Food Packaging May Provide False Message

[Guest guest]

---

-----------

 

Food Packaging May Provide False Message

Wed May 31, 11:09 PM ET

 

 

 

It's hard to buy food without some sort of sign about zero transfat,

zero calories, less fat, fat free, etcetera. But what appears to be

a beacon for those looking for healthier food may be offering a

false message, KPRC Local 2 reported Wednesday.

 

 

Consumers have become savvy about the fat and calories in food. But

Jeff Novick, an expert from the Pritikin Longevity Center, said we

need to be even savvier to the tricks being played in supermarket

aisles.

 

He said Americans are getting fatter because food labels are

misleading.

 

Take milk, for example. The label says 2 percent, but Novick said

that is not even close.

 

" What they don't realize is that's 2 percent by weight. That product

is 36 percent calories from fat, " he said.

 

Novick said a walk through the grocery store would find all sorts of

creative math and marketing for dozens of low-fat items.

 

A can of condensed soup said it is 89 percent fat free.

 

Yet, when Local 2 checked the nutrition facts, a serving delivers 60

calories -- 25 from fat. That's roughly 40 percent fat per serving.

 

So, how did they get 98 percent fat free?

 

" You divide the weight of the fat by the weight of the serving and

you come out with 2 percent fat by weight, which is the equivalent

of 98 percent fat free by weight, " Novick said.

 

A Campbell's Soup Company spokesman said that it is not creative

math. It uses the standard set by the Food and Drug

Administration and the United States Department of

Agriculture.

 

Campbell's said the labels are reviewed before they are shipped.

 

Novick said the numbers are technically true.

 

For instance, Pam spray-on oil requires a quarter of a second spray

to get a fat-free serving.

 

" There you go. Now how many people do that? Most people just (let)

it rip. So, people sometimes ask me, 'How do you really get a

quarter gram out of that?' And I tell them, 'Here, just leave the

lid on and wave it over the food.' Now you and I are laughing, but

we know, " Novick said.

 

Obesity in America is on the rise -- 64 percent of adults are

overweight or obese.

 

Novick is convinced the government's math is part of the problem.

 

" So, every day in America, thousands of people are buying products

and they're not sure of what's going on, " he said.

 

Marketing is another problem.

 

Many products labeled as low fat may be high in sugar or salt. Those

low in sugar may be higher in fat or cholesterol.

 

Novick said the best way to fight back is to ignore the advertising

on the box and look at the list of ingredients. For more on the

Pritikin program, visit www.pritikin.com.