.
- ‘No added sugar’ - does not mean there is no sugar at all; the product may in fact already contain large amounts of sugar.