What the Common Grocery Store Product Labels Mean and When They Matter [Food]

The grocery store can be a confusing place. Labels are applied to nearly every product boasting any number of health benefits ranging from heart healthy to fortified, but what does it all mean, and is there really a benefit from any of it?

Photo by Lyza.

Walking through a grocery store, we took a look at some of the most common labels you'll find on foods and broke down what they typically mean, when it matters, if the claims are regulated, and most importantly, if the labels are worth paying more for.

Enriched and Fortified

What it means: If a product is labeled as enriched or fortified, it means vitamins and minerals were added to the food, but the two terms have different meanings. Fortified means the maker added more of the same types of vitamins and minerals already found in its natural state. Enriched means vitamins and minerals are added back that were lost in the refining process.
How it's regulated: Fortification and enrichment are both regulated by the FDA. The goal of both is to provide nutrients many people are lacking in foods that might lose it during refining.
When it matters: Fortification has been around since at least 1924 when iodine was added to salt to help prevent goiter. It's an important nutritional supplement to many diets because it can add nutrients like thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, and iron that many Americans otherwise lack.
Does it make a difference? Fortified and enriched are important, but it's not an end-all solution. It helps you get more of the nutrients you need, but it's important to note that it doesn't make a food healthy. Most sugary cereals, for instance, are fortified, but they're still packed with sugar. Enriched and fortified foods are merely a means to get your vitamin and mineral intake up to recommended levels.
Is it worth paying more for? Not really, as most foods that should be fortified and enriched already are. You shouldn't have any trouble finding a cheap option for the common fortified foods like breads, flour, or cereal.

Gluten Free

What it means: Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and their bi-products. An autoimmune illness called Celiac disease exists in around 1 in 200 people and causes the digestive system to see wheat as an invader. This causes a number of problems later on, including failure of the digestive tract and cancer. The gluten free label is primarily for Celiac sufferers and those with an allergy to wheat. When a product is gluten free, it typically means it's not made with any wheat, barley, or rye.
How it's regulated: At the moment, regulation is still being decided. According to the Boston Globe, a food product is free of gluten if it has 100 parts per million gluten, which according to some is high enough to trigger discomfort in celiac suffers. The FDA is working on refining the requirements.
When it matters: If you suffer from Celiac disease, the label is an important way to track your intake so you don't suffer problems. If you don't, gluten free is not usually needed.
Does it make a difference? Since many products use wheat for flavoring or as a thickening agent, the sticker is important on certain types of products that may often use gluten but aren't obvious by glancing at the box.
Is it worth paying more for? By default, if you're forced to eat a gluten free diet, it's more expensive because wheat is often the cheapest source of nutrients on the shelf. You can, however, claim part of your diet as a medical expense on your tax forms.

Heart Healthy

What it means: Heart healthy foods should fall under the FDA's recommended guidelines for a healthy heart, which means they are low in calories, have whole grains, are fat free, or made with oils instead of saturated fats.
How it's regulated: The label you find on food products is not an FDA label, instead it's either provided by the American Heart Association or it means nothing and is placed on a package by the manufacturer.
When it matters: If you're worried about heart disease, it's an important label to look out for, but it's also good to remember the label often isn't using concrete evidence to support its claims. A box of Honey Nut Cheerios, for instance, has this footnote: "Three grams of soluble fiber daily from whole grain oat foods in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease."
Does it make a difference? No, most of these claims do not come with FDA approval or scientific evidence, so you shouldn't use them as a means to get a healthier heart.
Is it worth paying more for? Again, no, unless your doctor has specifically recommended a particular diet.

Local

What it means: It is generally accepted that the term "local" means it's grown, or produced within around 400 miles of the consumer's point of purchase.
How it's regulated: Technically, the use of the label is not regulated, but you should be able to tell where most products come from by looking at the label on meats or the containers on fruits and vegetables.
When it matters: Locally grown food can reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions because it travels a shorter distance than other foods, so ethically, you might find it a better option.
Does it make a difference? No health benefits have been proven, but we've seen evidence that buying and developing local food options can increase employment and income in a community.
Is it worth paying more for? Theoretically, it should be the cheaper option, because it has less distance to travel and less storage cost. However, depending on where you live, local farms may be smaller and need to charge more. This one's a personal preference if you want to support local farmers instead of a farm on the other side of the country.

Low Fat and Fat Free

What it means: If a food is labeled low fat, very low, or fat free, it indicates the food meets the FDA's low fat guidelines without special processing or alteration.
How it's regulated: To be considered low fat, foots must have three or less grams per Reference Amount Customarily Consumed (RACC aka serving size). For Fat Free, the food must be completely free of fat.
When it matters: Too much fat in a diet can raise cholesterol levels and increase chances for heart disease, so if you're watching your fat intake or you're trying to lose weight, fat free is an important label to watch out for.
Does it make a difference? If you're trying to lose weight or are being health conscious, yes. However, fat free doesn't mean low calorie, so be make sure to pick through the other ingredients and information. It also doesn't always relate to trans fats (which we'll get to in a second) or saturated fats, so pay attention to those labels as well.
Is it worth paying more for? Generally, no. Fat free cheeses, milk, or other foods do not cost more than their fat-filled counterparts.

Natural or Organic

What they means: According to the FDA, organic means the food meets the standards set by the Department of Agriculture meaning its grown without chemical fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, or growth hormones. Natural, however, only means the product doesn't include synthetic or artificial ingredients.
How it's regulated: Both claims are regulated by the FDA using standards set by the USDA.
When it matters: There is no evidence that eating organic or natural food is healthier for you, but it likely doesn't hurt. This is more of a personal choice if you don't want food with unnatural ingredients mixed in.
Does it make a difference? From a nutrition point of view, no. Neither the FDA nor most physicians recognize health benefits from organic or natural food and a product being organic doesn't automatically make it healthy (a pint of ice cream is still a pint of ice cream). However, you might find organic and natural foods ethically more in line with your ideas of what constitutes food.
Is it worth paying more for? This is the trickiest of the questions, because farmers need to pay for the organic certification to ensure everything from the producers to the retailers follow the correct rules for the organic food label. So, smaller farms often do not pay for the organic label, even if they would otherwise qualify. For the most part, this is a personal preference, but be aware that some food (especially local) is often organic or all-natural even if doesn't have the label.

Sustainable

What it means: You will usually find the sustainable sticker on seafood products. Typically, a sustainable sticker means a fish is an abundant species and it was caught in an environmentally friendly way.
How it's regulated: These stickers and certification are provided by the Marine Stewardship Council and go through similar testing as getting an organic label, where they would come out to your fishery and certify the fish as sustainable.
When it matters: Sustainable is, as the name suggests, all about keeping the supply of fish in abundance and not overfishing areas or species.
Does it make a difference? Health wise it doesn't change anything, but the sticker does mean the fish comes from a place where management of stock is important, which, if you want to continue eating fish is important.
Is it worth paying more for? It shouldn't be more expensive, although, like the organic sticker, fisheries need to pay for the sustainable certification, so the price may be more expensive at certain retailers. If you want to continue eating one particular type of fish, a sustainable sticker is a helpful way to make sure the fishery isn't over farming.

Trans Fat

What it means: Trans fats are formed when liquid oil found in the likes of shortening or margarine are turned into solid fats. During a process called hydrogenation, hydrogen is added to the vegetable oil in order to increase shelf life, with the result being food filled with trans fats.
How it's regulated: There is no definition of "low in trans fat" or "trans fat free" provided by the FDA because the FDA doesn't have a recommended daily allowance of it. Essentially, trans fat is not good for you in any way.
When it matters: Trans fats behave like saturated fats in that too much of them will increase your cholesterol and increase your risk for heart disease. If you're at risk for heart disease, watching your trans far intake an important detail to make note of.
Does it make a difference? Fat is good for you, trans fat is not in any way, so if you can cut it from your diet, you should.
Is it worth paying more for? Probably not, but only because foods that are free of trans fat shouldn't be more expensive. The fact the FDA doesn't recognize the labeling also means they can't be trusted completely, so it's best to pay attention to the nutrition label instead.

Whole Grain

What it means: The term whole grain only directly refers to the fact the food has all three major components of a grain kernel: bran, germ, and endosperm. When grains are milled, they lose the bran and germ, but the shelf life is increased.
How it's regulated: The FDA doesn't have anything to do with the whole grain label you often find on food. Instead, that usually goes through the Whole Grain Council. Still, the dietary guidelines for Americans recommends at least half of your grain diet should be whole grains.
When it matters: Whole grains have been linked to lowering the risk of heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, and other health problems, but no empirical evidence has been provided yet. If you're at risk for any of these, the label is important.
Does it make a difference? The biggest thing you'll notice with whole grain foods is a decrease in the shelf life. They are, however, typically better sources of nutrients like potassium and magnesium than their non-whole grain counterparts.
Is it worth paying more for? Whole grain foods aren't always more expensive. Sources like oatmeal and rice are cheap. However, since the shelf life on many foods, like bread, is decreased for whole grain, they're often more expensive. Whole grain is probably worth the cost, even if the FDA doesn't officially recognize the health benefits because most doctors recommend eating whole grains whenever possible.

Zero Calories

What it means: Zero calories means, rather oddly, that a food has less than five calories per RACC and per labeled serving.
How it's regulated: The FDA ensures the claim of zero calories is true and the food or beverage has to meet the above requirements in order to use the label.
When it matters: A bunch of fruits and vegetables have zero calories, but the most common place you'll find this label is on soda. Typically, cutting calorie intake is related to weight loss.
Does it make a difference? Possibly not. In a recent study comparing zero calorie diet soda with its regular counterpart, researchers found those drinking the diet soda were more likely to have an increase in weight. This doesn't mean that zero calorie soda causes weight gain directly. Instead, researchers believe it has more to do with the subjects other eating habits, or the fact that the artificial sweetness might trigger other cravings. What's more, if you're going for the zero calorie soda because it doesn't have sugar and you want to protect your teeth, consider the fact it still has phosphoric acid, which is known to erode tooth enamel.
Is it worth paying more for? No, most zero calorie products are the same price. In the case of soda, there's little evidence diet is better for you than regular.

Are there any food product labels you're confused by in the store? Share them in the comments.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/haZNtIuh3_U/what-the-common-grocery-store-product-labels-mean-and-when-they-matter

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