Decoding Food Labels

By Alexa Marks, RD, CDN

Have you ever walked the aisles of the grocery store and felt nothing but confusion? You’ve likely seen terms like ‘sell by,’ ‘best if used by,’ ‘low fat,’ ‘fat-free,' ‘zero trans-fat,' ‘good source of,' etc. These terms are intended to make understanding food labels even easier but sometimes, it just becomes more confusing.

I’m here to help!

Nutrition Labels:

In 2016, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandated all food manufacturers implement important changes to the Nutrition Facts label for all packaged food products. These changes reflect updated scientific information and new nutrition research and are intended to make it easier for consumers to make better-informed food choices. While the requirements for when manufacturers had to implement these changes varied, most food packages in stores now include this updated label.

Nutrition labels are simple to understand if you know what you’re looking for. Check out this helpful guide from the American Heart Association for an in-depth review of each of the five sections of the Nutrition Facts label.

Now that you have a better handle on the label let’s start decoding!

Allergens:

Milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soybean are the top eight allergens listed on food labels today (2022). It’s important to note that as of January 1, 2023, ‘sesame’ will also be added to this list. If a food product includes one of these eight allergens, the food label must declare it by naming the food source of a major food allergen on the label immediately after or next to the list of ingredients in a ‘contains’ statement.

Packaging Dates:

20% of American food waste is a result of package confusion! It’s important to note that FDA only regulates expiration dates for infant formula. Here’s what you need to know about everything else:

• ‘Sell by’: this is the last date a seller can display the product for sale. This is not a result of food safety but for inventory management.
• ‘Use By’ or ‘Best if used by’: this is the date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality, flavor and/or freshness. While this is important for highly perishable foods, it doesn’t guarantee the food will spoil by this date (or even before!)
• Any food that smells bad looks odd, or has visible signs of mold should be thrown out immediately.

More Labels: