It’s a proven fact that a manufacturer
is in business because they make a profit off the items they sell
to the consumer. This has been a known fact since the inception
of manufactured food.
And up until the last twenty years
or so, manufacturer’s weren’t held accountable for their
process, or the additives they put into your food. Then we began
the health revolution, and suddenly everyone wanted to know what
was in their food, and if what healthy for them to consume. In fact,
had the consumer been aware of the level of sugar being added to
manufactured cereals during the early part of the 20th century,
they might have refused to purchase or eat something so poor in
nutrition and high in tooth decay.
As soon as the manufacturer’s
began to deal with that situation, along came the claims of “fat
free” and “reduced fat” and the manufacturer’s
were forced to prove their claims. The FDA ruled that if they were
going to claim those facts, they must label so that proof could
be established.
But are the labels really true and
accurate? Or do the labels simply tell us what we want to hear.
Are they accurate about the fat content? Well, let me ask you, when
was the last time you took your bottle of ranch dressing and had
it analyzed for fat content? Exactly. You the consumer aren’t
going to analyze anything. You’re going to believe whatever
those label states as fact.
Food labeling and accuracy are regulated
by the Food and Drug Administration, but that doesn’t always
keep everyone honest, or true to a simple process of determining
what the product you’re buying contains. Many times, the product
will provide two to three servings per package. The obvious take,
on the consumer’s part, when buying a snack cake or candy
bar, is that the single package should constitute a single serving.
This is not the case many times. The manufacturer in order to appeal
to the consumers sense of sight, makes it appear as though the contents
of the package would be a single serving, simply by the way the
package is sold. In reality, the serving size is ½ the package
or a third of the package. This is a deceit times two. Naturally,
as you read the calorie content, you don’t stop to check the
serving information, because a product sold for a single serve consumer,
should naturally be a single serving, right? Wrong.
This is where we must carefully
watch our food labels, read between the lines, and check the fine
print. Quite often, we only see what we want to see. We don’t
notice that we’re being deceived until much later, or sometimes
not at all.
To a consumer just concerned with
the calorie content because of weight issues, this is not a life
threatening situation. For the diabetic patient, the improper reading
of the package contents can mean the difference between normal healthy
functioning, and a dramatic increase or drop in blood sugar levels.
As you can see, the manufacturer’s who are regulated do their
very best to benefit themselves, not the consumer.
Food Labels: Fact or Fiction:
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