Darn misleading labels!
By Buttercup11
@Buttercup11 (274)
Canada
June 25, 2008 12:42am CST
So today I was in Safeway with a friend and sorta on impulse pick up a package of Raspberry Fig Newtons for my kids, cause I was out of snacky things at home and didn't think that I would have time to make anything tonight. The cookies are that new brand of theirs - the Eating Right stuff. It's 0g fat and reccomended by Canada's Heart and Stroke foundation. Sounds good, right? WRONG! If you think that something being low in fat is the be-all and end-all of making healthy choices, you probably aren't even reading this right now! I just looked at the ingredients and right at the top is sugar. What follows is a list of who-knows-what and preservatives including sulfites. I'm so mad. I'm mad at companies who advertise that they're healthy when in fact those things aren't always in our best interests. And I'm mad at myself for falling for it and not taking the time to look at the label like I normally would have.
Have you had a bad experience with labels and forgetting to read them? How carefully do you read labels in the store before you buy?
1 person likes this
2 responses
@vicneedscoffee (1259)
• United States
25 Jun 08
I worked in a food factory for ten years so I know what to look for. Labels can be very misleading. Something may be low fat but full of calories. Other things may be low calorie and filled with salt or other things. Some people may use those labels for certain dietary needs. For instance a diabetic may look for sugar free or someone with high cholesterol may look for low cholesterol labels. That is why they get away with it.
I won't eat anything that says low fat or fat free. These things are filled with starches and other junk. You would be amazed at what we put into our food. It is much healthier to eat the real deal and just cut back. When you buy something that says artificial sweetener it should set off an alarm. It says it's artificial. That says it all.
@Buttercup11 (274)
• Canada
25 Jun 08
Oh, I'm starting to get a picture. My family is trying to eat more healthy, natural products. If I look at a label and I have no idea what it was for, I figure that I probably don't want it. If I wouldn`t put it in my homemade version, I don`t want it in the store-bought one, either. That may not be realistic, though, so I just try to make stuff at home as often as I can. Like onion soup mix - we use that in a dinner we make. All you need is onion and some beef broth! Huh-looooo people. The more you read labels even on things like stir-fry sauces the more you go, `Huhn. Three common ingredients I already have at home and a whole whack of I-don`t-know-what`s. But it`s like we as a people have been conditioned to think that we can`t make this stuff ourselves and that we have to purchase it pre-made.
@fwidman (11514)
• United States
25 Jun 08
I try never to read the labels because then I probably wouldn't want to eat anything at all. There are too many strange things they put into food that nobody knows what they really are. I've survived to my late fifties without knowing for sure all the things I've put into my system, I think I'll stay that way :)
