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Americans demand transparency on food labels
Eight out of ten consumers would like the law to come into force soon The Food and Drug Administration recently introduced new standards that involve a radical change in nutritional tables for food products sold in the United States. The labels will need to include: the calories in a very large front and at the front of the pack, the added sugar content and the nutritional percentage of the product compared with the recommended daily amount, the portions contained in the package and the average amount of a single portion, the mineral salts and vitamins, not as a percentage but by weight, and finally, all the information must be related to official daily dose values. To ensure that all companies, including smaller ones, can adapt to changes, the FDA proposed an adjustment period of 18 to 24 months, thereby...
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Mandatory origin on the label for tomato by-products
The measures laid out in the decree introduce testing for two years The interministerial decree was signed by the Minister of Agricultural Policy Maurizio Martina and the Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda to introduce the obligation to indicate the origin of tomato by-products. From now on, the label must feature where the vegetable is grown and where it is processed. The long-awaited news was announced at the Coldiretti forum in Cernobbio. Therefore, restrictions and strict obligations imposed by the government against foreign tomatoes. Tomato concentrates, sieved tomatoes, but also sauces or dressings with tomatoes accounting for at least 50% of the ingredients must feature the required origin and processing information on the label. If these steps take place in more than one country, the following terms may be used, depending on the origin: EU countries, non-EU countries, EU...
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Olive harvesting increasing but still below average
Ups and downs, sweet and sour for Italy’s olive oil production. The olive harvest has just started almost all over the peninsula. According to estimates by Coldiretti and the national Consortium of Olive growers, 2017 numbers should be higher than those of last year but below the average of the last decades. The survey conducted by the Consortium’s market observatory highlights a 50% increase for the 2017/2018 season, having estimated about 273thousand tons of oil compared to 182thousand tons in 2016/2017. But that was the worst year in the last 50. In fact, if we take a further step backwards, to 2015/2016, figures were decidedly higher, 474thousand tons, proving that final recovery in all regions is still far off. The blame, at least this year, lies with the bad drought that caused flowers to drop off and a reduced...
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Food labels, a precious ally for consumers
Learning how to read nutritional information is important for our well-being It would be great to have your own vegetable garden, your own small livestock farm or to always rely on excellent producers with a fully transparent supply chain. But it is not always possible. This is why food labels are an essential tool for consumers, and learning to read them is crucial in order to choose food products that respect our health and to be able to make informed purchases. It is important to bear in mind that some of the information provided is mandatory and regulated by specific national or European laws, whereas other information is optional or complementary. Since the basic requirement of a food label is to inform the consumer about the actual characteristics of a product, any misleading qualitative or nutritional information is prohibited....
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Traffic-light system for food labels
Italy says no to the oversimplified system that would penalize its excellence Green means okay, red means stop. An actual ‘traffic-light’ system, which has been applied to food labels in the UK and France, could soon become a European standard promoted by multinational companies. Food is classified according to a score expressed in letters and associated with a colour from dark green to bright red. Proteins and fibre are classified as ‘good’ components, while calories, fat, simple sugars and salt are ‘bad’ nutritional values. However, while on the one hand this type of labelling would make things easier for consumers, confused by the long and complex wording, on the other hand, it might induce them to simplify and therefore make incorrect evaluations. For instance, a litre of milk in the UK is marked with a red label due to...
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Patience and some indispensable notions for reading labels
What criteria do we use when choosing a product at the supermarket? Brand, design, price, loyalty? We all have our own strategy when doing the shopping, but how can we be really sure that we are filling our shopping cart with the best products for our health? The answer can be found in food labels, which are an essential tool to help us choose products from shelves, yet they are not always easy to understand. According to journalist and expert Enrico Cinotti, there are six main additives that we should avoid: Allergens. On the label, they should be distinguished from other ingredients “by size, style or colour”. The best known are milk, cereals containing gluten, eggs, soy and nuts. But also sulphites in wine. Sweeteners. They are substitutes for sugar. Less calories to deceive attentive sportspeople, but more health...
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