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Food labels
Foodlabelscarryusefulinformationtohelpyoumakechoicesaboutfood.Thefoodlabelwilltell youifthefoodcontainsanadditivethatyoumaywanttoavoid.Thenutritioninformationpanel helpsyoutocomparethenutrientprofileofsimilarproductsandchoosetheonethatsuitsyour needs.

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Difference between use-by and best before

Foodswithashelflifeoflessthantwoyearsmusthaveabestbeforeoruse-bydate.These termsmeandifferentthings.Thebestbeforedatereferstothequalityofthefoodfoodstoredin therecommendedwaywillremainofgoodqualityuntilthatdate.Itmaystillbesafetoeatcertain foodsafterthebestbeforedate,buttheymayhavelostqualityandsomenutritionalvalue.By contrast,foodsthatshouldnotbeconsumedafteracertaindateforhealthandsafetyreasons musthaveause-bydateandcannotbesoldafterthatdate.Youwillfinduse-bydateson perishablessuchasmeat,fishanddairyproducts. Somefoodscarrythedatetheyweremanufacturedorpacked,ratherthanause-bydate,soyou cantellhowfreshthefoodis.Forexample,breadandmeatcanbelabelledwithabakedonor packedondate.Youshould: Checktheuse-byorbestbeforedatewhenyoubuyfood. Keepaneyeontheuse-byorbestbeforedatesonthefoodinyourcupboards.Donteat anyfoodthatispastitsuse-bydate,evenifitlooksandsmellsokay.

The food label list of ingredients

Allingredientsmustbelistedindescendingorderbyweight,includingaddedwater.So: Theingredientlistedfirstispresentinthelargestamount. Theingredientlistedlastispresentintheleastamount.

Ifaningredientmakesuplessthanfivepercentofthefood,itdoesnothavetobelisted.Where thereareverysmallamountsofmulti-componentingredients(lessthanfivepercent),itis permittedtolistcompositeingredientsonly:forexample,itmaysaychocolate(ratherthan cocoa,cocoabutterandsugar)inachocchipicecream.Thisdoesnotapplytoanyadditiveor allergenthesemustbelistednomatterhowsmalltheamount.

If its called a meat pie, it must contain meat

Thecharacterisingingredientsareusuallymentionedinthenameoftheproductorhighlightedon thelabel. Acharacterisingingredientisthemainingredientyouwouldexpecttofindinthefood. Forexample,thecharacterisingingredientinameatpieismeatandthefoodlabelmuststatethe percentageofmeatinthepie.

Food additives
AllfoodadditivesmusthaveaspecificuseandtheymustbeassessedandapprovedbyFood StandardsAustraliaNewZealand(FSANZ).Theymustbeusedinthelowestpossiblequantitythat willachievetheirpurpose.Foodadditivesaregivenintheingredientlistaccordingtotheirclass, whichisfollowedbyachemicalnameornumber.Forexample: Colour(tartrazine) Colour(102)

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Preservative(200) Emulsifier(lecithin).

Thesamefoodadditivenumberingsystemisusedthroughouttheworld.Vitaminsandmineralsare alsolistedunderfoodadditives.

The nutrition information panel

Thenutritioninformationpanel(NIP)tellsyouthequantityofvariousnutrientsafoodcontainsper serve,aswellasper100gor100ml.Itsbesttousetheper100gor100mltocomparesimilar products,becausethesizeofoneservingmaydifferbetweenmanufacturers. UnderlabellinglawsintroducedinAustraliain2003,virtuallyallmanufacturedfoodsmustcarryan NIP.Thereareexceptionstothelabellingrequirements,suchas: Verysmallpackagesandfoodslikeherbs,spices,salt,teaandcoffee Singleingredientfoodssuchasfreshfruitandvegetables,waterandvinegar Foodsoldatfundraisingevents Foodsoldunpackaged(ifanutritionclaimisnotmade) Foodmadeandpackagedatthepointofsale.

The nutrients listed in the NIP

TheNIPprovidesinformationonsevennutrients:energy(kilojoules),protein,totalfat,saturated fat,totalcarbohydrates,sugarsandsodium.Cholesterolcontentdoesnothavetobelistedunless aclaimismade. ListingsaturatedfatontheNIPhelpsconsumersdecidewhetherafoodproductmayaffecttheir bloodcholesterollevels.Saturatedfathasamoresignificanteffectonbloodcholesterollevelsthan mono-orpolyunsaturatedfats.Itisgenerallypresentinhigheramountsinanimal-basedproducts, butcanalsobefoundinnonanimal-basedfoods,suchascommercialbiscuitsandcakes(which containhydrogenatedvegetableoiloftenlistedasvegetablefatorshortening).

Listing nutrients
Othernutrientssuchasfibre,potassium,calciumandironmaybelistedifaclaimismadeonthe label.Thenutrientsaredisplayedinastandardformat,providingamountperserveandper100g (or100mlifliquid). Thefollowingarelargeamountsper100g: 30gofsugars 20goffat 3goffibre 600mgofsodium.

Thefollowingaresmallamountsper100g: 2gofsugars 3goffat 0.5goffibre 20mgsodium.

Nutrition claims on labels

Dontbemisledbylabellingtricksandtraps.Thetermsusedareoftenmisleading.Forexample: Thetermlightorlitedoesntnecessarilymeanthattheproductislowinfatorenergy. Thetermlightmayrefertothetexture,colourortasteoftheproduct.Thecharacteristic thatmakesthefoodlightmustbestatedonthelabel.

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Theclaimsnocholesterol,lowcholesterolorcholesterolfreeonfoodsderivedfrom plants,likemargarineandoil,aremeaninglessbecauseallplantfoodscontainvirtuallyno cholesterol.However,somecanbehighinfatandcancontributetoweightgainifusedtoo generously. Ifanitemclaimstobe93percentfatfree,itactuallycontains7percentfat,butitlooks somuchbettertheotherway. Bakednotfriedsoundshealthier,butitmaystillhavejustasmuchfatcheckthe nutritioninformationpaneltobesure. Freshasactuallymeanstheproducthasntbeenpreservedbyfreezing,canning,hightemperatureorchemicaltreatment.However,itmayhavebeenrefrigeratedandspent timeinprocessingandtransport.

Nutrition claims must meet the guidelines

Foramanufacturertomakevariousclaims,theirproductsmustmeetthefollowingguidelines: No added sugarproductsmustnotcontainaddedsugar,butmaycontainnatural sugars. Reduced fat or saltshouldbeatleasta25percentreductionfromtheoriginalproduct. Low fat mustcontainlessthan3percentfatforsolidfoods(1.5percentforliquid foods). Fat free mustbelessthan0.15percentfat. Percentage of fat remember80percentfatfreeisthesameas20percentfat,which isalargeamount.

Avoiding fats, sugars or salt requires careful checking

Theingredientlistwillspecifythecontentsofaproduct.However,ifyouaretryingtoavoidfat, sugarorsalt,theymaybeaddedinmanyformsandscatteredallovertheingredientslist.For example,ingredientsthatcontainfatinclude: Beeffat Butter Shortening Coconut Coconutoilorpalmoil Copha Cream Dripping Lard Mayonnaise Sourcream Vegetableoilsandfats Hydrogenatedoils Full-creammilkpowder Egg(cholesterol) Mono-,di-ortriglycerides.

Ovenfriedandbakedortoastedimpliestheinclusionoffat. Ingredientsthatcontainsugar include: Brownsugar Cornsyrup Dextrose Disaccharides Fructose Glucose Goldensyrup Honey Lactose Malt Maltose

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Mannitol Maplesyrup Molasses Monosaccharides Rawsugar Sorbitol Sucrose Xylitol.

Ingredientsthatcontainsalt(sodium)include: Bakingpowder Booster Celerysalt Garlicsalt Sodium Meatoryeastextract Onionsalt Monosodiumglutamate(msg) Rocksalt Seasalt Sodiumbicarbonate Sodiummetabisulphate Sodiumnitrate/nitriteandstockcubes.

Allergy sufferers
Foodlabelscanhelppeoplewithallergiesorintolerancestofoods.Commonfoodsthatmaycause allergiesinclude:peanuts,othernuts,seafood,fish,milk,gluten,eggs,soybeans.Themainfoods oringredientsthatmaycausesevereadversereactionsmustbedeclaredonthelabelnomatter howsmalltheamount. Theremustalsobeinformationtoalertpeoplewhomaybeunawareofapossiblehealthriskfrom someingredients:forexampleaspartame,quinine,caffeine,guarana,royaljelly,unpasteurised milkoregg.

Country of origin
ProductofAustraliameansthatsignificantingredientsmustcomefromAustraliaandmostofthe processingshouldhappenheretoo.AMadeinAustraliastatementmayonlymeanthatthefood wassubstantiallytransformedhereandthatacertainproportionoftheproductioncostswere incurredhere.Thesedefinitionsarecurrentlyunderreview.

Where to get help

Yourdoctor Aregisterednutritionistorregisteredpublichealthnutritionist DietitiansAssociationofAustraliaTel.(02)61635200 FoodStandardsAustraliaNewZealand(FSANZ)Tel.(02)62712222

Things to remember

Bestbeforedatesindicatehowlongfoodwillremainofgoodqualityfoodisstillsafeto eatafterthisdate. Donoteatfoodaftertheuse-bydate,becauseitmaybeunsafetoeat. Youcanusethenutritioninformationpaneltocomparesimilarproducts.

This page has been produced in consultation with, and approved by:

DeakinUniversity-SchoolofExerciseandNutritionSciences

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Contentonthiswebsiteisprovidedforeducationandinformationpurposesonly.Information aboutatherapy,service,productortreatmentdoesnotimplyendorsementandisnotintendedto replaceadvicefromyourdoctororotherregisteredhealthprofessional.Contenthasbeen preparedforVictorianresidentsandwiderAustralianaudiences,andwasaccurateatthetimeof publication.Readersshouldnotethat,overtime,currencyandcompletenessoftheinformation maychange.Allusersareurgedtoalwaysseekadvicefromaregisteredhealthcareprofessional fordiagnosisandanswerstotheirmedicalquestions. Forthelatestupdatesandmoreinformation,visitwww.betterhealth.vic.gov.au Copyight 1999/2012StateofVictoria.ReproducedfromtheBetterHealthChannel (www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au)atnocostwithpermissionoftheVictorianMinisterforHealth. Unauthorisedreproductionandotherusescomprisedinthecopyrightareprohibitedwithout permission.

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