Reading the fine print in food labeling

The Smart Choices
Eat fresh or minimally processed foods as much as possible, since they usually have few additives. Avoid junk foods (such as cookies, candy, and soda), which are not only chock-full of artificial colors and other additives, but are also of little nutritional value - high in calories, sugar, fats and/or sodium.

This is especially good advice for children, who are the main consumers of junk foods and are at increased risk if there are any health problems with additives.

Why do some foods not list any ingredients at all? Ketchup, cheddar cheese, peanut butter, and margarine are among some three-hundred-odd staples that don't have to list ingredients or nutrients because they are made according to a "standard of identity" - a recipe specifying concentrations of various ingredients - regulated by the FDA. For example, if the jar says "mayonnaise", it must contain vegetable oil, vinegar and/or lemon juice, and egg yolk; these ingredients don't have to be spelled out. Certain optional ingredients, however, such as salt, sweetener, and preservatives, must be listed. Some manufacturers voluntarily list the ingredients on standardized foods; others provide ingredients lists at the consumer's request.

Most foods are not standardized, so they must list their ingredients. Even so, an ingredients list can be deceptive when it comes to sugar and sodium, and less than clear about flavoring and colorings.

Food labels tell little about the two problem nutrients that may be most important to you - fat and cholesterol.

A nutrition label must list how many grams of fat there are in a serving, but seldom anything beyond that, and very few foods indicate what percentage of their calories come from fat.A breakdown of the fats into unsaturated and saturated fatty acids is optional. Cholesterol content is also optional, unless a claim is made about it.

Read food labels. But remember additives aren't always listed: more than three hundred standardized foods don't have to list their ingredients. Ice cream, for example, can contain some twenty-five specified additives without having to list any of them.

Limit your intake of foods listing "artificial colors."Substitute products colored by real fruit juice. Still, an occasional maraschino cherry won't harm you.

Eat a variety of foods.This will limit your exposure to any one additive, should it turn out to have long-term risks.

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