Food Labeling :: essays research papers

IntroductionThere once was a time where words like "light" and "low-fat" on regimen packages that had no nutritional meaning. As a result, shoppers were often led to believe they were buying products that were more helpful than they really were. Nutrition panels on mark offs were also confusing and hard to read. But the Australia New Zealand sureness (ANZFA) changed all that. In March 2001 the ANZFA defined new standardized terms that appear on food labels such as "low-fat", "reduced" and "lean" to influence how food manufacturers could put their facts that are relevant to most of our dietary needs. This meaning that food labeling helps consumers to win the best possible food choice.What is a food label? What is on a food label?A food label is a source of advertising a food product. Manufacturers try their best to gather in their product food label as attractive as possible, by using bright colours, bold text, food claims, and a lot of i nformation. Too much(prenominal) information on a food label might have caused a lot of painful headaches for consumers but its all worth it, due to numerous health and nutrition problems. By law, manufacturers must abide by the standard code terms of what is put on their food label. By this, a food label must have no false claims or information, be in English and legible and easy to see. Also must contain a barcode, name of food, list of ingredients in descending order of weight, net weight, any additives in the food, country of origin, use of imported ingredients, name and address of manufacturer, date home run and nutrition panel if any claims are made.Food and Health claimsFood claims seemed to be marketing for a manufacturer, but now it is a warning to a consumers health. Some examples of claims are "low-fat", "lite", "light", "reduced", "%fat free" and "No added". The food industry is very keen to make health claims on food la bels, and the ANZFA has considered lifting the ban that stops them from doing so. Many disagreeable claims are made regarding the ability of nutrients to prevent certain diseases. Food manufacturers are now only allowed to make the following well-established claims concerning relationships between diet and disease Calcium and a reduced risk of osteoporosis. Fat and change magnitude risk of cancer. Saturated fat and cholesterol and an increased risk of heart disease. Fiber and a reduced risk of cancer.