Red, Amber, Green! Understanding the traffic lights and food labelling
Lots of pre-packaged food have food labels on them (usually on the front of the package), which tells you the nutrition information per serving. The food label should also tell us how much of each nutrient should be included in the daily diet. The food label will also show percentages which tell us the contribution the produce makes our daily diet.
Food labels are handy as they can help you choose between foods and drinks which are lower in energy, fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt. Some food labels are colour coded which makes it really easy for us to know if they are high, medium or low in fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt.
- A healthier choice, try to pick foods or drinks with more green and ambers and fewer reds
- Green labels are a go!
- Portion sizes displayed on the food labels are just suggestions – check how many suggested portions are in the whole pack
- Some foods and drinks consumed as single servings from pre-packaged products have the nutritional information presented as half of the pack (you would really be eating double the amount you should be)
- Cooking from scratch means you know exactly what is in your meal
For more information on food labelling, click on the following links:
https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/food-facts/food-labels
https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/support/healthy-living/healthy-eating/food-labelling
For 10 top tips for understanding food labels, click here https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/sugar-salt-and-fat/10-tips-for-understanding-food-labels