How to read food labels
It compulsory for all food products to display a full list of ingredients. Small packages and foods like herbs and spices, tea, coffee and foods sold unpackaged or foods made and packaged at the point of sale are exceptions. Food labels help people who are interested in making informed food choices about their nutrient intake.
The nutrition information panel tells you the level of energy (kilojoules), protein, total fat and saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugars and sodium, and any other nutrient about which a claim is made on the label.
Nutrition information - sample
| Servings per package: 1 | Serving size: 50g | |
| Per 50g serve | Per 100g | |
| Energy | 501kJ | 1002kJ |
| Protein | 3.5g | 7.0g |
| Total Fat | 0.4g | 0.8g |
| Saturated | 0.3g | 0.7g |
| Carbohydrates total | 25.3g | 50.06g |
| Carbohydrates sugars | 7.5g | 15.0g |
| Dietary Fibre | 3.4g | 6.8g |
| Cholesterol | nil | nil |
| Sodium | 195mg | 370mg |
Serving size
This is the average serving size of the product as determined by the manufacturer. However, this may not be the same as the serving you will have.
Per 100g
100 g tells you the proportion of the nutrient in the food and is a useful standard to compare products. For example 5gm per 100gm = 5 per cent.
Energy
This is measured in kilojoules (kJ) or calories (cal). The amount of energy each of us needs depends on many factors such as age, weight and activity levels and will vary from person to person. Foods that are high in fat and sugar tend to be high in kilojoules. If you consistently eat more kilojoules than your body requires, you will gain weight.
Fat and saturated fat
Use the figure per 100g, compare similar products and pick the one with less total fat and saturated fat. The sample food above is very low in fat.
Carbohydrates - Total
This includes both sugars and starches in food. If you are counting carbohydrates you can use this figure to work out how much carbohydrate is in the food.
Carbohydrates - Sugars
This tells you how much of the total carbohydrate is sugar. This includes added sugar as well as naturally occurring sugars like lactose (milk sugar) and fructose (fruit sugar). Sugar content alone will not predict the effect of the food on your blood glucose level, you need to look at the total amount of carbohydrate.
Dietary Fibre
Use the figure per 100g and pick the product that is highest in fibre. Aim for approximately 25g of fibre for women and 30g of fibre for men each day.
Sodium (salt)
Where possible choose products with reduced or no added salt.
The ingredient list
All packaged foods must have an ingredients list on the label. All ingredients (except water) are listed in descending order by weight, so you can work out roughly how much of the ingredient the food contains. You can use this information to make the healthiest food choice.
More information
Find out more about Reading Food Labels (PDF).
Healthy Shopping Guide
Diabetes Australia’s best-selling Healthy Shopping Guide is now bigger and better than ever with more than 800 examples of suggested food products commonly found on supermarket shelves. It shows you how to read food labels, understand nutrition claims and recognise those that are misleading.
Contact Diabetes Australia-Vic on 1300 136 588* to order a copy of the Healthy Shopping Guide. Recommended retail price is $6.95 - don’t forget to ask if a member’s discount applies. Postage is free within Victoria.
*If not stocked by your State or Territory, phone the National Publications Division on 02 9527 1951. No membership discount applies when ordering through the National Publications Division and postage of $2.50 for one copy will be added.
