Mandatory Information to be Printed on Food Labels: Part 2

Packaged food products that come in varying sizes and shapes with attractive packaging with colorful labels tempt the customers to buy them. Many customers buy such products by just reading the front label printed with claims such as “multigrain” bread, or “low-fat food”, “organic ingredients” and so on. Should we believe such attractive taglines printed on the front part of the food label? Will they be as healthy as they claim to be? How to know the actual nutritional value of the packaged item? The previous post gave a few amongst the several elements of a food label such as name, net weight, date of manufacturing, ingredient list, among others. This post discusses a few more mandatory information to be printed on the labels. Reading the food label really helps.

A Few More Must-Have Elements of a Food Label

A food label must be printed with several mandatory information as per the regulations of the FDA. The following are the other must-have components in a food label that a reader must go through thoroughly.

• Total Calories:

  Searching for food packages that contribute to your weight management. Then, watch for the total calories in a single serving. Pick the ones that are low in calories, but rich in nutrients.

• Watch for Saturated Fat, Added Sugars, and Sodium:

  There are some ingredients in packaged food like saturated fat, added sugars, and sodium that can harm your health. Consuming these ingredients for a long period of time can cause an increased risk of heart disease or other chronic diseases. Whenever you come across foods with high levels of saturated fat, added sugars, and sodium, better keep the package side and look for an alternative.

• Instructions for Use:

  For the first time customers, the section ‘instruction for use’ will be immensely helpful. The instructions given should be short and precise considering the space issues in the label. However, manufacturers must be careful in writing the instruction in a clear manner for helping the customers to use the product rightly as intended.

• Storage Requirements:

  Some products must be stored in the fridge until it is used for the next serving or cooking. While other products last at room temperature. You might have seen storage requirements given as ‘Store frozen below -18°C’ or ‘Do not refreeze once thawed”. Watch for such instructions carefully and follow them as it is to make sure the food will last as long as the date shown.

• Company Contact Details:

  The consumer must know the contact details of the company in case he/she has any query or complaint to make. The label must be printed with city, state, and zip code of the manufacturing company.

With the points listed in the two posts, you might be clear about the importance of reading food labels before just blindly choosing a product by being amazed by its outer packaging. Now, next time when you visit a store to buy items, do not hesitate to spend some time to read the labels. This way, you can refrain from buying highly processed and unhealthy products! If you are a food manufacturer looking for quality food labels for your products, you can secure them from trusted food label manufacturers like Performance Label Company (PLC). The company helps its clients design and print labels in adherence to FDA regulations. Also, it makes them available at cost-effective prices.

Related Blog Posts:

• Mandatory Information to Be Printed on Food Labels: Part 1
• Why You Should Seriously Consider Reading The Food Labels?