Food Labelling

One of the factors that influence consumers’ decisions to keep or discard food is the date or label marking on food packaging. There is a common misconception that the “best before” and “use-by” dates on food products mean the same thing; date labeling confusion accounts for an estimated 20% of consumer food waste. Understanding the distinction between these two terms will assist you in reducing food waste: food is sometimes safe to eat after the “best before” date, whereas the “use-by” date informs you when it is no longer safe to eat.

According to the researchers, product food labeling, which includes standardized provision of nutrition or health information and other health-related claims, icons, symbols, and logos reduced calorie consumption by 6.6%, total fat consumption by 10.6%, and other unhealthy food options by 13%. According to researchers, labeling increased consumers’ vegetable consumption by 13.5%.

Around the world, efforts are being made to improve and expand food labels. These can be as simple as traffic light symbols or as complex as black-box warning labels.

CARBON FOOTPRINT LABELS

With environmental sustainability becoming more important, a growing number of businesses are taking a new step toward greater transparency about their environmental impact: they are adding carbon footprint labels to their products. Such labels are appearing in a variety of industries, but one that has received the most attention is the food industry. 

Carbon footprint labels, as the name implies, indicate the amount of carbon dioxide emitted during the manufacturing, transportation, and disposal of a given product. In some cases, the labels reflect emissions from the point of raw material production to the point of retail; in others, they reflect emissions from the point of raw material production to the point of final disposal.

The labels typically serve a dual purpose: they assist businesses in identifying their own environmental impact, allowing them to reduce it in theory, and they also empower customers to make more environmentally friendly choices.

LABELING POSITIONS ON FOOD PACKAGING

1. Front of the package labeling: Most front of pack labels display the amount of energy (kilocalories), sugar, salt, fat, and saturated fat per serving of the product. The amounts are coloured green, amber, or red, just like traffic lights. Green indicates that the product is low in the nutrients mentioned, amber indicates a medium amount, and red indicates a high amount. The percentage denotes the percentage of the recommended daily intake obtained by consuming a portion of this product.
2. Back of the package labeling: Every product’s back of pack contains a wealth of information. The following are some significant discoveries:

• Ingredients list- This must include a list of everything in the product. Ingredients should be listed in order of quantity, with the most abundant ingredient listed first and the least abundant ingredient listed last.
• Allergens- In the ingredients list, allergens are highlighted in bold. There could be an additional allergen statement, such as “made in an environment where nuts are used” or “may contain traces of X.”
• Suitable for- A statement such as “suitable for vegetarians” or “not suitable for vegans” or “not suitable for infants under 12 months” may appear.
• Storage instructions- The storage instructions, particularly if they differ depending on whether the product is purchased or opened. Take special note of how long it should be stored.
• Cooking or heating instructions- Check these to ensure that you are heating the product sufficiently. The guidelines will be based on laboratory testing, so adhering to them will ensure that the correct temperature is reached, and the product is as it should be.

IMPORTANCE OF FOOD LABELING

1. Maintain your health – Labels assist you in understanding the composition of your food: its vitamins, minerals, calories, fats, and so on. This information is critical in ensuring that you are eating foods that are good for you. You can use labels to track your micronutrient intake and avoid deficiencies, especially common ones like iron and Vitamin D. You can keep track of your weight by counting calories and saturated fats, limiting your intake of sugar and salt, and eating a well-balanced diet.
2. Prevents you from purchasing counterfeit products – One of the primary goals of food labeling is to prevent fraud. Without internationally guaranteed labels, food sellers could purposefully mislead consumers by misrepresenting themselves on packaging. 
3. Maintain your safety – More than 600 million people become ill and 420 000 die each year as a result of eating food contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites, toxins, and chemicals. Labels provide important information about how to use a product (for example, storage and cooking instructions), which is required to keep food safe.
4. Identify ingredients that may cause adverse reactions – Food allergies affect 10-25 percent of the population in developed countries. Peanuts, soybeans, milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans, wheat, and tree nuts are the most common allergenic foods. If you don’t know what’s in a product, you might eat something that triggers an allergic reaction, some of which are severe.
5. Stop food waste – Food labels can help you avoid wasting good food. Date marking on food labels indicates how long a product is safe to eat. This is critical to avoid becoming ill from expired food. However, it is also true that mixing up “best before” and “use by” dates can result in increased food waste. Date marking is responsible for approximately 10% of food waste in the EU. Consumer and supply chain stakeholders can be educated to help prevent food waste and keep date marking true to its purpose of keeping food safe to eat.

As you reach for your favorite product or snack, it’s easy to overlook food labels. They are just one of many seemingly uninteresting pieces of writing competing for your attention. However, knowledge is power, and it can help you take control of your own health and avoid food waste.

With advances in digital technology, improved local food production, and wider adoption of veg boxes (direct supply of food from producers/farmers); there will be greater transition to sharing information about fresh produce virtually while eliminating packaging. This will make it easier for individuals to record and track their nutrient consumption as well as food related carbon footprint.  The World Food Tracker is one such innovation. Read more about it here or get the app.

In addition, it will result in an attitudinal  shift that places higher value on the nutritional content of food instead of the aesthetics. This transition will address the current challenges we have with ‘wonky’ foods leading to reduced economic values for farmers/food producers if the food item was purchased at a cheaper rate while contributing negatively to the environment if the food item was discarded due to lack of acceptance.