Food labels look like they require a science degree, so most of us glance at the calories and move on. In fact, you can get the useful information in about ten seconds once you know where to look.
Front of pack is marketing
The words on the front are chosen to sell. Natural, wholesome, light, no added sugar, these are not lies exactly, but they are not the full story. Light can mean lighter than the original, not light in absolute terms. No added sugar can still mean plenty of natural sugar. Treat the front as an advert, because that is what it is.
The numbers that matter
Turn to the nutrition table and use the per hundred grams column, which lets you compare two products fairly.
- Sugar, high is more than twenty-two and a half grams, low is five or less
- Saturated fat, high is more than five grams, low is one and a half or less
- Salt, high is more than one and a half grams, low is point three or less
The traffic-light labels on the front do this work for you, red, amber and green. A glance at the colours tells you most of what you need.
The ingredient order trick
Ingredients are listed by weight, most first. If sugar or salt appears near the top, that tells you a lot. And if the list is long and full of things you do not recognise, that is worth noting too. None of this requires chemistry, only the habit of turning the packet over.