Read food labels
Packaging
By law, the label of each food product must indicate a series of mandatory information:
- The sales denomination (pasta, dairy specialties ...) corresponds to the legal name of the product and provides precise information on its nature.
See also
- The list of ingredients lists the components in order of decreasing importance. Additives appear: dyes (E100), preservatives (E200), antioxidants (E300), emulsifiers, stabilizers, thickeners and gelling agents (E400), modified starches, acidifiers, anti-caking agents ...
- The expiration date: “Best before…. " indicates up to which date the product guarantees its properties, but can also be consumed for a short period after the date indicated (pasta and rice); "To be consumed before…”Indicates that the product must be consumed absolutely by that date and no later than (yogurt, milk, fresh cheeses). For some food products (eggs, butter…), the date of manufacture is also mentioned.
- The conditions and storage temperature.
- The net quantity of product.
- The name and address of the manufacturer or, if applicable, of the distributor.
- Instructions for use when the product requires manipulation.
- The barcode 13 digits allows precise identification of the reference.
- The health stamp is a must for animal and animal products.
- Sometimes, an official quality mark (DOC, AB…) o private (elected product of the year...).
Nutritional labeling
It is optional, but we find it more and more often. It contains the energy value in Kcal, the quantities of proteins, lipids and carbohydrates in grams. In particular, information on the nature of carbohydrates (sugar, starch ...) and that of fats (saturated, mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids) tend to be more detailed. More and more often there are also the quantities of fiber (in gr), sodium (in gr), cholesterol (in mg), vitamins and minerals… Some manufacturers also indicate separately the officially recommended quantities, for information.
Additional information
To address the growing concern of consumers about their food, the messages on the labels are multiplying more and more. They often suggest particular qualities related to the nature of the product, its origin, its composition, its nutritional properties or its manufacturing method. These are the allegations, which can be:
> General: fresh (food produced less than 30 days), new (only for 1 year), natural (no transformation of the product), homemade (products prepared in a non-industrial way), pure (only one element), artisanal ...
> Nutritional:
- light or low percentage of ... (at least 25% less than the reference product), fewer calories (50% fewer calories than the normal version), low percentage of calories (less than 150 Kcal per serving), source d "energy (at least 100 Kcal per serving)
- no sugar (no sucrose), no added sugar (no sugar is added to the sugar naturally present in the food product)
- low percentage of lipids (if the level of lipids is lower than 50% compared to that of normal food products), low percentage of fat (not more than 3 grams of fat per serving), fat-free (not more than 0.5 gr of fat per serving), low percentage of saturated fatty acids (no more than 2 gr per serving), cholesterol-free (no more than 3 mg per 100 gr)
- protein source (more than 10 g / 100 g or 5 g / 100 ml or 5% / 100 Kcal), rich in protein (more than 20 g / 100 g or 10 g / 100 ml or 10% / 100 Kcal)
- source of vitamins and / or minerals (if the percentages are higher than 15% of the daily intake / 100 g or 7.5% of the recommended daily intake / 100 ml or 5% of the recommended daily intake / 100 Kcal ); rich in vitamins and / or minerals (without added values); naturally contains vitamins (without added values); naturally rich in vitamins (without added values), enriched with vitamins (the addition per 100 Kcal must cover 15 to 40% of the recommended daily intake), with a guaranteed rate of vitamins or minerals (initial rate increased).
