Healthy eating
How to read a food label
- Published
Most packaged foods carry a label that tells you far more than the brand name. Learning to read three or four parts of it takes a minute and makes it easier to compare products in the shop.
Start with the ingredients list
- Ingredients are listed in order of weight, the largest first. If sugar, oil or salt is near the top, the product contains a lot of it.
- Sugar has many names: sugar, glucose, dextrose, fructose, corn syrup, molasses syrup and others. Several of them in one list add up.
- Check for foods you or your family must avoid, such as milk, egg, peanuts, wheat or shrimp. Allergens are meant to be declared on the label.
Read the nutrition information per 100 g
Comparing products per 100 g (or per 100 ml for drinks) is fairer than per serving, because serving sizes differ between brands.
- Energy (kcal): useful when you compare similar foods.
- Sugars, fat and saturated fat: in everyday foods, the lower one is usually the better choice.
- Salt or sodium: salt is about two and a half times the sodium figure.
- Fibre: in breads, cereals and biscuits, the higher one is usually better.
Dates, storage and claims
- “Use by” is about safety: do not eat the food after this date. “Best before” is about quality.
- Follow the storage instructions once the pack is open.
- Words such as “natural”, “light” or “healthy” on the front of a pack are mostly marketing. The ingredients list and the nutrition table tell you more.
Not every food in Bangladesh carries full nutrition information. When it is missing, the ingredients list and choosing less processed food are still good guides.
This article is general information, not personal advice. If you have a medical condition, are pregnant, or take regular medicine, ask your doctor or a dietitian before making major changes to your diet.
Sources
- Codex Alimentarius. General Standard for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods (CXS 1-1985, revised 2018).
- World Health Organization. Guiding principles and framework manual for front-of-pack labelling for promoting healthy diets, 2019.