Food label Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Food label - Essay Example Although the sugar content may be highest in any food item, still it is distributed in different ingredients, which does not reveal the maximum quantity of total sugar present in the food item. For example, the label of a food item could detail combination of ingredients like Sucrose, Corn-syrup, Corn-syrup solids, fructose, brown sugar and dextrose, listed separately on the label. While individually these ingredients would not get a place in the top five of the listed items, the fact remains that sugar would be on the top of the list if revealed as the combined quantity. This is one of the ways to misinform the consumers about an ingredient which most of us would like to avoid in our daily intake of food, particularly the people with diabetic and sugar related history.. Similarly, junk food manufacturers would list a few ingredients, which have any relation to health and nutrition, while the proportion of the same may be even less than one percent. (Adams, 2007) A particular item, for example the strawberry yogurt, may have â€Å"insect-based red food coloring†; yet the label will describe the coloring agent as â€Å"carmine†. Similarly, to hide the real names, manufacturers may list in the label, â€Å"Yeast Extracts†, which is actually Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) that enhances taste of the food. Likewise, sodium Nitrate is a dangerous chemical, which can cause cancer and brain tumors. Therefore consumers need going into the depth of the items listed in the food labels.(Adams, 2007) Under this act, the food manufacturers are required to use common names for popular food allergens, like fish, wheat, soy, shellfish, milk, eggs and peanuts. Although this is a step in the direction of helping the consumer for identifying the ingredients in these items that may cause worry, particularly for people with history of high blood pressure, heart problems and hypertension,