Reading Product Labels

[flyinglentris]

Today, there are laws that food products must have labels which list ingredients, fats and calories.

How many members actually bother to read those labels when reaching for products that they have never tried before?

My last grocery trip caught me by surprise, because I do not read labels. I just assume that I am getting what I believe I am paying for.

Surprise. Surprise. My toffee ice cream turned out not to be ice cream, but a dairy dessert using vegetable oil. My naranja agria turned out to be fructose corn syrup mixed with a list of what can only be described as chemicals, having no orange or orange juice components at all. And I had thought that I was lucky enough to find these products at all. The pitfalls of products one has never tried are written on the labels and I for one, have got to take time to read those labels. That naranja agria product I purchased was disgusting when I read the label. What an embarrassment for me to publicly claim in these forums to be lucky to find that garbage product.

 

[flyinglentris]

Note that product labels can be read on the web. Google for product brand and name ingredients.

 

[karadekoolaid]

Hey, don´t beat yourself up! It happens to us all, I´m sure.I generally read the labels because I´ve been caught out too many times. I once bought some coconut milk for a Thai Curry dish, only to discover to my dismay that it was sweet.
There´s a particular chemical that´s often used to "preserve" canned or bottled foods; it´s called sodium benzoate. for some reason or another, I can always detect this and I dislike it intensely - so I look at the label first.

 

[TastyReuben]

Don't get too upset with it. It happens to most of us.

I usually read a label when getting something that's new to me, and if it's something I'm going to get again and again, I'll figure out the one that works for me, and I stick with it.

I've also used an app on my phone called Fooducate that lets me scan a product and it gives me a nutrition-based letter grade for the product, gives a short summary of what's right and/or wrong with the product, and suggests healthier alternatives.

As to the ice cream/dairy dessert/frozen yogurt, that's a common one. Just be aware and read the front. At least the grocery stores seem to shelve them together, with all the yogurt stuff over here, the dairy dessert over there, and all the actual ice cream in the middle.

I don't really eat ice cream, but MrsT does, and I made that mistake. Once.

 

[garlichead]

Yeah, it happens. I always read labels. It's just a habit I've developed because I'm a nutrition nerd.

 

[caseydog]

Yes, I read labels on new-to-me items. For one thing, I have to check sodium, and you would be amazed at how much sodium is in packaged foods, even ones you would never expect.

Even if I look at buying a different brand of the same thing, I look at the label. I sometimes find that one brand has twice as many ingredients as another, and not usually for the better.

CD

 

[Timenspace]

Happens to me from time to time, but I am getting better at paying attention. I do check expiry dates, and read labels. Mostly for carbs and sugars.
Because I have to be more careful of my food intake nowadays.

 

[Yorky]

I don't believe that it's a legal requirement here to list the contents of the container. If the item is imported and the contents are listed it is likely that there will be an added label with other information (written in Thai script) stuck over the top!

 

[Morning Glory]

I always read labels. I want to know what I'm eating and never buy anything with artificial flavouring, colouring or MSG. Sometimes I read labels to learn. If something tastes particularly interesting I try to work out why, so I can use the idea (combination of ingredients) myself.

 

[TastyReuben]

I don't believe that it's a legal requirement here to list the contents of the container. If the item is imported and the contents are listed it is likely that there will be an added label with other information (written in Thai script) stuck over the top!

That happens here, too. I buy a lot of UK/European stuff, and about half the time, there will be an American-style nutrition label slapped over the original nutrition label.

One thing manufacturers don't have to do is list individual spices in the ingredients, and that can make playing taste detective a little more interesting.