Labels are a guarantee of quality.
The Red Label ensures, for example, that the food (poultry, charcuterie, smoked salmon, etc.) has a set of specific characteristics (production conditions, taste, etc.) which gives it a higher quality than its equivalent on the market. Similarly, the AB label indicates that at least 95% of the product’s ingredients come from organic farming (green manures, absence ofGMO…).
On the other hand, they do not talk about the nutritional quality of the product.
For example, an AB labeled chocolate dessert cream is often just as sweet and oily as a private label one. And a Label Rouge sausage is as rich in fat and salt as any other sausage. This is why it is so important to know how to read and decode food labels.
How to read a food label?
Understanding nutrition labeling helps to better guide our food choices. Start by studying the list of ingredients: all those that go into the composition of the product (additives included) are given in descending order, from the ingredient present in the greatest quantity to that present in the smallest quantity.
Example of a label
The labeling informs us of the energy value as well as the content of protein, lipids, carbohydrates… Some labels also show the fiber, vitamin and mineral content, as well as the percentages of RDA coverage (recommended daily allowances). Be careful, some labels give values per recommended portion (eg: 300 g tray), others only give them for 100 g of product… The energy value is indicated in kilocalories, or cal, or kilojoules or kJ. You can also check on the label the amount of saturated fats and the amount of sugars, which includes classic sugar but also fructose, lactose, glucose, maltose. If you watch your figure, try to prevent diabetes, cholesterol… Know that the mentions “line”, “light” or “low calorie”, among others, have no official value. Only the terms “light in…” and “reduced in…” are regulated and refer to a reference product. Be vigilant and always compare the nutritional values of the product you intend to buy with those of a standard product to check if the relief is conclusive.
