Home Local News ORGANIC FOOD LABELING DOESN’T ALWAYS MEAN PRODUCT IS HEALTHIER

ORGANIC FOOD LABELING DOESN’T ALWAYS MEAN PRODUCT IS HEALTHIER

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Do you look at food labels when selecting your food items?

An Iowa State University Extension Food Nutritionist and professor says rather than looking at the cover label of a food item, consumers should turn to the back or side of the package and read the ingredients label.

Ruth Litchfield says food companies tend to mislead consumers into thinking the product may be healthier based on the cover labeling:

OC………nutrition facts. :17

Litchfield says organic doesn’t always mean the food is healthier.
She compared two packages of fruit snacks:

OC……….not always the case. ;25

Litchfield also points to poultry products as an example when companies say their poultry contains no antibiotics.

In fact no poultry products contain antibiotics because it is against the law to do so:

OC………….not correct. ;18

Another tactic food companies may use in their labeling is to say their product is GMO free, meaning their product does not contain any Genetically Modified Organisms.

Litchfield says only ten crops have been approved to be Genetically Modified, and when food companies make the claim, it is merely a sales tactic.