Whether they are eating a processed food product or a raw food, many people want information about what they’re eating. Usually, the information they want reaches beyond what is found on most labels because labels provide limited information. Food labels give useful information, but they usually only give the information the manufacturer is required to by the government.
Required Label Information
Most countries have their own regulations about what information should be included on labels for processed foods. However, most countries require the same basic food facts on labels, including:
- Food name
- Ingredients
- Name and location of manufacturer, packer, or seller
- Use by date or lot number
- Warnings
- Quantity information
- Storage and/or cooking instructions
That is all that is required in the United Kingdom, but most food labels also include nutritional information like:
- Calories
- Fats, including saturated fat
- Salt
- Carbohydrates, including sugar
- Protein
- Fibre
All of this information is listed per food serving and the label will tell you what is considered a serving.
Raw Foods
While processed food labels help provide information to consumers, there are no labels on raw or unprocessed foods. There may be a sticker showing where the food was grown, but, unless you do some research, you won’t know the nutritional information or how the food was treated before it was made available in the store. If the food is considered organic, it will be labelled to indicate it was organically grown.
In order to be sold as organic, the foods ingredients, if processed, must be 95% farm grown and it has to be sold directly to consumers in a store. With unprocessed foods, however, you still may not know about how foods are grown unless you research the organisation certifying the organic status of the food. Most of these organisations have their certification process listed on their websites, so if you want to find out whether the food was treated with chemicals, you would need to look up that information.
Additional Information
Many processed food manufacturers also provide more detailed information about how their foods are made on their websites. For instance, the Quorn Facts website provides information about what the food is, the products they offer and the benefits of eating their food. This information not only helps those who may have food allergies, but it can help build loyalty to a company because they don’t seem like they are trying to hide anything from consumers.
It is important to people who have food allergies or certain medical conditions to know what is in the food they consume. Sometimes, the information they need isn’t on food labels and they have to do some research to find out what foods they can include in their diets and which to avoid. Being able to go to a product website can make it easier to find this information. While there are no regulations stating a company needs to provide additional information on the foods they make, it is provided as a benefit for their customers.
