Don't forget to check your food labels!
GsKiki
Posts: 392 Member
I always check my labels before buying new food, even tho where I live there is not so many food falsely labeled "healthy". That is why I was a bit surprised when I watched this video 
https://youtu.be/kUKOt_SvTQc. So many marketing tricks!
Do you guys always check food labels before buying new product? Have you ever been miss guided by packaging?
https://youtu.be/kUKOt_SvTQc. So many marketing tricks!Do you guys always check food labels before buying new product? Have you ever been miss guided by packaging?
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Still delicious.0
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Never buy packaged foods unless you're gonna do a cheat, it's all crap! But I had to lol when they said no one would eat a bowl of chips.. they've clearly never been fat!0
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Good rule of thumb...random YouTube videos aren't great sources of accurate information.
And I'm not spending 22 minutes watching a poorly researched piece of propaganda. Can you summarize for us?0 -
exactly this! At 215 pounds and 115 pounds I ate the same things - just less. I don't believe that any food inparticular is "unhealthy" for an average person that has not medical reason to track sugar, sodium, carbs, etc. That being said - I do read the labels on the food I buy because I want to know what I'm eating and because I'm soy intolerant.0 -
Never buy packaged foods unless you're gonna do a cheat, it's all crap! But I had to lol when they said no one would eat a bowl of chips.. they've clearly never been fat!
Frozen broccoli (and fruit/other veggies when I refuse to pay huge markups for fresh during the winter) is not crap. People need to be responsible and read nutrition labels/ingredients and assess whether the food is appropriate for their lifestyle (Nutella is a godsend for days where I have been stressed, lost my appetite, and need to cram 400 calories into my bedtime snack to meet the 1000-1200 calorie minimum).
What I have issues with are food companies manipulating serving sizes so that they can add certain labels to their food (like a muffin having 1.2g of trans fat and a company putting the serving size as "1/3 muffin" so that the trans fat per serving is 0.4g, can be rounded down to zero, and advertised as "0g trans fat -per serving in super tiny fine print-").0 -
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juggernaut1974 wrote: »Good rule of thumb...random YouTube videos aren't great sources of accurate information.
And I'm not spending 22 minutes watching a poorly researched piece of propaganda. Can you summarize for us?
A serving of Nutella has 11 grams of sugar in it and that's somehow bad.0 -
juggernaut1974 wrote: »Good rule of thumb...random YouTube videos aren't great sources of accurate information.
And I'm not spending 22 minutes watching a poorly researched piece of propaganda. Can you summarize for us?
Food watchman in Canada says "healthy" food labels are wrong because OMG SUGAR/SODIUM/PROCESSING TAKING AWAY NUTRIENTS0 -
I don't have a problem with Nutella being the nutritional equivalent to chocolate frosting. What I have a problem with is Nutella being the nutritional equivalent to chocolate frosting and it being marketed like it's some kind of healthy, wholesome snack.0
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Strawblackcat wrote: »I don't have a problem with Nutella being the nutritional equivalent to chocolate frosting. What I have a problem with is Nutella being the nutritional equivalent to chocolate frosting and it being marketed like it's some kind of healthy, wholesome snack.
I believe there was some class action lawsuit because of this. But it's not that different from sugary cereals that market how healthy whole grains are etc. *shrug* Just got to learn not to trust commercials.0 -
My girlfriend has corn allergies and I bought some maple syrup that said no high fructose corn syrup on the front label thinking it was ok. Good thing I checked again before I gave her any because the first ingredient on the back label was corn syrup. X_X
My fault for not checking thoroughly at the store, but seriously, it was super misleading!0 -
20 years ago when I was in middle school, we were required to take a home ec class that, among other things, covered the basics of advertising. How it worked, what it was trying to make you believe, and how to see past the fancy commercials and labels to make reasonable choices. I don't think I've been "fooled" by a label since I started to realize the free toys in breakfast cereal boxes weren't that great.
I hate to go all old lady in this thread, but what are they teaching in schools these days?0 -
juggernaut1974 wrote: »Good rule of thumb...random YouTube videos aren't great sources of accurate information.
And I'm not spending 22 minutes watching a poorly researched piece of propaganda. Can you summarize for us?
Food watchman in Canada says "healthy" food labels are wrong because OMG SUGAR/SODIUM/PROCESSING TAKING AWAY NUTRIENTS
Ahhh....and let me guess...it's all the manufacturer's fault because people don't read the information clearly disclosed on the label.
Glad I saved that 22 minutes of my life0 -
Never buy packaged foods unless you're gonna do a cheat, it's all crap! But I had to lol when they said no one would eat a bowl of chips.. they've clearly never been fat!
Why?
I often eat cottage cheese, plain greek yogurt, smoked salmon, dry pasta, dry beans, all of which come in packages. Why are those foods "crap"?
I had steel cut oats this morning (because I always read labels I know the only ingredient is "oats"). Also from a package. Why "crap"?0 -
Strawblackcat wrote: »I don't have a problem with Nutella being the nutritional equivalent to chocolate frosting. What I have a problem with is Nutella being the nutritional equivalent to chocolate frosting and it being marketed like it's some kind of healthy, wholesome snack.
Does anyone actually think Nutella is some sort of health food? All the word of mouth I get (haven't seen marketing here) is that it's some kind of delicious dessert spread. Plus, it's made by Ferrero.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Strawblackcat wrote: »I don't have a problem with Nutella being the nutritional equivalent to chocolate frosting. What I have a problem with is Nutella being the nutritional equivalent to chocolate frosting and it being marketed like it's some kind of healthy, wholesome snack.
Does anyone actually think Nutella is some sort of health food? All the word of mouth I get (haven't seen marketing here) is that it's some kind of delicious dessert spread. Plus, it's made by Ferrero.
https://youtu.be/ThIrw_LpuRA 0 -
juggernaut1974 wrote: »Good rule of thumb...random YouTube videos aren't great sources of accurate information.
And I'm not spending 22 minutes watching a poorly researched piece of propaganda. Can you summarize for us?
Food watchman in Canada says "healthy" food labels are wrong because OMG SUGAR/SODIUM/PROCESSING TAKING AWAY NUTRIENTS
In other words, it's a typical 'food propaganda' video which demonizes a particular food/macronutrient while completely ignoring context and dosage. 0/10, would not watch.
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lemurcat12 wrote: »Strawblackcat wrote: »I don't have a problem with Nutella being the nutritional equivalent to chocolate frosting. What I have a problem with is Nutella being the nutritional equivalent to chocolate frosting and it being marketed like it's some kind of healthy, wholesome snack.
Does anyone actually think Nutella is some sort of health food? All the word of mouth I get (haven't seen marketing here) is that it's some kind of delicious dessert spread. Plus, it's made by Ferrero.
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Again: "Does anyone actually think Nutella is some sort of health food?"
People know commercials are puffery. Also, if you read that, it's pretty specific about the claims including "part of my kid's nutritious breakfast."
I've never tasted Nutella and I could have told you it had plenty of sugar, because of what it is. Anyone who claims to have thought otherwise was choosing to fool themselves. (Beyond not reading the ingredients.)0 -
I always look at the label before eating. I'm well aware that the serving size portions are self-serving, so to speak.0
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I think that if a person makes their consumer buying decisions based on an ad campaign or a little marketing phrase like "healthy" or "clean" or "free range" that says more about the person than it does the company selling the product...0
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Here's their own site (US version) on the ingredients. They are upfront about discussing sugar first, even.
http://www.nutella.com/en/us/the-7-ingredients
The site is pretty much about how delicious it is.0 -
That is true, but unfortunately people like that do exist...I guess not everyone cares much about what exactly they're buying and eating. I also know from personal experience a lot of people claim they are too busy to check everything, so they just go with the "healthy advertised" option, and think they are eating well balanced meals because label says so.WinoGelato wrote: »I think that if a person makes their consumer buying decisions based on an ad campaign or a little marketing phrase like "healthy" or "clean" or "free range" that says more about the person than it does the company selling the product...
I do agree with that, some of the suggested serving sizes are ridiculous, and to people that are not educated/interested it seems like a great option.What I have issues with are food companies manipulating serving sizes so that they can add certain labels to their food (like a muffin having 1.2g of trans fat and a company putting the serving size as "1/3 muffin" so that the trans fat per serving is 0.4g, can be rounded down to zero, and advertised as "0g trans fat -per serving in super tiny fine print-").
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Serving sizes are a bugbear of mine. I bought a drink the other day that had 1 1/3 servings. It didn't have a resealable lid. WTF?0
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lemurcat12 wrote: »Again: "Does anyone actually think Nutella is some sort of health food?"
People know commercials are puffery. Also, if you read that, it's pretty specific about the claims including "part of my kid's nutritious breakfast."
I've never tasted Nutella and I could have told you it had plenty of sugar, because of what it is. Anyone who claims to have thought otherwise was choosing to fool themselves. (Beyond not reading the ingredients.)
The marketing works on a couple of levels.
1. Lots of people don't look past advertising to find the real facts on a product. Many people will just blindly trust advertised claims, thinking that the FTC or some other government agency prevents false claims in advertising (they do, but there's way too many ads and claims made for products every year for them to be able to police them all).
2. This kind of advertising targets kids as well, who are often too young to be able to discern advertised claims from truth. Kids see that Nutella is marketed as "part of a healthy breakfast", and naturally trust that the company making the claim is telling the truth. Thus, they beg mom for it when she goes to the store. Can mom say no? Sure she can. But kids have the amazing ability to nag parents so much that their parents will often just give in and buy them the Nutella anyway.
In each case, the consumer was duped into thinking that the Nutella was healthier than it actually is. Like I said, if they marketed it kind of like how cookie butter is, like some kind of dessert spread, then I wouldn't have a problem with it. Everyone deserves treats. But I do have a problem with them marketing this crap like it's some kind of health food. Because it's not. It's sugary frosting with a few hazelnuts thrown in for pizazz.0 -
Strawblackcat wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Again: "Does anyone actually think Nutella is some sort of health food?"
People know commercials are puffery. Also, if you read that, it's pretty specific about the claims including "part of my kid's nutritious breakfast."
I've never tasted Nutella and I could have told you it had plenty of sugar, because of what it is. Anyone who claims to have thought otherwise was choosing to fool themselves. (Beyond not reading the ingredients.)
The marketing works on a couple of levels.
1. Lots of people don't look past advertising to find the real facts on a product. Many people will just blindly trust advertised claims, thinking that the FTC or some other government agency prevents false claims in advertising (they do, but there's way too many ads and claims made for products every year for them to be able to police them all).
If they don't, that's on them. It's 2016, people know commercials should be taken skeptically. Heck, this was joked about when I was a kid, in the '80s. If people claim not to know that now they are lying or deluding themselves on purpose. Panera is currently running a "clean foods" campaign. Did I run out and eat Panera? No, I emailed some people and laughed at them.
Also, none of the claims were false.2. This kind of advertising targets kids as well, who are often too young to be able to discern advertised claims from truth. Kids see that Nutella is marketed as "part of a healthy breakfast", and naturally trust that the company making the claim is telling the truth. Thus, they beg mom for it when she goes to the store. Can mom say no? Sure she can. But kids have the amazing ability to nag parents so much that their parents will often just give in and buy them the Nutella anyway.
Kids don't nag because they think the food is healthy, and the marketing people know that.
Heck, when I was a kid I learned that our bread was fake whole wheat (brown "wheat" bread), not real whole wheat. I hate supermarket bread, so used this as a trump card to try to convince my mom I didn't need to eat it and was better off without sandwiches in my life. Was this because I was convinced some other bread I wanted her to buy was healthier? No, I was motivated by the fact that I thought the bread she bought was icky. She responded to my health argument by switching to a real whole wheat brand. I continued ditching the bread and eating the turkey alone.
No consumers are confused about what Nutella is.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Strawblackcat wrote: »I don't have a problem with Nutella being the nutritional equivalent to chocolate frosting. What I have a problem with is Nutella being the nutritional equivalent to chocolate frosting and it being marketed like it's some kind of healthy, wholesome snack.
Does anyone actually think Nutella is some sort of health food? All the word of mouth I get (haven't seen marketing here) is that it's some kind of delicious dessert spread. Plus, it's made by Ferrero.
I'm fairly sure no-one thinks spreadable chocolate is a health food. Saying that, there's an advert (commercial) here in the UK suggesting that it's a good idea to give your kids Nutella on toast for breakfast. Obviously it's Nutella's own advert!
I've always read food labels. I think the UK is stricter about food labels than the US is.0 -
DawnieB1977 wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Strawblackcat wrote: »I don't have a problem with Nutella being the nutritional equivalent to chocolate frosting. What I have a problem with is Nutella being the nutritional equivalent to chocolate frosting and it being marketed like it's some kind of healthy, wholesome snack.
Does anyone actually think Nutella is some sort of health food? All the word of mouth I get (haven't seen marketing here) is that it's some kind of delicious dessert spread. Plus, it's made by Ferrero.
I'm fairly sure no-one thinks spreadable chocolate is a health food. Saying that, there's an advert (commercial) here in the UK suggesting that it's a good idea to give your kids Nutella on toast for breakfast. Obviously it's Nutella's own advert!
I've always read food labels. I think the UK is stricter about food labels than the US is.
I think Australia is too. I really like how here we have to have the nutritional info per 100g as well as per serving, the US method of just per serving (whatever the hell the company deems a serving size to be) is very confusing.0
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