5 Misleading Nutrition Labels

A consumer survey revealed that the perception of healthfulness is a key driver of food choices. But gauging the health quality of foods can be a daunting challenge—made all the more difficult by misleading nutrition labels.

Let’s examine five common deceptive food labels to watch out for, along with some proven strategies to avoid falling victim to marketing gambits.

Misleading Food Labels: Examples

1. Label says “Made with Whole Grains”

• Implies: 100% of grains used are whole.
• Really means: Recipe often includes only a “pinch” of whole grains, added to many more refined ones. “Made with whole grains” is technically true, but only in a legalistic sense!
• Your countermove: Choose only products labeled “100% whole grains.”
• Variations on a Theme: “Made With Real Fruit” often requires a microscope to find the fruit!

2. Label says “Multi-Grain”

• Implies: More healthful with whole grains.
• Often means: Many refined grains.
• Your countermove: Disregard this label completely.

3. Label says “No Cholesterol”

• Implies: More desirable because it is a special formulation without cholesterol.
• Often means: The food never contained cholesterol in the first place; for example, “no-cholesterol peanut butter.” Cholesterol is only found in animal products. Plant-derived food never has cholesterol.
• Your countermove: Don’t pay extra for plant products with this label.

4. Label says “Natural”

• Implies: No man-made ingredients, organic, non-GMO.
• Often means: Nothing at all. “Natural” is not a claim verified by any oversight body.
• Your countermove: Don’t be fooled. Ignore this claim completely.

5. Label: Sugary junk food does not list sugar as the first ingredient

• Implies: Sugar content is not very high.
• Often means: Food contains many forms of sugar, none of which are in high enough amounts to require it to be listed first on the food label. But cumulatively, the combination of many forms of sugar can still add up to little more than a processed form of rock candy. Various names for sugar include:

Corn syrup solids, crystal dextrose, evaporated cane juice, fructose sweetener, fruit juice concentrates, malt syrup, maple syrup, molasses, concentrated fruit juice, hexitol, inversol, isomalt, maltodextrin, malted barley, nectars, pentose, raisin syrup and, well…you get the picture!

• Your countermove: Don’t fall for this sugar shell game. Check the label carefully for the many aliases of sugar.

Food labels that are misleading are more common than ever—and they’re a clever way that food manufacturers take advantage of catch-words to imply more than they really deliver. Don’t be fooled by misleading food labels. Better yet: work to cut down your purchase of all foods with labels. Most of the healthiest foods don’t have—or need—a label!