Call to standardise nutrition labels to make right choices

UAE residents believe a standardised panel to inform of the food’s nutritional value should be introduced.

Arlene McGregor, a trainer and nutritionist from Scotland, warns that the food companies are labelling as healthy may not necessarily be so. Lee Hoagland / The National

Abu Dhabi // Residents are cautious about nutrition labels on food and say cooking one’s meals is the way to avoid processed food.

Sally Ferris, 46, an Australian yoga teacher in Abu Dhabi, believes a standardised panel to inform of the food’s nutritional value should be introduced.

“As for labels like low fat, low sodium, low sugar, these are all just marketing ploys that hook in the consumer who wants to make good choices but is not educated on food quality and ingredients,” she said.

Loretta Ward, 39, from the UK, follows the Weight Watchers programme and she studies labels for information on calories and saturated fat.

“I have an amount of points that I have per day and I have to organise my diet around those points. To work out how many points a particular food is, I have to look at both calories and saturated fat,” she said.

“Although I would not be fooled with food labels self-proclaiming to be healthy, I believe the majority of consumers would blindly believe the labels.

“I read the ingredients list carefully and what angers me sometimes is that not all food labels disclose their ingredients, or disclose only what the manufacturers want to, or list only a portion of the actual ingredients,” said Kimberly Rabideau, 41, an American.

She feels food labelling should be mandatory and strictly regulated.

Arlene McGregor, 32, a personal trainer and nutritionist from Scotland, said: “What companies are labelling as healthy may not necessarily be the case.”

Remove all processed foods from your diet is her advice.

“If it comes in a can or has a shelf life, avoid it,” she said.