Hidden Tricks Food Companies Use in Labeling: Deceptive Ingredients and Serving Sizes

Are you aware that food companies have a few tricks they use to mislead consumers through creative labeling?

Deceptive Serving Sizes

One of the easiest tricks is the manipulation of serving sizes. For example, the jar of dry roasted peanuts I purchased has a serving size of 1/3 of a cup or 50 grams, which amounts to approximately 13 servings in one jar. However, I finished the entire jar in just a week, indicating that I ate more than twice the amount listed. Following the serving size recommendation can sometimes result in a much smaller portion than what the average person would typically consume.

Creative Ingredient Labeling

Another sneaky strategy involves redefining terms to avoid consumer backlash. Take MSG (monosodium glutamate), a flavor enhancer, for instance. While it's well-known that MSG can cause adverse reactions, food manufacturers have stopped using this term and now prefer "hydrolyzed plant protein," which is semantically similar but less alarming.

Similarly, health-conscious consumers avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) due to perceptions about its harmful effects compared to regular sugar. HFCS indeed contains varying amounts of fructose, but the difference is often negligible. To avoid alarming consumers, companies now use terms such as "glucose / fructose" as the sweetener or even label some ingredients as "modified starch," which might be similar to HFCS but uses different starches like wheat starch instead of corn.

Misleading Natural Flavor Claims

The term "natural flavor" is another area where food companies can be misleading. While it sounds wholesome, it doesn't necessarily mean the flavoring is derived from a natural source related to the product. The term is broad and can include synthetic flavorings. A prime example is orange juice. You might think that freshly squeezed orange juice is perfectly natural, but the reality is quite different. Orange juice is typically stored in large stainless steel tanks after being squeezed from winter-ripened oranges, with the air removed to prevent spoilage. The flavor, however, is not as potent, so a "flavor pack" is added to recreate the original taste. This flavor pack contains real orange oil but has been modified, including additives like ethyl butyrate, to enhance the natural taste.

Sugar-Free Claims Under scrutiny

Another common tactic involves labeling sugar-free items. A mint like Tic-Tacs can still have a high sugar content because the amount per unit is below the threshold for classifying it as containing sugar. Similarly, commercial peanut butter that is blended with margarine (hydrogenated vegetable oil) to prevent oil separation can claim to have no trans-fats since it contains less than 1 per serving of trans-fats. The serving size typically touted by manufacturers is a small one, such as a tablespoon or 15 grams, meaning the actual amount of trans-fats might be minimal.

Conclusion

Food labels can be deceptively complex, and understanding what the terms mean is crucial for making informed choices. Consumers must be aware of the subtle tricks used by food companies to mislead and ensure that they are not unintentionally contributing to unhealthy lifestyles. By questioning the labels and being well-informed, consumers can make better decisions about their dietary habits.