LONG AGO, Australians had about 600-800 foods to choose from. Now an average supermarket stocks around 15,000 items. The rapid increase in the foods available has made shopping a more complicated business. Learning how to read food labels can simplify the task of choosing foods and for those who want to make healthy food choices, understanding labels is especially important. Manufacturers cannot put just anything they like on food labels.
Food laws ensure that the consumer gets a fair deal.
This gives some clues about the composition of the food. A breakfast cereal with 'sugar' near the top of its ingredient list will contain more sugar than bread where the sugar is well down the list. Water is an exception because it can vary between the time the ingredients are mixed and when the food is consumed. Manufacturers couldn't always list water in the correct position so they are permitted to list it as 'water added'. In Australia, particular additives can only be used in specific foods after they have been evaluated and recommended for use in that food by the National Food Authority.