Nearly half of all shoppers never look at food labels

NEARLY HALF of all consumers routinely ignore nutritional labels on pre-packed food when making purchases, a survey has revealed.

The primary reason cited for not reading the information is lack of interest, the study for the Nutrition and Health Foundation (NHF) found.

Nutritional labels on pre-packaged food carry information about the amount of calories and key nutrients, such as fat, carbohydrates, sugar and vitamins, in the food.

The survey of 536 consumers in supermarkets across the State, conducted by the Irish Nutrition Dietetic Institute, found that 45 per cent of people never read labels detailing the nutritional content of the food they buy.

Only 20 per cent of people said they always read labels, while 33 per cent said they sometimes do.

Among men, 60.6 per cent say they never read labels, 24.1 per cent sometimes do and only 11.7 per cent always check them.

Women are more likely to be nutritionally aware, with 39.8 per cent never reading labels, 36.6 per cent sometimes reading them and 22.8 per cent always doing so.

Older people were less label-conscious, with 52 per cent of the over-50s reporting that they never read labels compared with 37.3 per cent of 18-35 year olds.

Lack of interest (43.1 per cent) and time pressures (18.3 per cent) were the main reasons given for not reading labels.

The small size of the print used on packaging was also cited as a factor, particularly among the over-65s.

The survey found consumer understanding of the information on the labels was poor, with only 32 per cent of shoppers aware that salt and sodium are not the same and just 10 per cent understanding the difference between energy and calories.

In addition, consumers often confused the term “nutritional label” with the list of ingredients or best-before date.

NHF manager Dr Muireann Cullen said a healthy diet could dramatically reduce the risk of heart disease, strokes, various types of cancer and obesity. “The importance of knowing what you are eating cannot be stressed highly enough,” she said.

She advised consumers to learn to read nutritional labels rather than simply buying the first product they see.

Many foods also list the Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA) in a product, which show what proportion of the recommended amount of various nutrients such as fat, salt, sugar and calories is contained in the food.

These figures help people to choose a mix of foods that are suited to their individual needs and are useful when comparing products.

According to the survey results, 88 per cent of consumers found GDA information useful in making informed choices and three-quarters found GDA information easy to understand.

The survey concluded that education in the use of nutritional labels and terms is required to help consumers choose healthier food.

Men, older people and those with lower levels of education need to be targeted. It also said the issue of small print on labels should be addressed.

The foundation recommends that people occasionally count up all the calories they eat in a day. This is done by adding up the calories per serving listed on the nutritional labels for all the foods that are consumed over 24 hours.

The NHF, which was established in 2005, is a partnership between the Government, the food industry, food scientists and health professionals.

Its function is to provide consumers with evidence-based information about diet and physical activity to help promote healthy lifestyles.

What is in your food?

Shoppers are advised to pay attention to the serving size and number of servings per container, which the NHF says are often overlooked.

Consumers are advised to check carefully nutritional information on foods that are labelled as sugar-free or fat-free. If a food is low in fat or sugar, it does not necessarily follow that it will be low in calories.

Most such foods still provide a lot of calories from carbohydrates and proteins.

When checking whether a food is high or low in a particular nutrient, or when comparing the nutrient content of similar foods, the GDA will show the nutrient content per 100g or 100ml.

Not all fat is bad. The body needs a certain amount of fats or oils for good health because they contain soluble vitamins and nutritionally essential fatty acids.

Saturated fats contain cholesterol and should be reduced, whereas monounsaturated fats, such as those found in olive oil and peanut oil, may protect against heart disease because they replace saturated fats in the diet.

Polyunsaturated fats, such as Omega-6 (found in vegetables) and Omega-3 (found in oily fish) are important for a balanced diet.

The average adult is advised to limit their salt intake to less than six grams a day.

If a product’s sodium content is listed rather than its salt content, the way to calculate how much salt this equates to is to multiply it by 2.5. For example, a food containing 0.4g of sodium per 100g actually contains 1g of salt per 100g.