You may not be seeing these labels on food products much longer. The Smart Choices labeling program has been voluntarily halted after the FDA said it could be misleading.

The labels are supposed to make it easier for us to spot healthier foods, but the green check mark has been showing up on the front of boxes of sugar-laden cereals like Cocoa Krispies and Froot Loops. Last week, the FDA sent out a letter to food makers, saying it will crack down on those that go against federal labeling rules.

Smart Choices is among several nutrition labeling programs now being used, all with different nutritional criteria.

No wonder there’s so much confusion out there!

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Okay, remember my shock when I saw that the new Smart Choices nutrition labels on sugary cereals? Well, now the FDA is on it. The agency sent out this letter to food manufacturers, saying there are too many Front-of-Package (FOP) labeling programs which all have different nutritional criteria and can be misleading.The FDA does not name any specific products, but says it is reviewing FOP claims to see if any go against federal labeling rules.

The agency says with FOP labeling, people are less likely to check the Nutrition Facts label, which has the detailed information about what’s in the food. FOP labeling is voluntary, but more and more companies are using it to try to get our attention.

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About a year ago, I told you about these new Smart Choices nutrition labels designed to make it easier for us to spot healthier foods. Now, I’m starting to think they’re a bad idea. The green check mark has been showing up on hundreds of packages of foods including sugar-laden cereals like Cocoa Krispies and Froot Loops!

In my opinion, this really takes away from the credibility of the new system and sends out an unhealthy message. The program defends the products it endorses, including sweet cereals, saying Froot Loops are “better than other things parents could choose for their children.” Seriously?

Check out the ingredient list. The first thing listed is SUGAR. How can that possibly be a smart choice? Especially with the recent recommendations from the American Heart Association saying Americans need to cut WAY back on sugar.

Before it can be considered for the Smart Choices program, every product must meet criteria for nutrients to limit, based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. For added sugars, that’s a maximum of 25 percent of total calories. So, does this really make Froot Loops and other sugary cereals a “smart choice”… or just another marketing gimmick?

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You like to drink juice, but is that what you are really buying? And if it is, how much juice are you actually getting? If you know your juice-label lingo, you can be sure to buy the real deal and avoid added sugars and artificial ingredients. Here are the basics… with some help from Consumer Reports:

• “100% juice” or “100% pure” - This is the gold standard and means you’re getting pure juice. BUT many 100-percent juice products are a blend, often with apple or grape juices as the main ingredients and not very much of the featured flavor, e.g. blueberry juice.

• “Cocktail,” “drink,” “beverage” – These words are red flags and mean the beverages have less than 100 percent juice and can sometimes have as little as five percent. The rest may be water, flavorings, and added sweeteners.

• “From concentrate” - This is juice that has been concentrated, then re-watered to return it to its original form.

• “Light” – These are basically regular juices diluted with water and artificially sweetened.

Personally, I’m not a big fan of juice. I prefer to eat the whole fruit. But this label lingo is definitely helpful – just remember to always read the ingredient list on the back of the product.

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To weigh or not to weigh. That is often the question. If you chose to keep a scale around your house, check out the creative finds at Does This Blog Make Us Look Fat? You can even print out some fancy labels for your scale.

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I’m always checking labels for hidden sodium and going easy on it – the stuff makes me hold water like a water balloon! So, I was happy to see the study about how more foods are ditching extra salt... only to learn a new report from Consumer Reports (CR) finds plenty of salt in foods you wouldn’t think to check.

CR analyzed 37 foods to check their sodium levels. Among the surprises:

• Twizzlers Black Licorice Twists – four strands have 200 milligrams; four strands of Twizzlers Strawberry Licorice have 115 mg.
• Raisin-bran cereals – Kellogg’s has 350 mg per cup; Post, 300 mg; Total, 230 mg.
• Jell-O Instant Pudding & Pie Filling Mix – the chocolate flavor contains 420 mg per serving; lemon, 310 mg; chocolate fudge, 380 mg.
• Prego Heart Smart Traditional Italian Sauce – this has an American Heart Association logo on the label which means saturated fat and cholesterol are restricted, but not that it’s low in sodium. This sauce has 430 mg per half-cup.
• Aunt Jemima Original Pancake and Waffle Mix – prepared as directed, the pancakes have about 200 mg of sodium each.

Dietary guidelines recommend healthy adults get no more than 2,300 mg of sodium a day. To control high blood pressure, you should aim for no more than 1,500 mg. But the average American takes in 2,900 to 4,300 mg – yikes!

Remember, a high-sodium diet can increase your risk of high blood pressure and might also raise the risk of asthma, kidney stones, osteoporosis, and stomach cancer.

How to understand sodium labels
The more you know, the better. This glossary can help you to decipher sodium-related claims, which are regulated by the federal government:

• Sodium free (or zero sodium, no sodium, without sodium, free of sodium, trivial source of sodium) – Fewer than 5 milligrams of sodium per serving.

• Very low in sodium – No more than 35 mg per serving.

• Low in sodium – No more than 140 mg per serving.

• Light in sodium – At least 50 percent less sodium per serving than a full-sodium version.

• Reduced sodium (or lower sodium, less sodium) – At least 25 percent less sodium per serving than a full-sodium version of the same food.

• Unsalted (or no salt added, without added salt) – No salt was added during processing. If the food is not sodium-free, the label must say, “Not a sodium-free food.”

• Healthy – For an individual food, no more than 480 mg of sodium per serving. For a meal (like a frozen dinner), no more than 600 mg.

Between hidden sodium, hidden sugar, and everything else – you really have to be careful out there and arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible!

So, did any of the CR “surprises” surprise you? Do you watch the amount of salt in your diet?

[Photo Credit: stock.xchng]

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New nutrition labels could make it easier for us to spot healthier foods.

Several of the largest food and beverage companies in the U.S. have agreed to use the Smart Choices symbol on their packages.

It will be easy to spot – right on the front of the package with two simple pieces of information: calories per serving and the number of servings.

To qualify for the Smart Choices label, foods have to meet certain criteria like limiting total fat, trans fat, sodium and added sugars, and at the same time have good-for-you ingredients like fiber, calcium and certain vitamins.

So far, the companies that will use the symbol are Coca-Cola Co, General Mills Inc, Kellogg Co, ConAgra Foods Inc, Kraft Foods Inc, PepsiCo Inc and Unilever, as well as retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

The Smart Choices label will begin appearing on food and beverage packages next year.

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I love printables. And apparently they’re so popular that my new pals at Does This Blog Make Us Look Fat? have created MORE of them. Here’s what they have to say…

A while back Greta blogged about having to weigh in at the doctor’s. She was against it. As a public service Greta created this warning label. It should be placed on every scale in all of Christendom.

Greta realized how easy it washow helpful it was for dieters to have the warning labels so she created more. Take a look at the labels and then print out your favorite by clicking on the link below it. (See the rest of the labels and print them out here).

These labels cracked me up! You? Which one is your favorite?

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I’ve written about energy drinks a couple of times already here at FFTV. You can see the results of a  Consumer Reports test on 12 of these caffeine-filled beverages over here. And just last month, I mentioned a new study that finds just one can of Red Bull may increase the risk of heart damage. Now, researchers at Johns Hopkins University say some energy drinks are so packed with caffeine they should carry prominent warning labels. Their study found some energy drinks had up to 14 times the caffeine as a can of cola, or the same as seven cups of strong coffee. Yikes! I agree they should come with warnings. What do you think?

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