What food labels can tell you
Think of fat as a wall and fatty acids as the bricks that make up the wall. There are two main types of fatty acid: saturated and unsaturated.
Saturated fat, such as butter, is solid at room temperature and is bad for your heart.
Unsaturated fat is liquid at room temperature and better for your heart. There are two types of unsaturated fat: polyunsaturates and monounsaturates. Both of these are regarded as
unlikely to increase your cholesterol.
Trans fat starts off as unsaturated fat. Confusion arises about this fat because it is oil that has been treated with hydrogen at high temperatures, which makes it solid at room temperature, like a saturated fat. It is thought to raise cholesterol. Public awareness of this fat is still low.
The ingredient list on labels is in order of weight. All ingredients must be listed, with the exception of water if it is less than 5 per cent of the total weight.
An accompanying nutritional listing is voluntary, unless the food product advertises
itself on the packaging as healthy.
All E numbers listed on labels have been tested and approved by the EU, which may surprise some consumers. There is negative anecdotal evidence about some of them, but none of them has had its official classification removed by the EU.
When more than 1 per cent of any ingredient is genetically modified, it must be labelled as such.
• Information provided by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland