Are You Being Fooled By Deceptive Food Product Labeling?

If the front of a cereal box says "all natural" or "made with whole grains" it has to be healthy, right? I mean, it wouldn't be on there if it wasn't...correct?

Well, not necessarily. We live in a country where phrases that appear on the front of food packages can be very misleading. Some phrases like "all natural" and "made with whole grains" are merely a good marketing technique to get you to think a product is healthy so you will buy it, when in reality it might not be! Phrases like the ones above draw you in because food companies know what you want to hear. Sneaky sneaky food companies. That's not very nice now is it!

There's nothing "natural" about genetically modified oils and "autolyzed yeast" (a hidden form of MSG)

A study cited in an article by the Prevention Institute shows just how sneaky food labeling is:

"A study called Claiming Health looked at the front-of-package labeling on 58 children's products labeled as nutritious through package marketing like 'smart choice' or 'sensible solution.' The results: 84% failed to meet basic nutrition standards for sugar, fat, saturated fat, sodium and fiber. 95% contained added sugar."

You must be thinking, "how can companies get away with this?" Good question- I was thinking the same thing too! I found out that the FDA has requirements for some phrases that companies put on their products, but not all. Sadly, its perfectly legal for companies to slap on the front of their boxes phrases that may or may not tell the whole truth. For example, take a look at this box of ritz crackers I found in my house:

It says "whole wheat" on the front so my mom probably got excited to see Ritz stepping up their health game and bought a box. But look at the ingredient list- it turns out the first and main ingredient is actually white flour! (unbleached enriched flour= fancy term for white flour with some added whole wheat flour to it) So because there may be a small amount of whole grain flour in the cracker, ritz technically isn't falsely advertising. Not to mention, the cracker also contains partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil and high fructose corn syrup- both a health nightmare!

This is just one example of how deceptive food labeling can be. If you are feeling betrayed- good. You should be! I mean why is all this investigating necessary? We shouldn't have to guess if a food label really means what it says. 

I refuse to be fooled by deceptive food product labeling so what do I do? I skip the fancy shmancy colorful words on the front and I head right to the ingredient list on the back to take a look for myself! Knowing what to look for in the ingredient list is key. Check back with me tomorrow for a post on what ingredients to beware of that are in SO MANY packaged and processed foods you may be eating along with some other tips to being a healthy food shopper!!! 

What are your feelings on food companies and their deceptive labeling? As always, i'd love to hear YOUR thoughts!  

Articles cited in this post: 
http://www.preventioninstitute.org/press-sa/strategic-alliance-in-the-news/829-qlightly-salted-how-to-decode-food-packagingq-31412.html