When choosing among the hundreds of products on supermarket shelves, many of us use labels as a guide, selecting an “all-natural” cereal over one that’s not, or the mouthwash that promises to remove plaque and promote healthy gums — perhaps even saving us a trip to the dentist — over one that merely freshens breath. Unfortunately, many of these labels exaggerate health benefits or are downright deceptive. Here’s a guide to deciphering commonly used terms.
*Supports immune system or for brain development: These are medical claims that the FDA says put a product into the category of “drug” rather than food or supplement. If something is a drug, it must go through a rigorous FDA approval process with clinical studies monitored by the agency.
Last year, the FDA asked Kellogg’s to remove “now helps support your child’s immunity” from the labels of Rice Krispies and Cocoa Krispies, a statement added at the height of the swine flu pandemic. Be wary of any product you can buy without a prescription that promises to fix or prevent a medical problem, says Bruce Silverglade, director of legal affairs at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit advocacy group for nutrition, health, and food safety.
*Good source of vitamins: Any product can carry a vitamin claim if it contains a certain amount of fortification. “Excellent source” means a product has more than 20 percent of the recommended daily allowance of that vitamin; “good source” means it has more than 10 percent but less than 20 percent; and “fortified” means it has at least 10 percent, according to the FDA. But don’t mistake “fortification” for “nutritious.” Products that are fortified, nutrition experts agree, are usually missing hundreds of other health-promoting nutrients found naturally in fruits, vegetables and other unprocessed plant foods.
*Zero trans fats: This doesn’t mean a product is completely free of trans fatty acids, a type of fat known to be the worst kind for your heart. It just means that a product can’t contain more than half a gram of trans fats per serving.
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*All-natural: This is supposed to mean that a product contains no artificial ingredients and is minimally processed, but that’s not always the case. Products with the “all-natural” label that contain meat or poultry are legally required to meet this definition, says Silverglade, because they’re regulated by the Department of Agriculture. All other foods are regulated by the FDA, which allows manufacturers to define “all-natural” however they see fit, he adds.
*Organic: Because the government has established a single legal definition for “organic” that applies to all food products, this is a “trustworthy” label, says Silverglade. It means a product can’t be manufactured from synthetic ingredients that involved the use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, animal drugs or genetic engineering. The methods used to produce the product must minimize pollution from air, soil and water, and generally be environmentally safe. But that doesn’t mean that an organic cookie is more nutritious than a nonorganic one.
*Light: To use the “light” label, the FDA says a product must have at least 50 percent fewer calories or one-third less fat than similar products on the market. But light versions of some products, like orange or apple juice, might simply be watered down versions of the original that have been loaded with artificial sweeteners to improve taste. While reduced-fat peanut butter does indeed have less fat, it often contains the same number of calories as the regular kind due to added sugar.
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