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​Understanding UK food labels

Picture
Understanding food labels is really important when you are choosing pre-packaged foods, or drinks. Reading the labels means that you can make a better informed choice about the foods you are buying. This will help you to decide if the produce is a ‘healthier choice’.

Check out the ingredients lists

This will tell you the main ingredients. They are listed in descending order. The main ingredient used in this product is pinto beans which is listed first and makes up 85% of the product. If sugar is listed high on the list you know that the product is going to be high in sugar, or if cream or butter listed as one of the first ingredients this will indicate it is a high fat product.

Ingredients list

Pinto beans, (84%), onion, red pepper, water, salt, cumin, chillies, chilli extract

The nutritional information

This tells you how many calories, and grams of protein, fat, sugar, fibre and sodium are in 100g of the product. Sometimes the label will also list the calorie content per portion.

Nutrition Information (Typical value per 100g)

Energy 91 kcal
Protein 5.2g
Carbohydrate 16.2g (of which are sugar 0.9g)
Fat 0.6g
Fibre 3.9g
Sodium 0.3g

The label for spicy refried beans above shows the sugar content is low at 0.9g per 100g. To check salt content times the sodium figure by 2.5. In this product the salt content is 0.75g. Remember that your ideal salt intake per day should be less than 6g.
​The Food Standards Agency has issued useful guidelines to help you decide if the product is high in fat or sugar.
Nutrient
High
​per 100g
Low
​per 100g
Sugar​
> 15g
< 5g
Fat
> 20g
< 3g
Saturated Fat
> 5g
< 3g
Traffic light labels

Recently many of the large supermarkets have made adopted the traffic light system to help inform consumers about ‘healthier choices’. This traffic light system is on the front of the product which means that consumers can see at a glance the total fat, saturated fat, sugar, salt and calorie content.

Red means high, amber means medium and green means low. The more green lights, the healthier the choice.

If you buy a food that has all or mostly green lights, you know straight away that it’s a healthier choice. An amber light means the product contain moderate amounts of the nutrient, so neither high nor low. A red light means the food is high in fat, salt or sugar, and these are the foods we should be cutting down on. Try to eat these foods only on rare occasions.

For more diet, health, food and fitness information visit www.weightplan.com

Tags: food labels, food standards agency, guidelines, healthy choice, high fat content, ingredients, Nutrition, traffic light system
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  • GYM TRAINING APP
  • Advice
  • Diets
    • Weight Loss Diets
    • Vegetarian Diets
    • Low Calorie Diets
    • Low Carb Diets
    • Low Fat Diets
    • Low Gi Diets
    • Low Sugar Diets
    • Low Sodium Diets
    • Gluten Free Diets
    • Healthy Heart Diets
    • Organic Diets
    • High Protein Diets
    • High Calorie Diets
  • Weight Management
    • Weight Loss
    • Weight Gain - Lean Muscle
    • Good Nutrition
    • Fat Loss & Fat Burning
  • Sports & Gym
    • Benefits of cardio workouts
    • Resistance Training
    • Running for Weight Loss & Fitness
    • Swimming for Weight Loss and Fitness
    • Cycling for Weight Loss & Fitness
    • Personal Trainers and Fitness Instructors
    • Keep a Training Diary
  • Fitness
    • The shape of your life in 90 Days
    • How to Build Lean Muscle
    • The Mesomorph
    • The Ectomorph
    • The Endomorph
    • How workout plans help you achieve your goals
    • Ways to burn more calories
    • How important is stretching?
    • Achieve your best body at 40+
    • Common Exercise Myths
    • Training for Race Running
    • High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
    • How far will you go to achieve your goals?
    • Double your weight loss with a food diary
    • Walk yourself to fitness
    • Can Music Increase Your Motivation?
  • Health
    • Eating a Balanced Diet
    • Healthy Heart Tips
    • Healthy Food & Drink Substitutes – Part 1
    • Healthy Food and Drinks Substitutes – Part 2
    • Keeping a Positive Mental Attitude
    • Eat this, and not that
    • Energy Boosting Foods
    • Alcohol consumption and fitness facts
    • Are you eating enough fibre?
    • How your mood affects healthy eating habits
    • Vitamins & supplements
    • Fish oil facts
    • Staying healthy during the Festive Season
    • Should we exercise through coughs and colds?
    • What are antioxidants?
    • Managing Cholesterol
    • Tips to help you stop smoking
    • How to boost your metabolism
    • Chase your winter blues away
  • Nutrition
    • Eating for muscle gain
    • What foods provide muscle fuel?
    • Muscle Building Supplements
    • Can you transform your body without good nutrition?
    • Recovery Nutrition
    • Can sports drinks improve your performance?
    • What are super foods?
    • The worst drinks when dieting
    • Best and Worst Foods
    • Healthy Snack Foods
    • Healthy eating in your lunch hour
    • Get a Boost with Breakfast
    • Locally Produced Foods
    • Dining Out Healthily
    • The Importance of Water
    • Eating Organic
    • UK Food Labels
    • UK Seasonal Foods
    • UK Portion sizes
    • UK Men vs. Women Nutritional Needs
    • USA Food labels
    • USA Portion sizes
    • USA Men vs. Women Nutritional Needs
  • Support
    • FAQ - ALL
    • FAQ - GymTraining App
    • FAQ - Membership
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  • Contact Us