Food Labelling | Myfoodblog

The Fact about Food Labels

Last week my foods class and I went to Save On Foods and took part in a mini scavenger hunt for specific food labels such as “vegan”, “gluten-free” and “nut free”. One of the most difficult and seemingly impossible challenges was to look for an item that had a serving portion with exactly 375 calories. My group and I raced through all the frozen meal items, desserts, chips and junk food but we strangely we couldn’t find any labels on the dot. However, we did find some cupcakes with 370cal (each wow!!) and frozen meals around 380cal. It was interesting to observe and compare what various food brands advertised on their packaging. I’d have to say brands like Rxbar and Larabar stood out to me (their short and simple ingredient lists and packaging really did the trick!) I was also reminded of an important lesson on this trip: Don’t grocery shop on an empty stomach... ;)

Here's a great example of a company voluntarily advertising their ingredient list.

The main ingredients of a product are listed in order, so check to make sure you’re getting what you expect (ie: if sugar is the first ingredient you might want to consider an alternative)
Try to avoid foods that are labelled as “hydrogenated” because they contain trans fat. Ie: many premade goods, margarine, packaged snacks.
Don’t be fooled by labels that say “made in Canada”. If a food is a “Product of Canada” 98% of the ingredients must originate and process in Canada, however, if it says “Made in Canada” only the processing is required to be in Canada.
Some claims can be misleading, so go straight to the ingredient list and nutrition table to double check and confirm their advertising. Ie: “Made with real fruit” doesn’t mean that they don’t add any other artificial flavours.
If you’ve purchased foods with “best before” or “bb” dates that have just passed, they are still safe to eat. This date demonstrates the company's guarantee of the product still tasting fresh.

Check out these tips I learned from the Government of Canada:

A typical description of food items and the allergens in the product.

How are we protected?

Health Canada requires companies to label GMO foods that are a threat to our safety and health. Note that it is not mandatory for them to list other GMO foods if they are not shown to be dangerous.
The CFIA ensures that companies list common food allergens in their products as well as allergens that cross contaminate.
Furthermore, the CFIA reviews and conducts food recalls on products that don’t list all their ingredients. You can subscribe to them and ensure that you aren’t eating any of their recalled foods.
The government and food industry combat food fraud by verifying ingredients in products, getting their products from reliable distributors, etc… As consumers it is also our responsibility to report possible food fraud cases. We can check food labels for accurate advertising, look at prices, share our awareness of and contact companies and manufacturers if we encounter inaccurate advertising or claims.

Here are some awesome ethical labels to look out for.

So what’s our role in all of this?

We should stay educated on what kinds of food we are consuming as well as the process it took to reach us. Hence, many foods that are cheap and easy to access support unsustainable, unethical practices. Some good labels to look for are fair trade, vegan, organic, or natural

Conclusion

By taking the time to learn more about food labels, I also learned about oral allergy syndrome, a case when an individual will experience an allergic reaction due to certain proteins in fruits, vegetables and nuts. And though I've never been formally diagnosed with this condition (nor do I encourage anyone to diagnose themselves) this is strikingly similar to my personal experiences with my allergies. I would encourage you to check out their article on it and the rest of the web page to learn more!